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Othello Greed Analysis

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In addition to the sin of envy, Shakespeare also uses the sin of greed in Othello and Macbeth. Greed is an intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food (“Oxford...Grammar”). The punishment for the sin of greed is being boiled alive in oil for all of eternity (Shannon). Greed can ultimately control actions, relationships and the mind. Greed sooner or later consumes and destroys a person if it is extreme enough. In Othello, the drive to obtain wealth, power and women are the basis of plot. Without greed, the play would not have been able to be written the same way. Iago’s motivation throughout the play stems from greed. Iago is jealous over Othello having power, since he is a Moor and that Cassio was chosen for …show more content…

Iago’s greed leads him to losing his morals and who he truly is. Iago uses Roderigo for his money and abuses their friendship for financial gain. The only thing Iago actually cares about is finding ways to manipulate people that would benefit him. If this was not his motivation, then he would not have had to deceive people and lie to them to get things to work out in his favor. This is Shakespeare’s way of showing how valuable the sin of greed is and how much it can affect a person and how they act. In Macbeth, the downfall of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth was ultimately the result of greed. When Macbeth becomes Thane of Glamis and Cawdor and the general of the army, he craves even more power. Shakespeare uses this to represent the greed Macbeth possess. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are extremely greedy for the throne and power. Together this leads them to kill the king which shows how greed is controlling the couple since Macbeth killed the king out of greed. Macbeth commits another murder out of greed when he kills his friend Banquo. This murder represents greed because Macbeth thinks his reign is more important than his friendship with

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Humans do not share the traits of empathy or hostility, but the trait of greed instead. Greed is at the core of all humans on earth. Greed is the reason behind the acts of evil that are shown in the book, Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Before launching the boulder at piggy, Golding describes him as, Roger with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever” (Golding 181). Roger isn’t evil to please others or to follow orders.

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Macbeth’s jump to murder illustrates the depth of his greed clouding his rational judgement. Shakespeare spotlights the hold greed can take on a righteous individual to emphasis the need for self control. Secondly, Macbeth, jealous of the prophecy stating Banquo “Shalt get kings” Macbeth fears he wears a “fruitless” crown, Macbeth orders the murder of his friend to

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Macbeth’s Greed William Shakespeare's Macbeth is a play in which Macbeth is has an internal battle with himself on whether or not to stay loyal to the king or succumb to his dark desires of seizing the crown. Greed affects Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo differently, which leads to a power struggle in Scotland. The primary example of Lady Macbeth exemplifying greed comes when she is trying to convince Macbeth to kill king Duncan by stating “chastise with the valor of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden crown” (Shakespeare 1:5:17-18). The idea of being in control entices Lady Macbeth enough to convince her husband to kill king Duncan. Lady Macbeth’s greed in her pursuit of power leads her to go as far as framing the guards for

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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.

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To start, Macbeth shows greed many times throughout the play, he kills just so he can get what he wants. The text states, “ Both of you know Banquo was your enemy” ( Shakespeare 3.1.113b-114a). This quote from the play shows how Macbeth lied to the murderers so that they would kill Banquo. Macbeth wanted Banquo killed because he thought that he would be a threat towards Macbeth becoming king. To add, Macbeth killed Duncan out of greed solely because he wanted to be king.

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Macbeth's greed can be seen when he kills King Duncan “though I heard a voice cry, sleep no more!”(Shakspeare 2.2.47) This shows Macbeth's greed for more power and his desire to do anything to become more powerful and benefit his own best interest. He is willing to Kill people who have done nothing to him and have been nothing but the kindest to him in order to better his position in power. This proves that all Macbeth cares about is himself. This connects to the claim that Macbeth is a greedy murderer.

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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.

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(Shakespeare 1.3.52-55). Macbeth is influenced by his greed for power to use ruthless actions, in this case to kill Duncan to receive the crown he thinks he needs to earn that power. Overwhelmed by his greed, he is already thinking about the “murder” as he

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In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, characters are designed to compliment one another; whether it be to show a character’s weaknesses or strengths more efficiently. Referred to as a character foil, multiple characters throughout this tragedy contrast from Macbeth, and it is through their actions, that one is further able to analyze Macbeth’s traits and characteristics. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s main concern is gaining power and becoming influential. A character who serves as Macbeth’s foil is Banquo, because of the contrasting way he approaches a situation that foretells who will become rule in the near future. By Banquo being included in the tragedy, Macbeth, one is able to analyze his reaction to the news, and learn how Macbeth’s

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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.

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In the play Othello, William Shakespeare creates an elaborate tragedy with various in depth characters, enhancing the story with powerful characterization. Iago, the main antagonist of Othello, exemplifies Shakespeare’s use of characterization to create in depth and complex characters. Using his manipulative nature, intellectual mind, egotistical attitude, and dishonesty, Iago controls the other characters in order to achieve his goal, leading Othello to succumb to an overwhelming jealousy causing his downfall. In order for Iago to gain control of the characters in the play, he manipulates Othello, Roderigo, Cassio, and more to believe false information and turn on one another.

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Throughout the play, he would often talk about Iago in the same manner as in Act 2, scene 2, “a man he is of honesty and trust”( II,ii. 323-324). Given that Othello trusted who he thought was his best friend, it was easier for Iago to bring Othello down. The root of Iago’s evil intentions is jealousy, which he describes to be like a “green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on” (III,iii. 196-197). He speaks of it in a way that captures how it affects man because that is what he was going through after Cassio got the lieutenancy.

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Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, analyzes the tragic downfall of a man who pursued his prophecy given to him by three witches, and suffered the downfall because of it. Told his power was inevitable, Macbeth explores the idea of murdering the King to achieve his goal of becoming King himself. Macbeth continually faces this, contemplating the moral issue of committing murder to in turn, fulfill his powerful destiny. While facing this internal conflict, Lady Macbeth developes an influence over Macbeth as well. Driven by her own desire to be Queen, Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to commit the murder, by challenging his manhood and often reminding him that it is, in fact, his destiny.

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He is manipulative and tells Othello to “observe her [Desdemona] well with Cassio” (Shakespeare, 3.3:197). Iago feeds Othello with countless lies and makes him miserable with something that is not factual. He is determined to get revenge and he does not realize Iago stands insincere. Furthermore, Iago is selfish when he tells Othello, “I am yours for ever” (3.3:479). He betrays Othello yet still let’s him depend on him for his own

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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.

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