Envy, Greed, Lloth, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony and Pride. The seven deadly sins exist to explain the worst of humankind. They explain why the most vile actions occur, they give motive for all crimes that are commited. Macbeth by William Shakespeare depicts many faces of the deadly sins through all its characters. None of these characters are a bigger portrait of sin. all his sins eventually lead him to ruin and suffering in the story of this Scottish tragedy. Among all of his sins, his Envy, Greed and Pride lead him directly to his downfall. they all make him rush decisions and decide to ignore the natural way of his society. This tragic figure falls victim to his sins which, over the course of this story, force Macbeth to spin his own web of …show more content…
Envy is the wanting of something another has, Envy can be used positively very easily. If someone has the work ethic to try and achieve what someone else has through hard work and discipline it becomes a motivational force. In Macbeth, the sin of envy is a negative trait that infects Macbeth once he speaks with the witches. his envy sits and feeds on the prophecy of becoming king. Once he is proclaimed Thane of Cawdor his envy begins to grow rapidly as he thinks about becoming king. His envy is partly what drives him to murder the current king Duncan disrupting the natural order. Once Macbeth is crowned king his envy begins to waver and change its mind. He grows envious of the way things were before as well as envying the dead. Speaking about his envy of the dead former king he remarks “Both the worlds suffer, ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep in the affliction of these terrible dreams that shake us nightly: Better be with the dead, whomwe too gain our peace, have sent to peace, than on the torture of the mind to lie in restless ecstasy” (3.2.18-24). Macbeth’s envy is shown through his words, then don't show only regret but put a spotlight on his own envy. By the end of the play the viewer realises that without Macbeths submissal to the envious aspects of himself he may not be such a tragic …show more content…
In the journal article Macbeth’s suicide by Arthur Kirsch he remarks “All of Shakespeare’s great tragic figures are isolated in a universe esentially of their own imagination and thought, but in none of them is so inordinate and destructive an expression of egoism as it is in Macbeth”. Kirsch shows his understanding of the pride that Macbeth shows throughout the play and how it relates him to the rest of Shakespeare’s tragic figures. Macbeth’s pride and ego becomes very apparent after the last prophecy of the witches, once he finds that he cannot be killed by a man birthed by a woman he becomes very cocky, even when the Burnam woods are at Dunsinane. His pride boosted his ego to the point of delusion, he believed that he was invincible because of his prophecy, but he ignored the parts of the prophecy that could affect his pride. He knew that Burnam wood at Dunsinane was dangerous as he remarked earlier “I will not be afraid of death and bane til Burnam forest come to Dunsinane'' (5.3.68-69), but when he saw the army who disguised themselves with wood from the Burnam forest he still rushed into battle. He rushed partly because he realized that his previous pride and egotism brought him into a situation he wouldn't be able to escape, but his pride would have
As the play continues, Macbeth's desire for the throne amplifies, ultimately leading him to murder the king and manipulate those around him to secure his maintained his crown. The prophecy becomes self-fulfilling as Macbeth's ambition drives him to carry out terrible acts, which in turn causes his descent into tyranny and, eventually, his tragic downfall. Through this clever foreshadowing, Shakespeare illustrates the corrupting nature of ambition and
In Act 2, Macbeth murders Duncan because he was king. Macbeth shows greed by doing so because he did not consider Duncan’s feelings at all and simply killed him to get closer to becoming king. In sum, Macbeth shows a lot of greed throughout the play and does not consider others’
The concept of guilt is a significant theme throughout Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, and plays a crucial role in the downfall of the House of Macbeth. Guilt is a complex emotion that can eat away at the human psyche, leading to feelings of anxiety, shame, and regret. In Macbeth, guilt plays a central role in fueling the protagonist's ambition, leading ultimately to his tragic demise. The character arc of Macbeth begins with his inherent ambition and desire for power.
Macbeth recognizes the rapid and drastic downfall of his life and by making the comparison to a poor player that is no longer heard from, he thinks that life is meaningless and lacks purpose. Understanding how his deception leads to destruction, his perspective on life shifts to a cynical view. His existence is merely a performance and his inability to continue the honorable act illustrates Macbeth’s undoing of his former nobility. As his destructive nature changes his attitude, his carelessness will continue to spike as he reaches the end of his life. Shakespeare uses Macbeth to give attention to the reckless attitude that results from allowing deception to
As a result, Macbeth, after being heavily influenced by his wife and his own greed, kills King Duncan. Once he finishes killing the king he feels a huge sense of regret and guilt after committing this murderous act. However, he still achieves his aspiration of becoming king in which he is very possessive of. While Macbeth is king, he reminisces about the original
The play entitled Macbeth by William Shakespeare portrays Macbeth, a loyal and brave thane to the king. When a prophecy reveals he will become king, Macbeth is overcome with ambition and greed. Convinced of this prophecy and the encouragement from his wife, he is able to kill the king and take the throne. Although Macbeth was able to obtain the throne, he was was overwhelmed by power and guilt leading to internal conflict, which suggests that success is not desirable through cheating and corruption and ultimately cost more than its actually worth, Macbeth`s reckless pursuit of killing and becoming the king is representative of the power he has and what he is able to do with the power he's gained; therefore. His relentless ambition for king reveals the guilt behind power.
