ipl-logo

Macbeth Greed And Ambition Quotes

1059 Words5 Pages

When in a relationship, one's quest for power, can result in an endless effort to satisfy this desire, producing a tragic outcome. In the tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare explores how greed and ambition has an influence on one’s actions, leading to the occurrence of a tragedy. In the case of Macbeth, greed and ambition results in Macbeth becoming a highly manipulative, and dangerous individual. The dominant status Lady Macbeth owns, allows her to influence Macbeth into committing harmful acts. When Lady Macbeth’s dominant status begins to deteriorate, Macbeth begins to mature, gradually becoming the more dominant individual within their relationship. When Macbeth has “fully matured” he is able to make his own decisions, without the persuasion …show more content…

Macbeth is no longer an honest, innocent husband, as he was in the beginning. Macbeth has completed his transition from an honest and caring leader, into a cold, heartless individual, which is shown when he voices: “She should have died hereafter / There would have been a time for such a word.” (V.v.17-18) Macbeth is informed about his wife’s suicide, and shows absolutely no remorse, which shows how heartless he has become. Macbeth’s love for his wife deteriorated, alongside their relationship to the point where Macbeth does not even care about his wife’s death. Moving forward, Macbeth is not the only person who has undergone a major change. Lady Macbeth has also transitioned from a ruthless, power hungry individual, to someone riddled with guilt, which is shown when she states: “The thane of Fife has a wife. Where is she now?— / What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” (V.i.30-31) Lady Macbeth is referring to the horrible crimes which she has pushed her husband into committing. Lady Macbeth comes to realize her husband is not the loving person he was in the beginning. Moreover, she also realizes he has become cold and heartless, to the point where he cannot be stopped. Macbeth’s transition to dominance has now been completed, as he has become insensitive to human

Show More
Related
1464 Words | 6 Pages

Macbeth at this time is overwhelmed with uncertainties and decides his best course of action is to end the chain of power before it begins. Macbeth’s need for political status takes over him as he disregards the friendship

Read More
471 Words | 2 Pages

The play Macbeth by Shakespeare is a play about a couple who is power hungry. They receive some news from three witches about Macbeth being king, this drives the couple insane. Throughout the play peer pressure is shown by Lady Macbeth pushing Macbeth to his limits to fulfill the prophecies and earn the throwe. In the beginning of the play is where the first example of peer pressure is shown.

Read More
861 Words | 4 Pages

“There is a sufficiency in the world for man 's need but not for man 's greed.” This quote was spoken from a wise Indian activist, what he says is a correlation towards the rising greed aspect of the character Macbeth. This play Macbeth was about a soldier who became greedy with power. It is about Macbeth’s Tyrant display when he kills Duncan and orders Banquo to be killed and other violent acts.

Read More
828 Words | 4 Pages

Many people make big mistakes while under bad influence in power. Some become corrupt, some cave into the pressure, and some just straight up ignore their problems and run away. Macbeth on one hand caved under pressure and killed a man's family in fear of losing the throne and on the other hand completely corrupted himself to become king. People are probably wondering what possibly could have caused him to go mad. The answer is clear.

Read More
533 Words | 3 Pages

Greed and guilt are two characteristics that can wreak havoc on the human mind and soul, and give someone what they deserve over time. Therefore, nothing seems more satisfying than when the villain or protagonist gets what they deserve for their bad deeds. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare shows these traits, along with their affects, through the tragic hero of the play, Macbeth, and his wife, Lady Macbeth, also leaving the reader with the question: “Could this happen today?” After gaining the corrupt title Macbeth craves, being king is not as significant as he implies. Macbeth admits to his reign being spoiled saying, “To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus”(Act III, Scene I, lines 50-51).

