Macbeth Comparison

Sometimes in literature, a main character’s ambition oversteps moral and ethical boundaries, especially when the setout plan is evil. Two clear examples of this idea can be seen in the play Macbeth and Julius Caesar, both by William Shakespeare. In Macbeth it is Lady Macbeth that catapults her husband into capturing the crown. In Julius Caesar it is Cassius that plans the historic extermination of Caesar. In both plays, the characters’ selfish ambition for power is so extreme, that they’re willing to sacrifice innocent humanity, and their morality to accomplish their deepest desires.

Throughout the play Macbeth, ambition becomes a central theme after Macbeth receives a prophesy saying that he shall be King of Scotland from the witches. Although he thinks about killing the King, Macbeth ultimately abhors the idea and hurting him. When a new heir is announced to take the King’s Place, Macbeth writes a letter to his wife Lady Macbeth who rekindles the ambition of kinghood within him. Lady Macbeth is by far the typical woman of the Elizabethan Age. She oversteps the accepted moral boundaries on multiple occasions, which go on to expose her inner selfish ambition.

Reading Macbeth’s letter puts Lady Macbeth in a “state of authority” mentally, by making regicide her primary agenda so that she could advance up in the world as Queen. The fact that she manipulates her husband into committing a horrendous crime like regicide shows that she is way past the point of sanity and morality. She also displays a though masculine nature that trumps that is her wimpy husband when it comes to crime and death. Her prowess for blood and the crime can also be seen through her soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 5, as she says “Make thick my blood,” as she calls upon spirits to aide with her evil plot. Her masculinity is displayed through this quote, as she seems to be asking for her menstruation to be stopped so that she could take on a manly-heartless attitude that’s immune to guilt or fear of murder. Unlike a moral, submissive woman of her time, Lady Macbeth seems to be the dominating force in her marriage and thus the ultimate catalyst for convincing Macbeth to follow through with the murder of the king.

The theme of ambition also manifests itself in Julius Caesar. Lady Macbeth’s equivalent in this play is Cassius, who becomes the main conspirator in the death of Caesar. Like Lady Macbeth who was ambitious for the title of Queen and Duncan’s kingdom, Cassius deep down long s for the same type of power and respect that Caesar had received from the Romans. Even early in his life, Cassius never saw Caesar as a strong and worthy leader, and went through life thinking he was superior. Both Cassius and Lady Macbeth’s ambition for murder also seems to be strengthened right when a political change is to take place. In Macbeth it was the naming of Duncan’s heir and in Julius Caesar it was the offering of the “crown”. Nevertheless like Lady Macbeth, Cassius also finds a prey that can be manipulated in carrying out the fundamental ambition to the end. In this case it is Brutus.

Like Macbeth, Brutus is hinted to have had contemplated Caesar’s death, a feeling that he is at first “at war” with like Macbeth. Similarly at first, Brutus never really saw Caesar as a poor leader and is even good friends with him. However it is Cassius’s propaganda and convincing that eventually turn Brutus over to the “dark” side.  Once again, ambition fueled by jealousy and social-status is what overstep moral boundaries.  Both plays also revolve around similar symbols, a prophesy, a letter, and cold-blood which like in Macbeth represents evil plans. In Julius Caesar the prophesy is the Ides of March which proclaim that Caesar will be assassinated. Likewise a letter is used on behalf of Cassius to further instill in him the ambition of immorally murdering the innocent Caesar. Lastly, a “warning” dream which Caesar’s wife has before his assassination deals with his statue being covered in “blood”.  However it is one of Cassius’s conspirators who reassures him not to take the dream’s meaning to heart and come to Senate. The cover-up and “bloody dream” prove that evil has in fact infiltrated another realm. This then goes to show the degree of wicked ambition on part of Cassius and eventually Brutus as they surpass the ethical boundaries of life and decision making by parting in the murder of Rome’s greatest dictator.