preview

Examples Of Greed In Macbeth

Decent Essays

Merriam Webster defines greed as a selfish desire to have more of something; and ambition as a desire to be successful, powerful, or famous. Both of these occur in Macbeth as individual, caused by a group of people other than Macbeth, or caused by natural occurrences. But, Macbeth utilizes both of these in order to keep him, or put him, into a higher state of power. So, Macbeth by Shakespeare, uses the theme of “the fine line between ambition and greed” to help the main character, Macbeth, use a combination of outside natural ambitious occurrences and internal greedy forces to transform him from a position of high power to a position of low power. Macbeth uses ambition only to help him obtain to the throne, but not greedily in the expense …show more content…

It shows his greediness towards becoming king, and shows the motivation he has to go out and kill someone in order to achieve kingliness. When Macbeth uses greed, it almost only ends in the death of another person/group of people, and this is to either make him king, or ensure he and his bloodline stays on the throne. These greedy actions lead to a whole host of negatives for Macbeth, eventually ending in his demise at the hands of Macduff. Macduff is seen as a threat to Macbeth and his staying in power. So, in turn, Macbeth decides to hire some murderers to go kill Macduff’s wife and kids. This is proven in act 4 when Macbeth says: “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; / Seize upon Fife; give to th' edge o' th' sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool; / This deed I'll do before this purpose cool. (IV.i.150-155)”, which states that Macbeth orders all of Macduff’s family killed, only to scare Macduff away. Finally, when Macbeth orders the murder of Banquo and his son Fleance, it demonstrates the need that Macbeth has in keeping his bloodline on the throne. Greed in Macbeth is driven by inner rage and senseless violence, and results in many bloody deaths in order to make Macbeth’s life better. Throughout the play Macbeth, by Shakespeare, Macbeth uses a combination of external factors and his own free will to

Get Access