Read More
1313 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More
922 Words | 4 Pages

He decides to write to his wife, Lady Macbeth, who holds this dark ambition inside of her. She tells Macbeth that he is a coward and that he must do whatever it takes to become king of Scotland. This dark ambition is first shown in act one scene four when Macbeth says, “This is a step on which I must fall down... which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.” Lady Macbeth plays an enormous part in Macbeth’s mental corruption. After murdering Duncan,

Read More
824 Words | 4 Pages

Macbeths guilty conscience makes him unable to play the ‘true’ role of a villain of the play. Macbeth begins to see ‘false creations’ before murdering Duncan; the image of a floating dagger taunts Macbeth’s senses. Macbeth is devoured in his anxiety he starts to hallucinate the crime before going through with it. Macbeth is unable to dispose thoughts of his guilt and doubt, which prevents him from being stuck at the point where it is too late to turn back, yet the fear of his nature prevents him from turning completely into a ruthless coldblooded

Read More
817 Words | 4 Pages

Lady Macbeth has shifted away from the nihilism that she had possessed before as she is now consumed with guilt over her actions. Later after Lady Macbeth’s death. Macbeth realizes that for them there is no long lasting fulfillment in life as he has no heir and has not accomplished anything that would allow him to leave a legacy. Even though Macbeth knows that there is no point in his actions. He realizes that his power is inevitably going to be lost.

Read More
931 Words | 4 Pages

William Shakespeare, playwright of Macbeth, shows the importance that power and corruption can hold on a person’s humanity. In order to prove the true effect of personal gains, he uses the main character, Macbeth, to show how evil people are willing to become. Personal power has the ability to be essential to greatness, but at the same time is able to destroy a person’s true nature. Believe it or not, Macbeth once was a man of honor. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth was loyal to King Duncan, a strong military leader, and a respected husband.

Read More
318 Words | 2 Pages

Using a variety of literary techniques, Shakespeare relays Macbeth’s apparent lack of grief for his wife, which provides insight into his paranoia of death and loss of power, as well as his vanity. Forgetting the death of the Queen, Macbeth chooses to focus on the insignificance of life. It is only in the two first lines that Macbeth speaks to the death of Lady Macbeth specifically: “She should have dies hereafter / There would have been a time for such a word” (5.5.20-21). Macbeth only briefly addresses his wife’s despise because he would rather focus on the depleting worth of life.

Read More
839 Words | 4 Pages

Due to her guilt, Lady Macbeth takes her own life. Instead of showing any sign of remorse, Macbeth proclaims, “ She should have died hereafter” (5.5.20). After the death of his wife, Macbeth shows no signs of grieving, or love towards his recently deceased

Read More
502 Words | 3 Pages

With this in mind, if a man couldn’t do something a woman can, he was a disgrace; Lady Macbeth is taunting Macbeth with the gender gap, which makes him want to prove he’s more masculine and can keep it together. Even though, Lady Macbeth is viewed as a manipulative character, towards the end, she changes and shows signs of remorse/regret, which is not like her character. Lady Macbeth begins to feel remorseful because she has made an outright killing machine out of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth starts to ask herself “The thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?

Read More
1324 Words | 6 Pages

When Macbeth receives the news of his wife’s death, he does not grieve the loss of his wife and seems to be unaffected as he states, “She should have died hereafter; there would have been a time for such a word.” (V.v.17-18) This quote shows the loss of marital affection as he does not express any sorrow for the death of his wife. Her suicide also signifies his final possession of power in their marriage as he didn’t allow the guilt to destroy him as it did to Lady

Read More
853 Words | 4 Pages

“She should have died hereafter” (V, V, 17). From this text it screams of MacBeth losing all emotion, him saying this explains clearly he has lost feelings for his loved ones while at the beginning he was this compassionate character. Committing all these tyrannical murders MacBeth realises that all he has worked for and given up was for him. “For mine own good. All causes should give way I am in blood stepped in so far that should I wade no more returning were as tedious as go o’er” (III, IV, 141-144).

Read More

More about Macbeth Greed And Ambition Quotes

Open Document