William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, is considered to be one of his greatest masterpieces. The play is well-known as a psychological struggle about the effects of political ambition on the individual. In the play, Macbeth is pressured by his wife, Lady Macbeth, to seize power. While Macbeth is considered to be a character with evil overtones, his wife certainly lacks a conscience. Two themes in the play are the effects of ambition in the corruption of the individual and the difference between a true leader and a tyrant.The play examines the struggle of Macbeth, a servant of the king, Duncan, to deal with the psychological issues of his desire for power. Due to his wife’s significant desire for power, she pushes him to murder Duncan. Macbeth becomes king, but struggles with the issues of power. In the end, he is killed.

One of the major issues is how ambition can corrupt the individual. Lady Macbeth is the classic example of this. She desires power; she has more ambition than her husband. It should be noted that he is ambitious, but he hesitates to kill Duncan. He kills Duncan only through the encouragement of his wife.
The other theme in the play is the difference between being a true royal leader and a tyrant. Duncan is constantly referred to as a king in the play. However, Macbeth becomes a tyrant. The true attributes of a king are discussed; these include temperance, justice, and stability. Macbeth lacks these. He is emotionally unstable; he struggles with ambition. Afterwards, he struggles with his guilt. He is also not a just ruler. Macbeth is recognized as a temperamental and violent individual. This is seen in his willingness to engage in murder.

The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare indicates that people are often corrupted by ambition. Macbeth was most certainly corrupted by ambition. His lack of character that allowed this corruption also made him more likely to become a tyrant. Duncan was a leader.