Examples Of Greed In Macbeth

The ghost of Banquo’s soliloquy to himself after he gains knowledge of who has sent for him to be killed and what it truly means to be evil and how fair is foul and foul is fair. What knowledge has Banquo gained during his short time as a ghost? Why has this happened? How could my dear and trusted ally, Macbeth, commit such an atrocious act? To think that after all we’ve been through together, the once valiant and heroic Macbeth was enthralled by what three old hags had supposedly prophesized.

Macbeth sees himself as ambitious and gets offended if anyone suggests that he is anything other than a good man. He cares gravely about the opinions of his wife Lady Macbeth, who wants to see him as king, those of the king himself, and those of his companions’. Macbeth wants to be king because he wants the approval of others. To start, Macbeth is not always confident about having to kill King Duncan to rise to power because Duncan praises Macbeth and trusts him. In Act 1, Scene 4, King Duncan says to Macbeth, “I have begun to plant thee, and will labour / To make thee full of growing” (1.4.33-34).

Is it not weird how ambition for power corrupts one corrupt and leads them to their destiny? Ambition for power is lust which tempts one to be corruptive to acquire and protect it. However, in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, it is evident that ambition for power ultimately leads to corruption when Macbeth’s ambition for power causes the assassination of King Duncan, when Macbeth’s ambition for power compels him to execute those who obstruct his inheritance to the Scottish Throne, and finally, when Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to assassinate the people who impede his Kingship of Scotland out of lust for power.

After achieving the title of the King of Scotland, Macbeth wants to secure his position as the king and desires to inherit the Scottish throne to his ancestors. His aim was showed in “To be thus is nothing, /But to be safely thus” (III, i, 52-3). This quote reveals that Macbeth not only wanted to become the king but also wants to secure his position as the King of Scotland for the welfare of his upcoming generation. This reveals Macbeth’s is implying the witches’ prophecies; as long Banquo’s sons live, Macbeth’s throne would not be able to inherit down to his ancestors. As the play progresses, Macbeth’s hires murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, as represented through, “Banquo, thy soul’s flight, /If

At this moment in the play Macbeth thinks that the choices he makes will not effect the witches prophecy for him. After making this statement Macbeth thinks about killing the current king Duncan. However, during this time Macbeth is conflicted because he does not think he has a good reason to kill the king. "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition. Which oer' leaps itself and falls on the other" (1.7.25-28).

Greed for power has always been evil and even made a saint turn into a demon. As the quote goes “All power tends to corrupt and an absolute power corrupts absolutely” (unquote), which is true not only in the fictitious stories but also in real life and Shakespeare, th9e greatest writer ever known, has always been in habit of making fictitious character come alive and Macbeth is no exception to the rule. The character of Macbeth has two sides, one which is wholesome while other been dubious. He symbolized great ambition but went overboard and in the process not only became corrupt but also became a killer. Macbeth reflects great strength but within he has his own weakness and thus good over took evil resulting in its downfall and finally his own death. His wife, Lady Macbeth, was the most influential person as far as Macbeth was concerned and any decision of his would have trademark of his wife, Lady Macbeth. The greed of Macbeth for more power led him to commit monstrous acts however

Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature” (Act 3. Scene1. Lines 47-49. Page44). To Macbeth, becoming king is worthless unless his position as king is safe. He fears that Banquo’s murder will be revenged by his own murder, and it may reveal the hidden knowledge of his guilt.

Greed for power leads corrupt leaders to pursue power through ruthless and violent ways, putting their countries in an unstable state.

He feels that because the witches said it that it must be true no matter what the consequences in the future are. This is a leading factor that causes Macbeth to decide to murder King Duncan. Macbeth consciously makes the decision to commit treason and knows that it will have consequences. He even ponders the fact that although he will have a prosperous life on

Both greed and power, if not controlled, can lead to destruction. Throughout William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses both characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to demonstrate how ambition can change one’s personal relationships. As in the beginning of Act 1, Scene 7 Macbeth and Lady Macbeth do not share the same ambition, and it is because of this that their relationship lacks love and affection however through the use of persuasion and other means, Lady Macbeth is able to get Macbeth to pursue her ambition. This not only changes their relationship drastically but it also changes Macbeth’s attitude towards ambition.Throughout the play, Shakespeare shows us through Macbeth, the possibility for ambition to eventually turn into greed and how the lust for power may corrupt us. This type of sentiment can be seen when Macbeth says “ Bloody instructions,being taught, return to plague the inventor” (Act 1, scene 7). Here, with the use of personification, we can see that Macbeth is wrestling with his ambition, as he is still toying with the idea of whether to kill Duncan or not. Macbeth is aware that murdering Duncan is bad and could eventually lead to even more bloodshed, he is also aware that murdering Duncan could ruin his honor which he greatly values. Macbeth states that Duncan is a good man and a good king, and from this he decides that ambition is not enough to justify the possible regicide of King Duncan. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand will do anything to pursue

Because of his dangerous mentality, he became reckless, paranoid, and boastfully insane. Macbeth soon began to not trust anyone This is especially illustrated in Act 3, Scene 3, where the murderers were waiting to kill Banquo and Fleance. In the scene Macbeth had a third murderer join the two that he had already hired. As one of the original murderers stated, “He needs not our mistrust; since he delivers our offices, and what we have to do.” (3.3.3) Macbeth's disposition led to the defeat of himself and losing his place in the throne.

With Macbeth being a general in the Scottish military, he had major influences on people and their daily lives. After the murder of King Duncan, Banquo’s suspicion of who committed the murders arose around a single suspect, Macbeth. Knowing that Banquo most likely knew the truth that Macbeth killed King Duncan, Macbeth went back to his evil ways with ease. Through his attendant, Macbeth summons three murderers. Shakespeare introduces the murders with stage direction “[Re-enter Attendant, with two Murderers]” (Shakespeare, 363), in which Macbeth he uses Banquo as bait in order to gain their graces and loyalty “That it was he in the times past which held you so under fortune, which you thought had been our innocent self: this I made good to you in our last conference, pass'd in probation with you, how you were borne in hand, how cross'd, the instruments, who wrought with them, and all things else that might, so half a soul and to a notion crazed, Say 'Thus did Banquo.'”

Blind Ambition and Greed The play “Macbeth”, by William Shakespeare illustrates many themes through the characters from the beginning to the end of the story. But the main central theme introduced is Ambition and Greed. As the play goes on we read how Macbeth permits his Ambition and Greed to dictate the outcomes and tragedy’s that occur to himself and others.

Similarly, he sent murderers to kill him as he was fearful of the loss of his kingship. Macbeth’s relationship with Banquo has more significance to him than his relationship with Duncan, thus, him betraying Banquo affected him with a greater impact than his betrayal of Duncan. This is evidenced by how his guilt takes the form of Banquo and not

In the play Macbeth, Macbeth is faced with the decision to kill King Duncan to become king or not. He first is told by the witches that it is his destiny that he will become king, but he brushes it off as nothing. This vision of him as king becomes brighter when his wife says that he should kill the king. Macbeth has many internal struggles over what he should do. Should he be morally sound and not kill the King or take the chance and do it.