AMBITION

'Let not light see my black and deep desires'

the witches have awoken his 'deep' desire for power

'light' could reference God, he does not want to face damnation for his actions, although he knows they are 'black' and sinful

To a 17th century audience, this was even more effective, as they would have been very religious and believed in eternal damnation

two instances of alliteration with 'let light' and 'deep desires' which emphasise passion behind his words

juxtaposition of light and dark reflect his tumultuous mental state

'I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent but only vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself and falls'

no spur to prick his intent with highlights that he recognises he has no justification for killing Duncan, only ambition

he seems to foresee that it will be a serious mistake to kill Duncan and will end in his ruin as he 'falls' and has a tragic downfall

Ambition is Macbeth's hamartia

In Shakespeare tragedies, the hero is usually a noble person with one main hamartia which leads to their downfall

At the start, he's a 'brave' and 'noble' hero who progresses into a 'dead butcher'

Lady Macbeth, early on, says that Macbeth 'wouldst not play false' to get what he wants
he has morals

Later, he commits regicide, seen as the greatest sin in these times, and continues to kill because of his hamartia

His reluctance to kill Duncan shows that he is moral, so his 'dark' actions shows how strong his ambition is as it makes him act against his morals

'Two truths are told as happy prologues to the swelling act of th'imperial theme'

after he has become Thane of Cawdor, he considers that the third prophecy, that he will be king, could come true

Thus, this is an early (act 1) example of his ambition

'to be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus'

He says this after becoming king, and is paranoid about maintaining his power (he has no heir)

This shows that even after he has given into ambition and murdered Duncan, he still has not achieved peace

also reveals how his first violent action set off a chain of events