Notes

"If we consider ambition as essentially a form of motivation, a manifestation of desires, then it was the American psychologist Abraham Maslow who, in 1943, first helped contextualize ambition within his "hierarchy of needs." (Fonash) Macbeth's ambition was his motivation to become king, he let it consume him and his wife and that brought him to his murderous state. Macbeth desired to become king and this became all that meandered in his mind. Letting these thoughts run wild, they only grew stronger and ended up evolving into a form of ambition not even he could control.

"Macbeth's overconfidence leads to disaster, and in the end, his pursuit of ambition beyond the laws of God and man comes to nothing." (Nelson) With all the things he gives up trying to reach his goals and having the mindset of invincibility he becomes overzealous and overconfident which leads to reckless behaviour. As he puts his life on the line losing pieces of himself he eventually loses his life after little by little losing his mind.