Born in 1564 in Stratford, England, William Shakespeare is renowned for his 37
plays. He began by writing comedies such as The Comedy of Errors and Love’s
Labors lost, and continued by writing plays based on English history and
tragedies. One of his most famous tragedies, written in 1605, was Macbeth.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth reveals the universal themes of death, of ambition, and
of guilt. Shakespeare reveals the theme of death in his tragedy, Macbeth. At the
end of the first Act, Lady Macbeth expresses her desire to become completely
numb to the pain and suffering of others so that she may have the will to
participate in the murder of King Duncan. She says to herself, “…fill me to
the toe topfull of direst cruelty! make thick my blood ; stop up the access and
passage to remorse…(Act one, scene five)” Macbeth recklessly kills Duncan
between the first and second scenes in Act two. In the third Act, Macbeth hires
three men to murder his former companion, Banquo, and his son; though they only
succeed in killing Banquo. Later, the same three murderers are hired to kill the
family of Macduff. The final murder of the play is ironically of Macbeth. Many
innocent people are killed throughout the play until the antagonist is
eliminated. Shakespeare’s Macbeth reveals the theme of ambition. When at first
Macbeth receives the prophecies of the witches, he is confused and in disbelief.
But after some careful thought he motivates himself to take hold of the crown.
When Lady Macbeth hears of the prophecies through the letter sent by her
husband, she also becomes determined to assume the role as queen. She and
Macbeth carefully plan the murder of King Duncan in order to eliminate an
obstacle in achieving their ultimate goal of becoming royalty. Macbeth
eventually becomes so intent on gaining the crown and eventually becoming king
that he returns to the witches for more information about what he hopes to be
his prolonged royal destiny. “I call upon you, in the name of your art-
whatever be the source-to answer me! (Act four, scene one)” Macbeth’s
ambition is what encourages him to commit all of the murders of what he believes
to be obstacles on his road to success. Shakespeare’s Macbeth reveals the
theme of guilt. After the murder of King Duncan tin the second Act, Macbeth
appears to be extremely frightened and fearful of what might happen to him. He
imagines that he hears a voice saying “Glamis hath murdered sleep, and
therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more! (Act two,
scene two)” While the three hired murderers are hunting down Banquo, Macbeth
has a feast for all of his friends. After the murderers have succeeded in their
task, Macbeth imagines that he sees the ghost of Banquo. These hallucinations
show signs of a guilty conscience. At the end of the play, Lady Macbeth commits
suicide by hanging herself because of the heavy burdens she bears and her
overpowering guilt. Macbeth deals with his guilt through several different
hallucinations and Lady Macbeth simply ends her life when the stress is too much
to bear. The themes of death, of ambition, and of guilt are all apparent in
Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The theme of death is revealed through the many
reckless attempts at murder that take place throughout the play. Ambition is an
important theme because the entire play is based on Macbeth’s struggle to be
and remain King. Guilt mostly becomes apparent through Macbeth’s
hallucinations. They are all considered to be universal themes because not only
did they apply to situations in Shakespeare’s lifetime, but they also occur
today. Not many people go through as much as a week without experiencing one of
these emotions, much less all of them.