Macbeth And Greed Quotes

In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, Shakespeare explores the consequences of unchecked ambition and greed paired with blind trust in the wrong people, and how this will ultimately result in inevitable repercussions. Shakespeare's character Macbeth explores these ideas through his political greed and desire to become King of Scotland. Macbeth was a virtuous man who was enrolled in the army, and this play represents how power can corrupt even these kinds of people. His ambition to be the king guides him to commit multiple heinous crimes, including the murder of his friends and allies. He lets this idealized version of himself control him, and lead him to malicious acts that eventually lead him to his death. This is a reflection of how political greed

He often had doubts about the life he was choosing, which can be represented in this quote. Macbeth states, “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other '' when he is starting to have doubts about himself and Lady Macbeth's plans to kill King Duncan. He feels as if he isn't courageous enough to go through with his plan. This occurs early on in the play and is the turning point on whether or not Macbeth wants to back out or carry on through this dangerous road which he believes will eventually lead to success. He uses a complex metaphor of comparing his situation to a horse rider who doesn't want to use the spurs to motivate their horse to go faster. He refers to himself as both the spurs and the horse because he realizes that if he follows through with this daunting plan, he may also face consequences and feel the spurs dig into him. He knows what he has to do, he just isn't sure if he has the strength or bravery to follow through with it. This passage describes the extreme tension between Macbeth's unwillingness to move ahead with his immoral plan, and the acknowledgment that his ambition is leading him down a dangerous path filled with

He says, “Out, out, brief candle! Lifes but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more,” When he finally realizes what he has done, and the impactful consequences of his extremely ambitious actions. The self-hatred and resentment start to settle into effect. He has lost everything important to him, which were his loved ones and friends, such as Lady Macbeth and Banquo due to his uncontrollable greed. His time is running out quickly, similar to a candle burning, as this quote suggests that life can be compared to a candle. Life is like a candle because it can be quickly extinguished with no warning. Shakespeare is referring to life being ultimately meaningless because it is so short. Macbeth is starting to question the prophecy of the three witches and is wondering if this path is the one he should have