Macbeth Glossary - vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself

Macbeth Soliloquy Glossary: If it were done when 'tis done... (1.7.1-29)

Shall blow...falls on th' other (25-9)

Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself
And falls on th' other -

Tears...wind: The tears of all who learn of Macbeth's crime will come as a downpour and "check the storm of their anger" (Wilson 114).

intent: intentions, purpose.

Vaulting: i.e., leaping (onto a horse's back). "I have no spur to stimulate my guilty intention except ambition -- ambition which is like a too eager rider, who in vaulting into the saddle o'erleaps himself and falls on the other side of the horse" (Muir 41).

th' other: the other side. Macbeth's last words are interrupted by the entrance of Lady Macbeth.

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How to cite this article:
Mabillard, Amanda. Macbeth Soliloquy Glossary. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. (date when you accessed the information) < http://shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth/soliloquies/blow.html >.

References
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Kenneth Muir. London: Methuen and Co., 1951.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. John Dover Wilson. Cambridge: UP, 1968.

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