Macbeth is the Shakespearean play that features the triumphant uprise and the inevitable downfall of its main character. In this play, Macbeth’s downfall can be considered to be the loss of his moral integrity and this is achieved by ambition, despite this, Lady Macbeth and the witches work through his ambition, furthering to assist his inevitable ruin. Ambition alone is the most significant factor that led to Macbeth’s downfall. The witches are only able to influence his actions through Macbeth’s pre-existing and the three witches see that Macbeth has ambition and uses it to control his action. Ambition alone is displayed throughout the play to be the most significant cause for Macbeth’s downfall.
As human beings, people always want to achieve more and more, to be above everyone else, or what we call greed, and it is a natural part of who human beings are. But this doesn’t mean people should put themselves above anyone else to achieve what they want which is the case for Macbeth throughout the play. Macbeth got the prophecy of being the future king and thought about the idea of killing King Duncan to achieve the goal: “ My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical” (Act l, Scene lll, Line 141). Macbeth had just witnessed another one of the prophecies come true and he instantly thought about a cruel and selfish way to obtain the last prophecy. The prophecy may have come true if Macbeth didn’t try anything but his greed got the better of him and he ultimately followed through with it, bringing other people down to obtain his goal.
Macbeth was the Thane of Cawdor but he wanted to be king more than anything. The witches had told him that he would one day be king but he did not know how long that would take so when King Duncan had been invited to stay the night at his house he exclaimed that “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,/ shakes so my single state of man/ that function is smother 'd in surmise,/ and nothing is but what is not”(1.3.52-55). He felt that if he were to kill King Duncan that he would have a better chance of becoming king. Though the witches had never told him that someone would need to get murdered for him to become king, his ambition tempted him to quicken this process the only way he felt he could. This was the beginning of the murderer that the witches had created with the fortune telling.
Greed causes even the best of men to brood immoral intentions. The Tragedy, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, describes the flaws of human nature and the traumatic effects unrestrained ambition may cause. The play commences, featuring Macbeth as an eminent, highly esteemed Thane and loyal warrior to the king; however, after being prophesied by the three witches, a torch of ambition is lit. Furthermore, upon hearing the witches prophecies, his reputation is downgraded as he steps into a realm of evil, and more tragically, finds that he has “in blood stepped in so far that should [he] wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er”. After murdering the rightful king of Scotland, Duncan, and therefore subsequently, one murder leads to another; to a point where he cannot return from his life of evil “I am in blood stepped in so far that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er”.
Macbeth illustrates the tragic consequences that arise when an individual becomes consumed by their ambitions and loses their sense of morality by becoming possessed and enveloped by their thoughts and
Ambition is defined as a strong desire to achieve something. Ambition is normally a really good thing to have, because it motivates you to reach a goal that you have set. But in this case, Macbeth had way too much ambition and so he was willing to go to any length to reach his goal, which was to become king. Another reason why Macbeth’s ambition is bad is because he wants to be king for the wrong reasons. The reason he wants to be king is not to make Scotland better, or change some things he feels are not right.
A magnified ego acts as a blindfold, shielding the wearer from seeing their true potential, and failing to keep them humble enough to feel empathy. In Macbeth, pride becomes a weapon when it is the only lens through which the world is viewed. Macbeth was always a great soldier, a warrior praised for his bravery. When did this praise turn into conceded pride? The three witches sparked an ego boost with the, “All hail Macbeth!
Macbeth is also a power hungry man who would do just about anything to achieve his goal of becoming King. When Macbeth first hears the prophecies from the three witches he instantly became invested with the journey to become king. Similar to Lady Macbeth, nothing was going to come between him and his potential power, “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man. That function is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.52-55). This quote exemplifies how Macbeth’s initial solution to becoming king was murder.
Another William Shakespeare classic, Macbeth, also tells the story of a warrior whose motives were driven by jealousy. Macbeth was the greatest warrior in Scotland and most deserving of being next in line to be king, although King Duncan praises Macbeth, he chose to keep the crown in the family, "Our eldest, Malcolm, who we name hereafter The Prince of Cumberland" (I.iv.39). Macbeth had previously received prophecies from three witches which had proven to be true up to that point, the prophecies included being king. So not being selected caught him off guard and he began to envy and grow jealous of Malcolm "Stars hide your fires; Let not light see my black and dark desires" (I.iv.53).