The first display of ambition in the play is an extremely positive and honorable display among honorable men. This early sign is greatly exemplified by the image of blood. It is first touched upon in the second scene of the play when a hurt and mangled man rides up to King Duncan to report the state of a great warrior and the protagonist of the play, Macbeth. The King exclaims, “What bloody man is that? He can report, as seemeth by his plig

Macbeth’s ambition to better himself in a just and noble way slowly shifts to less honorable means as the time in the story progresses. After the battles and the war, Macbeth and Banquo are influenced by crafty fortune teller’s, and it becomes apparent that Macbeth allows these influences to alter his perception of what actions he must take to further himself in life. As established early on in the novel, Macbeth was never inclined to commit evil deeds, yet now he and Lady Macbeth deeply desire power and advancement. They both are extremely willing to become the most influential individuals in Scotland, and the only way they see that they should be able to do such a thing is to have the strength and desire to end the lives of those that stand in their way. Macbeth states, “It is the bloody business which informs thus to mine eyes.” (2, 1, 60-61) He reflects that the only way he should advance himself is through blood and that he must, as he views it, become manly enough and strong enough to perform these treacherous deeds. Once he and Lady Macbeth embark on their murderous journey, blood soon comes to symbolize their guilt and misled objective and they begin to feel as if their crimes have stained themselves with a crimson mark that they should never be able to wash clean. “Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood clean from my

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