In the cautionary play Macbeth , Shakespeare warns the audience of the fatal consequences of ambition to achieve goals that disrupt the `chain of being` a hierarchal structure integrated and widely believed by the Jacobean audience a system that Macbeth transgresses as a result of his "unvaulted ambition" and leads to Macbeths grave sin regicide disrupting the the "divine rights of kings given that Macbeth is not a King selected by divinity but obtains his throne through violence , the murder of King Duncan . Macbeths ontological crisis when deciding whether to Kill Duncan which results in him committing regicide it leads to his deterioration of his mental state and as a result of him loosing the ability to reason affectively and resulting to violence , his demise with Scotland's rule being restored with its rightful heir to the throne Malcom . This ending serves as a reminder to individuals apart of the Jacobean society whom may share an "unchecked ambition" like Macbeth and may attempt any crime against God like regicide against King James a realistic threat given that James had survived a previous murder attempt in the Gunpowder plot led by Guy Fawkes . This act of defence would benefit Shakespeare as he desired King James patronage an idea supported given that Macbeth had renamed his acting company to The King`s Men .
Initially Macbeth remains loyal to Malcom and does not expect to be titled "Thane of Cawdor" , evident in his metaphor "why do you dress me in worn robes" where he does not expect to be titled as anything more than his current title in this point of the play . This changes when Macbeth completes the witches prophecies and is called upon with the following statement , "call the Thane of Cawdor"
this fulfilment of prophecies ignites Macbeths ambition . An ambition which erupts violently evident in his soliloquy where he acknowledges to partially satisfy this growing ambition he must resort to violence as King Duncan promised his son Malcom the throne . His murderous intents are shown through his soliloquy where he says "my thought murder yet is but fantastical" a foreshadow for the death of Duncan additionally . Despite the act of regicide not being committed yet the thought of it "shakes" him the verb indicates how even individuals like "Brave Macbeth" are troubled by the thought of committing regicide to satisfy his ambitions want for power creating ontological crisis for Macbeth and God , given that this action would be not only a transgression of the chain of being but also killing a King selected by the divine entity of God .
Despite Macbeths confrontations with this murderous intent through several soliloquys Macbeths "vaulting ambition" leads to him murdering King Duncan . "I heard a voice cry Macbeth murders sleep" , the hallucination of a "voice" could indicate the start of Macbeths decent into mental turmoil being unable to deal with the ontological crisis and murder that he committed . The Jacobean audience is presented with Macbeths turmoil as a deterrent by Shakespeare in effort to discourage any individuals of even attempting such a sin like regicide , an early effort to benefit Shakespeare in securing King James patronage by removing murderous intents that could manifest into actions that could harm King James , such as the gun powder plot led by Guy Fawkes prior to the writing of Macbeth .
After the murder of Macbeth , the mental toll of his actions shows through the metaphor "o scorpions in my mind" , by referencing to such arachnids with fatal poison could be a metaphorical for the death of Macbeths logical sense . This is later confirmed when Macbeth states his thought process , "The very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand" , the repetition of "firstlings" and "hand" suggests that Macbeth will act instantaneously with violence and a weapon .
This negatively impacts Macbeth as it leads to him questioning the severity of his violent nature , "I am to far in blood shall I wade no more" , the motif of "blood" symbolises Macbeths guilt additionally the verb "wade" , is an action done with force indicating that to stop with his murderous actions requires allot of mental strength which Macbeth lacks at this point of the play hinted through his inability to make reasonable judgement before action , his on action which guaranteed his fate was the murder of Macduff's family as an army is gathered with the help in England to kill Macbeth as a result .
This reality however is invisible to Macbeth with the assistance of the three witches whom inform Macbeth in another prophecy that "no man born of woman shall harm Macbeth" , this covers Macbeth in further delusion . However Macbeth meets his fate and its revealed to Macbeth that the witches were equivocating the whole time with the knowledge that Macduff was "untimely ripped" meaning that he was born from caesarean and Macbeth is murdered . This cyclical ending to Macbeths reign much like how Duncan's rule was ended symbolises that the Divine rights of Kings will continue regardless of actions against the current King James hence rendering any ambition to attack James for the throne is futile . The equivocations which prove fatal for Macbeth is presented in Shakespeare's cautionary tale to share the views of King James expressed in his book of Demonology to further increase the likely hood of him receiving the Kings patronage once again.