Consequences of Ambition Exposed in Macbeth, The Maids Tragedy, and Th

Consequences of Ambition Exposed in Macbeth, The Maids catastrophe, and The Duchess of Malfi Twenty-first century America praises the ambitious. The American dream urges us to set lofty goals and then rely on the Protestant work ethic to happen upon them-regardless of potential obstacles. Parents encourage their children to consider any and every career choice. Companies and schools stress goal-setting and celebrate productivity. Even a contemporary catchphrase like The skys the limit or the Army slogan Be all you can be-the stuff of graduation cards and commencement addresses-promote ambition. heretofore ambition has not always been valued. Seventeenth-century Jacobean drama often casts it in a negative light. Unbridled ambition yields deadly outcomes, the literature suggests. Macbeth, The Maids Tragedy, and The Duchess of Malfi each lucubrate the severe consequences of boundless ambition. John Milton takes the vagary a step further in Paradise Lost, depicting th e most ambitious of characters as well as the proper way to handle ambition, fit in to Gods will. In Macbeth, ambition first a go ups in Lady Macbeth, distorting her values. Immediately, she recognizes her husbands chance to rise in power. She craves it so intensely that she volitionally invites spirits that tend on person thoughts to fill her from the crown to the toe top-full-of-the-moon/ Of direst cruelty (I.v.40-41) Lady Macbeth instinctively associates ambition with cruelty. She considers cruelty necessary in her rise to power. She also fears that her husband is too full o the milk of human kindness to execute her plan (I.v.17). Ambition and kindness are mutually exclusive, she insinuates. Therefore, she views the virtue as a wea... ...t, Francis and John Fletcher, The Maids Tragedy, ed. T.W.Craik (Manchester Manchester University Press, 1988 Bowers, Fredson. Elizabethan avenge Tragedies, 1587-1642. Princeton Princeton University Press, 1940. Hallett, Charles and Elaine. The Revengers Madness A Study of Revenge Tragedy Motifs. Lincoln University of Nebraska Press, 1980. Keyishan, Harry. The Shapes of Revenge Victimization, Vengeance, and Vindictiveness in Shakespeare. Atlantic Highlands Humanities Press, 1995. Middleton, Thomas, and William Rowley. Three Jacobean Tragedies. Ed. Gamini Salgado. Middlesex Penguin Books Ltd., 1969. 255-344. Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York Washington Press, 1992. Webster, John. The Duchess of Malfi. Ed. John Russel Brown. Manchester Manchester University Press, 1986. Consequences of Ambition Exposed in Macbeth, The Maids Tragedy, and ThConsequences of Ambition Exposed in Macbeth, The Maids Tragedy, and The Duchess of Malfi Twenty-first century America praises the ambitious. The American dream urges us to set lofty goals and then rely on the Protestant work ethic to achieve them-regardless of potential obstacles. Parents encou rage their children to consider any and every career choice. Companies and schools stress goal-setting and celebrate productivity. Even a contemporary catchphrase like The skys the limit or the Army slogan Be all you can be-the stuff of graduation cards and commencement addresses-promote ambition. Yet ambition has not always been valued. Seventeenth-century Jacobean drama often casts it in a negative light. Unbridled ambition yields deadly outcomes, the literature suggests. Macbeth, The Maids Tragedy, and The Duchess of Malfi each illustrate the severe consequences of boundless ambition. John Milton takes the idea a step further in Paradise Lost, depicting the most ambitious of characters as well as the proper way to handle ambition, according to Gods will. In Macbeth, ambition first arises in Lady Macbeth, distorting her values. Immediately, she recognizes her husbands chance to rise in power. She craves it so intensely that she willingly invites spirits that tend on mortal thoughts to fill her from the crown to the toe top-full/ Of direst cruelty (I.v.40-41) Lady Macbeth instinctively associates ambition with cruelty. She considers cruelty necessary in her rise to power. She also fears that her husband is too full o the milk of human kindness to execute her plan (I.v.17). Ambition and kindness are mutually exclusive, she insinuates. Therefore, she views the virtue as a wea... ...t, Francis and John Fletcher, The Maids Tragedy, ed. T.W.Craik (Manchester Manchester University Press, 1988 Bowers, Fredson. Elizabethan Revenge Tragedies, 1587-1642. Princeton Princeton University Press, 1940. Hallett, Charles and Elaine. The Revengers Madness A Study of Revenge Tragedy Motifs. Lincoln University of Nebraska Press, 1980. Keyishan, Harry. The Shapes of Revenge Victimization, Vengeance, and Vindictiveness in Shakespeare. Atlantic Highlands Humanities Press, 1995. Middleton, Thomas, and William Rowley. Three Jacobean Tragedies. Ed. Gamini Sal gado. Middlesex Penguin Books Ltd., 1969. 255-344. Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York Washington Press, 1992. Webster, John. The Duchess of Malfi. Ed. John Russel Brown. Manchester Manchester University Press, 1986.