Well, for a start, he calls it "vaulting ambition". This is a sneer at the ambitious, you know. The ambition wants to jump ahead instead of proceeding by regular steps. And by jumping, it overleaps the mark and falls down. Macbeth has contempt for ambition; he may have an ambition to be the king, but why not, when he is so closely related to Duncan and so much more fit for the job than the effete Malcolm or Donalbain? In the settled order of things he could be next in line for the throne. Primogeniture was not a rule in eleventh-century Scotland. His arguments for not killing Duncan are based on decency, morality, and order, and they convince him. He is quite happy to fight for the king and the established order. Only the persuasiveness of his wife, who really is consumed by ambition, is able to make him swerve from that course of action, but once he has left the strait and narrow he cannot go back.
The fact that he gave Macbeth the high respected title of "Thane of Cawdor" and the fact that he even decides to visit Macbeth's castle.
Hamartia is a fatal flaw. Macbeth's was his "vaulting ambition".
Macbeth's tragic flaw is not his ambition, although this has been a favourite platitude for centuries, and was actually written in as a line for Macbeth before he died by some well-meaning adapter."Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itselfAnd falls on the other."(Macbeth, lines 27-28, Act 1 Scene 7).These are lines spoken by Macbeth when deciding whether to commit the murder. He clearly holds ambition in contempt. His decision is that ambition is not a sufficient motive to kill Duncan and he tells his wife so. Nevertheless he is persuaded by her to commit the murder anyway. Once he is king (that's at the beginning of Act 3) none of his actions from there to the end of the play can be motivated by ambition, because he has as much as he can expect to get. There is nothing more to be ambitious for. What leads to his downfall is more his inability to say no to his wife, and his paranoia. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, is moved by ambition, and she specifically comments on her unhappiness in finding that, having achieved her ambition, it has turned to ashes in her mouth. "Nought's had, all's spent, when desire is had without content."
ambition and overconfidence
Macbeth’s ambition to become king
ambition
Hamartia is a fatal flaw. Macbeth's was his "vaulting ambition".
Macbeth uses the phrase "vaulting ambition" in the play Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 7. It is a metaphor. The meaning of "vaulting" is like a vaulting horse, an obstacle you jump over. Macbeth says that there are all kinds of reasons why he should not murder Duncan, and the only one he can think of why he should is "vaulting ambition, that overleaps itself and falls on the other . . ." His wife comes in and interrupts him before he can finish his sentence with the word "side", but what he is thinking is that ambition pushes you to jump over obstacles, to try to overcome them, just as an athlete tries to vault a vaulting horse, but it pushes you into going too far, like an athlete that jumps so far that he misses the horse altogether, falls on the other side and breaks his neck.
For an evaluation of the "vaulting ambition" quote in Macbeth, you could consider discussing the themes of ambition, power, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. This quote illustrates how Macbeth's insatiable desire for power leads to his downfall and the destruction of those around him. It highlights the destructive nature of ambition when it becomes excessive and uncontrolled.
This is a quotation from Shakespears Macbeth, Act 1 scene 7. Because of his ambition, Macbeth kills Duncan and then feels a great deal of remorse. In order to become King, Macbeth gone a little farther than he should have done. He now understands that he will be punished for the murder and punishment was not anticipated as part of his ambition
Macbeth's tragic flaw is not his ambition, although this has been a favourite platitude for centuries, and was actually written in as a line for Macbeth before he died by some well-meaning adapter."Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itselfAnd falls on the other."(Macbeth, lines 27-28, Act 1 Scene 7).These are lines spoken by Macbeth when deciding whether to commit the murder. He clearly holds ambition in contempt. His decision is that ambition is not a sufficient motive to kill Duncan and he tells his wife so. Nevertheless he is persuaded by her to commit the murder anyway. Once he is king (that's at the beginning of Act 3) none of his actions from there to the end of the play can be motivated by ambition, because he has as much as he can expect to get. There is nothing more to be ambitious for. What leads to his downfall is more his inability to say no to his wife, and his paranoia. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, is moved by ambition, and she specifically comments on her unhappiness in finding that, having achieved her ambition, it has turned to ashes in her mouth. "Nought's had, all's spent, when desire is had without content."
ambition and overconfidence
In the play "Macbeth," Macbeth declares that ambition is the only motivation that drives him to commit murder. He believes that his ambition to become king overpowers his moral conscience and leads him to commit heinous acts in order to achieve his goals.
Macbeth’s ambition to become king
In "Macbeth," evidence that unchecked ambition leads to corruption can be seen in how Macbeth's desire for power leads him to commit increasingly heinous acts, such as ordering the murder of King Duncan and Banquo. As he becomes more ruthless in pursuit of his goals, he loses his sense of morality and becomes consumed by paranoia and guilt. Ultimately, Macbeth's unchecked ambition leads to his downfall and death.
Macbeth had 'volting ambition', which ultimately pushed him to kill King Duncan. His ambition was Macbeth's greatest flaw and personal weakness.
ambition
ambition