There will always be one prevailing evil, which is the cause of all evil that gradually follows. However, it is always good people who are led to act immorally, often driven by a supreme evil: selfish desires. Ambition is good, but it's what you end up doing with that ambition that ultimately seals your fate. In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the recurring motif of blood and violence to further his theme that excessive ambition leads to permanent consequences. Guilt was a significant consequence for the selfish murder of King Duncan, and Shakespeare shows how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were affected by guilt through the motif of blood. At first Macbeth was very satisfied with his life as a subject of King Duncan. Despite this, the promising prophecies of three witches led him to believe that he could become king. He hastily makes the decision to eliminate Duncan and any other obstacle that dares to stand in his way. Soon, however, he begins to feel ashamed of his actions. He has blood on his hands and fears he will stop coming off due to the permanent damage of his crime. He wonders, “Will all Neptune's great ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” (II.ii.61-62) Trying to use water to get revenge, Macbeth explains how he thinks all the oceans could never wash away the blood that stains his hands. The blood on his hands symbolizes murder and wrong, and Shakespeare conveys Macbeth's inability to absolve the sins of murder through the guilt that accompanies it. He elaborates on the gravity of his actions by stating, “No, this hand of mine will rather / The countless incarnate seas, / Make the green one red.” (II.ii.62-63) Macbeth foresees that his guilty hands will be stained...... middle of paper ......ambition causes unfortunate repercussions is expressed through Shakespeare's motifs of blood and violence in the play Macbeth. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's corrupt motivations led to terrible consequences of guilt and, inevitably, death. Motivation, as many know, is the main element towards success. Anyone who wants to achieve their goals must be ambitious. But the relationship between action and ambition is crucial. Misguided ambition leads to wrong actions, and those destructive actions lead to even more vile actions. Macbeth's first selfishly ambitious action led to all of his evil actions that followed, as he went from an honorable warrior to a paranoid, ruthless tyrant. Ambition consists of two paths: the reward of success or the consequence of failure. The path one decides to take, however, is the ultimate deciding factor in their fate.