The ability to attain personal gain will inevitably affect one’s ambition by creating greed. This is shown in both Vincenzo Camuccini’s 1798 painting, Death of Caesar, and the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Death of Caesar depicts the brutal betrayal and murder of self proclaimed “Emperor for life” Julius Caesar by members of his own senate. Macbeth is a story of a former Thane and his wife’s plots to attain and keep power over the lands of Scotland. Lady Macbeth acts as a catalyst to this by strategizing the plot to murder Duncan, the king, and have Macbeth take his throne. Both Lady Macbeth and the Roman Senators show through their drastic actions that when one is relentlessly driven to achieve authority, they become greedy with the …show more content…
Members of the Senate such as Brutus and Cassius are unhappy with being subject to the authority of Caesar, self proclaimed dictator for life. As a result they attacked him with daggers on the Senate floor and stabbed him to death. The senators appear determined in their action of killing Caesar, an act that will present them an opportunity to grow their own authority in Roman politics. The prospect of power that is created by plotting to kill Caesar leads to a growth of greed in the senators, causing them to commit such a bold act of treason against their own ruler. Had they not been driven by their aspirations toward authority, they would have likely been at least content enough not to outright murder Julius Caesar. The senators being driven towards achieving greater authority and as a result becoming greedy led to this bold act of murder. Like the senators depicted in this painting, Lady Macbeth is also brazen and bold in her attempt to gain power as demonstrated in the way she structures her speech towards Macbeth. Her and her husband are discussing their impending execution of the plot to murder their king and take power for themselves. …show more content…
In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth describes their plot to kill the king using words that allude to the inherently chaotic, although deliberately so, nature of plotting to murder one’s own king. As she is discussing their plan for taking care of the problem the guards would pose, she mentions said guards’ nature and sleep as it is to be during the plot. She describes the guards’ sleep “as in death” and “swinish” and asks as a result, “What not put upon his spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt of our great quell?.” Her choice of words suggests the chaotic nature inherent to committing such a bold action while simultaneously suggesting that she has the aspects of the plan under control in every way possible. Lady Macbeth demonstrates greed to attain power since she is embracing the natural chaos that results from the planning and execution of murdering Duncan. Whereas most women of the time would likely cower in doubt and fear of such a bold scheme, Lady Macbeth’s word choice suggests that she is embracing it. In the painting The Death of Caesar, the scene of Caesar being killed by a violent mob is filled with vibrant, warm colors, mainly found on robes of the senators committing the murder. The vibrant color scheme surrounding the murder taking place embraces the same chaos present in Lady Macbeth’s plot to kill
You can see this when Macbeth comes home after killing Duncan and he is full of guilt due to the fact that he still has a human part in him and taking the life of another person pains him. The blood on the daggers that he used to kill Duncan remind him that he did kill someone. Macbeth can’t get that image out of his head for the time being, but after time he becomes more ambitious and loses the human side of him. All he is worried about now is getting everyone and everything out of his way. He doesn’t care about the blood that has to be shed or the lives that have to be taken. If he can stay in the power position then he is happy. You can also see this theme in Lady Macbeth when she says “..Making the green one red.” (2.2.81) Lady Macbeth ones to become evil and lose the human side of her just like Macbeth is. This allows her to arrange killings without feeling bad about it and gives he an excuse for the murders her and Macbeth are
Throughout the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the reasoning of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is completely subverted and undermined by their insatiable ambition. Macbeth was at first reasonable enough to keep his ambition in check, however it eventually became to strong for even Macbeth and therefor over powered him. To the contrary, Lady Macbeth was overcome by her ambition from the very beginning. Reasoning was abandoned after the decision to kill Duncan was made. At that point we see no serious questioning of the motives of the three witches when they told their cunning and misleading predictions. Macbeth even went as far as to ask for their advise a second time - this second time would of course lead to his downfall. The decision to kill Duncan also signified the last serious attempt at moral contemplation on the part of Macbeth. Throughout the novel we see that the Macbeth's ambition completely subverted their reasoning abilities and eventually lead to their downfall.
