Macbeth Quote Analysis

Ross reacts to the news that Malcolm and Donalbain have fled, which makes them appear guilty. He reflects that their supposed ambition has destroyed their own inheritance.

Ross personifies ambition as a ravenous animal that devours 'Thine own life's means'—the very resources needed to sustain life. The verb 'ravin' (to devour greedily) is strikingly visceral, painting ambition not as a calculated strategy but as self-cannibalizing hunger. This creates bitter irony: Ross thinks he's describing the princes' folly, but the audience knows it actually describes Macbeth, whose ambition will indeed consume everything he gains.

Use this to argue that Shakespeare embeds dramatic irony in Ross's speech—his condemnation of 'thriftless ambition' perfectly diagnoses Macbeth's trajectory, even though Ross mistakenly applies it to Malcolm and Donalbain, showing how easily political observers misjudge where the real threat lies.