Macbeth’s Ambition is on a Slippery Slope

In Act I, Macbeth is a strong hero and everyone respects him for his success on the battlefield. Yet, under the outside influence of the three Weird Sisters and Lady Macbeth, the dark side of Macbeth’s ambition reveals itself. His ambition was once controlled and positive. However under evil influences, his noble aspect is weakened and he allows his ambition to take over. For instance, in Act I Scene ii a soldier says that “brave Macbeth” fought with “valour” and that Macbeth did so, “disdaining fortune”. In the other words, Macbeth fought out of courage not out of ambition. On the other hand, when Macbeth decides to kill Banquo and his son, he is motivated by his peer ambition. He decides that he does not want Banquo and his child to become kings. “Rather than so, come, fate, into the list, And champion me to the utterance!” (Act III Scene I Line75) In another word, where once Macbeth killed other people on the battlefield as an act of courage, he is now killing other individuals out of his ambition.