If three qualities most define Shakespeare’s Macbeth, they arguably are ambition, greed, and the supernatural. Macbeth is ambitious and covets the position of his superiors. Spurred on by the prophecies of three witches and the lustful desires for power of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth resorts to murder to achieve his ambitions. Such a tale of ambition, greed and the influence of the supernatural are highly relevant to today’s society. Many critics of the Bush administration argue that our involvement in the Iraq War is characteristic of Bush’s ambitions and not an effort to undermine terrorism. With respect to greed, from executives at Tyco, WorldCom and Martha Stewart Living/Omnimedia, tales of corporate greed characterize American business. Even the supernatural drives ambition and power in American politics, as evidenced by Nancy Reagan’s heavy reliance upon astrological seers during her husband’s eight year tenure as president. This analysis will demonstrate how the qualities of ambition, greed, and the supernatural so prevalent in Macbeth, written over 300 years ago, are still a significant part of American business and politics in contemporary society.
Macbeth is the story of a man who is corrupted because of the lust for power. Such lust stems from Macbeth’s limitless ambition to be king. As Shakespeare has Macbeth admit regarding his ambitious actions, “Vaulting ambition…o’erleaps itself” (Shakespeare 1975). Such ambition in companionship with Lady Macbeth’s urging of her husband and the witches prophecies causes Macbeth to murder the benevolent King Duncan and others in the play so he can rise to the position of king. Such overleaping ambition will eventually be the cause of Macbeth’s downfall.
In contemporary society, many critics of President Bush’s war on Iraq contend that ambition is the prime motivating force of the war. President Bush maintained that weapons of mass destruction wer...