Consecutively, his greed impulses him to murderous intentions, “Let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4. 57-58). Macbeth becomes jealous. The Prince of Cumberland, the king’s son, is in his way, which makes Macbeth think of desires so “black” that even light could be devoured, and or suggesting it will also frighten the audience. Shakespeare also uses this as foreshadowing to Macbeth’s fate and character. In addition, Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as the inciter for him to murder the king. Nevertheless, Macbeth is prone to greed, he would have committed murder over time anyhow. Judging by his lethal plans, Macbeth says his reason to kill him, “ I have no spur \ To prick the sides of my intent, but only \ Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself \ And falls on the other-” (1.7.25-28). In this scene, Macbeth expresses his honesty; he knows he has no “spur,” or any real motive to kill the king, the true purpose would be for his own power and “ambition.” In addition, Shakespeare uses a metaphor of a horse-rider representing Macbeth’s ambition, which would be an inexperienced rider, who would “vault” so forcefully, that he will fall on the other side. He realizes his greed for ambition would result in his destruction, including Lady Macbeth. After the bloodshed, they became insane, and both died an agonizing death. They were arrogant, and impatient for success and power that they even killed best friends and families for it. Therefore, the power to rule over another shows to serve as a guilty pleasure for individuals. Furthermore, this correlates to the story of The Wife of Bath Tale, where the women yearn for power, which was caused by oppression. Then in the story, the knight, who commits rape, was set to find women’s true desire to save him from a death sentence. He finally
The choices people make lead them to where they end up, which may be interpreted as the opposite of fate. However, when some people believe something is meant to be, they are determined not to stray from where they think they should end up, even if it means throwing away their principles and values in the process. Through Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth’s original character and values are destroyed because of the influence from the witches' prophecies, Lady Macbeth's greed, and his own hidden ambition.
Macbeth: How Money Killed Many of our friends at Wall Street have serious heart problems; some of them even die years before they should because of the stress that is brought on by the money and greed of Wall Street. Money is also evident as a health risk in Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice, both written by William Shakespeare. On Wall Street people are driven by the greed of the people they represent, their own greed, and a general atmosphere of greed. In Macbeth, Macbeth is driven by personal ambition and his wife to become king at any expense, including slaying some of his personal friends and their families. Also, in The Merchant of Venice, Shylock
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a famous play written by the English playwright William Shakespeare. The play was written in 1606 during the reign of James I. The play talks about how a military general, Macbeth, rises to power after killing King Duncan. The Story revolves around how Macbeth’s actions change after he heard the prophecies from the 3 witches. Greed becomes Macbeth’s guide after he listens to the witches, and since he wasn’t fully content with his given position, he is easily manipulated by his wife. The central question to this play is to what extent power (or the lack of power) affects individuals and/or relationships. And how do the decisions and actions of people reveal their personalities? .
Very few producers of art can actually let their works claim the appellation 'classic.' For to create a piece of work - literature, art, or poetry, that stands the test of time, that proves the author's premise relevant not just in the period when he created it, but also in the generations that follow, is not an easy task. The works of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) have, more than once, proved worthy of the title 'classic.' Not only does his work hold up, as he wished, a mirror to his own society, but manages to reflect what is going on much later, and indeed, may be relevant well into the next millennium, if civilization continues to peruse Shakespeare's writing. A study of the character of Macbeth, essentially reveals the parallels that Shakespeare draws with the human condition through the creation of Macbeth, and the consequences of unchecked ambition.
The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare illustrates how greed for power and wealth can result in the destruction of oneself as well as others. The play's central character, Macbeth is not happy as a high-ranking thane - leading him to assassinate Duncan to become King, while unknowingly dooming himself. Throughout the play many examples are evident of Macbeth's unquenchable thirst for power.
