“Shakespeare’S ‘Macbeth’ Invites Us To Look Into The World Of A Man Driven On By Ruthless Ambition And Tortured By Regret”

"Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' invites us to look into the world of a man driven on by ruthless ambition and tortured by regret"
Write a response to this view of the play Macbeth supporting the points you make by reference to the text.

Shakespeare's play Macbeth is the shortest of his tragedies. According to Aristotle a tragedy is the fall of princes, due to a single flaw, or 'Hamertia' in the basic characteristics of a human. . In Hamlet the flaw is his procrastination, as much as in Macbeth, it is his ambition that sets the stage for this tragedy. It is human nature to work to achieve ones desire, yet it is often the case where ones desire when achieved is not what they had expected. Shakespeare's Scottish tragedy is about Macbeth's bloody rise to power, including the murder of the Scottish king, Duncan, and the guilt-ridden pathology of evil deeds generating still more evil deeds. This all stems from Macbeths ambition for power.
Macbeth's ambition leads to disorder entering the 'natural' realm and it is this ambition and desire for power which leads him to murder. On our first meeting with Macbeth and the Witches it is obvious that this desire to be King has already entered into his thoughts, yet he is still disturbed at the witches foretelling, "Hail to thee Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter". It is not until later however, that we discover the dark thoughts stirring within him. His attitude changes immensely when Malcolm is proclaimed "Prince of Cumberland" and heir to the throne of Scotland it poses a hindrance to Macbeth.   "That is a step on which I must fall down or else o'er leap." It is at this time that the plan begins to form within his mind on how to overcome this obstacle.   It is interesting to note at this time Macbeth is viewed as a hero among the Scottish for his role in defending Scotland from the Danes and from the "treacherous Thane of Cawdor". This view of "Brave Macbeth" is used to aid his ambition and it is his valiant deeds that lead to...