In his paranoia, he keeps eliminating every possible threat to his throne without any hesitation. He is so blinded by his ambition to retain his throne that he keeps committing one crime after another. The guilt and paranoia stay with him ever since he murders Duncan.

Although he does achieve what he desires, but rather than enjoying the fruits of his ambition, he becomes obsessed with maintaining the power that he has wrongfully gained. Macbeth kills Duncan despite his better judgement, but he also realises soon after that he shall never have peaceful sleep again. And eventually their ambitions, tainted by crime and guilt, take the form of self-destruction. Their individual desire for power and stature brings a cloud of fear and dread over the whole country. Whereas, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth let their ambition get the better of them by not caring for any moral restrictions. While Banquo too is ambitious when he learns about the witches’ prophecy that his son will become king someday, he does not resort to immorality. Their ambition can be contrasted with that of Banquo in order to understand what role morality plays in keeping a check upon ambition. In case of both Macbeth and his wife, their ambition is not restrained by morality and thus leads to a trajectory of death and destruction. While having goals and ambitions is generally perceived as good attributes that drive an individual to constantly strive for betterment, the downside of unchecked ambition can be disastrous.

The same is true in case of Lady Macbeth as well. Macbeth’s own ambition leads to his downfall. The most important theme of the play is the corrupting power of unchecked ambition. Unchecked Ambition: The Tragic Flaw of Macbeth

Theme of macbeth