Greed is a powerful obstacle that impedes a man from obtaining his true desires. Ambition must be controlled in order to prevent self-destruction. The motive, “by all means necessary”, consist of self-destructive ambition. Once preying on others becomes effortless or pointless you can only prey upon yourself. Overeagerness and equivocation is the affliction possessed in Macbeth’s self-destructed conscience. Eventually, the destruction can lead to confusion and suicide. In Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth”, Macbeth is told a prophecy by three witches revealing that he would be King of Scotland. In order for the ambitious Macbeth to take the throne, he must use the influence of his wife to murder King Duncan. Ultimately, Macbeth is an equivocator
The main theme of Macbeth-the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints-finds its most powerful expression in the play's two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the play he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral acts. One of Shakespeare's most forcefully drawn female characters, she spurs her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong in the murder's aftermath, but she is eventually driven to distraction by the effect of Macbeth's repeated bloodshed on her conscience. In each case, ambition helped, of course, by the malign prophecies of the witches is what drives the couple to ever more terrible atrocities. The problem, the play suggests, is that once one decides to use violence to further one?s quest for power, it is difficult to stop. There are always potential threats to the throne?Banquo, Fleance, Macduff?and it is always tempting to use violent means to dispose of them.
Humans have the benefit of free will. Every person inherently has the potential for good and the potential for evil. Humans have innate qualities and weaknesses imbued into them from birth as well, although an individual has the will to decide which qualities and weaknesses to further enhance. If our strengths outweigh our weakness, we tend to be better individuals but if our weaknesses outweigh our strengths, we tend to be the opposite. Our greatest weaknesses is that we are purely self-interested and prideful. Our judgements tend to be distorted by pleasures and pains of the moment. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the tragic hero, Macbeth, starts out as a prestigious and honorable soldier but he succumbs to the dark shroud of ambition that falls upon him. Although Lady Macbeth and the three witches pester him into pursuing his desires, Macbeth chooses to go along with it, despite being fully aware of the inhumanity. He in turn, murders King Duncan to ensure his crown. This marks the start of a dark and cloudy path which leads to more bloodshed of innocent lives under the command of no other than the fated tyrant, Macbeth. The brutal massacre of Macduff’s family brings Macbeth and Macduff into the final duel and Macbeth ultimately meets his eternal slumber. The darkness and weakness in human nature is best exemplified by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who lust for power and ignore their intrusive impulse towards human decency and convince themselves that they can live with such heinous acts due to their ego and desires.
Macbeth shows how greed and ambition can bring down a person as well as others and how the changes of power occur because of loyalty and betrayal. Macbeth is the play’s main unhappy character. The play tells of Macbeth's greedy thirst for power is a dangerous trait.
Shakespeare portrays the significant role of man’s greed and envy through his historical play. Julius Caesar was loved because of major conquests and love for his people. He helps the people when he was alive and after his death. As a man in power, he had many enemies but never wasted bloodshed based on suspicions. Brutus tells the Romans that Caesar’s ambition was the cause of his death; however, Caesar was not ambitious, but had hubris. Brutus believes he was thinking on behalf of Rome’s common good. The conspirators focus on Caesar’s hubris; therefore, forgot all the good that he had achieved. Caesar’s assassination cannot be justified because Brutus and Cassius kill him too soon to see if he would be a poor ruler like they believed.
The vigorous desire to achieve and willingly attain something holds the capability to greatly affect one's life. William Shakespeare's play Macbeth establishes the immense effect and influence of ambition. After gaining power over his country Scotland, the protagonist, Macbeth, experiences an internal downfall as he battles between his wants and moral judgement. He struggles to maintain stable relationships with others as his selfish desires and goals hurt those around him when achieved. In addition to clashing with himself and others, he is seen as a tyrant leader and is slowly turned against by Scotland's nation as well as England. Shakespeare's play Macbeth provides the reader with a clear understanding of ambition's corrupting power in Shakespeare's tragic character Macbeth, through his inner conflicts, struggle to maintain stable relationships with those surrounding him, and clash with society.
Cassius had many motives for the killing of Julius Caesar. One of Cassius's motives was his greed for power. Cassius believed that he should have as much power as Julius Caesar. Cassius was also worried that if Julius Caesar had been king he would lose all of his power and become another regular citizen of Rome. Cassius showed his greed for power when he would always talk about how Caesar would get so much power and he was treated like he was nothing.