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How Does Shakespeare Present Greed In Macbeth

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Greed is an all consuming emotion. It can drive even the noblest men to do great evil, it can become addicting as the power one seeks is granted, leading the individual to become a power. Greed is defined by a selfish desire to have power, wealth, status, recognition, etc. Greed is a driving force in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. The main character, Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor, acts immorally,against his better judgment throughout the play. He briefly comes to regret his actions, however his hunger for power is too great and he falls back. In this play, when characters achieve what they desire they come to want more, their quest for power becomes so all consuming that they essentially lose their morality and come to do evil things such as …show more content…

Aside from Macbeth, Lady Macbeth also exemplifies greed in the play. She is the first push for Macbeth towards greed. She manipulates Macbeth to thinking he must kill King Duncan. When reading Macbeth's letter in Inverness, she says to herself, “ Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be/ What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature;It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great…”(Act I,Scene 5 14-17). This shows how evil Lady Macbeth is. Her aim is to get Macbeth what he is “promised”, which is the kingship as foretold by the witches. However she feels that Macbeth may be too full of “human kindness” to get what he truly deserves.Her soliloquy continues with her saying that he must do all he can to get the throne, regardless of its consequences. It can be argued that it was under Lady Macbeth's influence Macbeth too became greedy. She is willing to do anything to get what she wants. She tells the fates to take away her female features, “Come, you spirits /That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/ And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full /Of direst cruelty...Come to my woman’s breasts/ And take my milk for gall,” (Act I,Scene 5 42-51). This shows the audience that she is willing to give up her female features as long as the “spirits” grant her what she wants, which is a dire cruelty. Something that would be needed to commit the act of killing the King of Scotland, an immoral act. It is her hunger to be the queen that lead her to adopt such a mindset. It is because of greed for power that she has these immoral thoughts and

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