Examples Of Greed In Macbeth

Luke Fox Ms. Leibforth English 2H-2 5 May 2017 The Curse of Ambition “All Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”(Lord Acton) A notorious quote that has been proven true time and time again. It's Human nature to lust for power, but unchecked ambitions and desires for power will ultimately lead to a person's downfall. Ambition, greed, and pride can all cause a person to desire power. But if there’s one thing we know it’s that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Through-out history Kings, queens, tsars, presidents, etc. have all taken their power too far. In History, powerful leaders are way more commonly known as corrupt and horrible tyrants than right and just kings. Even in modern society, it is

However, at the end of the story the ambition an power that Macbeth had finally caused his downfall. He ends up once again fighting with one of his friends, but this time in a sword fight. The text says "Re-enter MACDUFF, with MACBETH's head"(Shakespeare) It was Macbeths lust for power that brought him to this moment. His downfall was inevitable from the moment his ambition started running wild. Power and pride can corrupt even the best of people. In this case it caused a once noble soldier to betray his friends, become a murderer, and care for no one other than himself. He had no one else to blame but himself for his actions. All in all the play Macbeth shows how even the best of people can become the worst of people if their ambitions go unchecked. The poem Ambition by Wilfred Scawen Blunt is a poem about a man who goes mad with power and ambitions. Many parallels can be drawn between this poem and the story of Macbeth. Just like Macbeth the person of interest in this story struggled with his unchecked ambitions and growing lust for

His hunger for power caused him to commit many horrible acts of tyranny just like the man in the previous poem and Macbeth. The text says "When we all think of Napoleon Bonaparte we immediately conjure up images of a vertically challenged, French, military leader who conquered much of Europe. However, Buonaparte was a dynamic, innovative emperor whose ambitions knew no limit."(Bethany26) Napoleons ambitions caused him to conquer most of Europe and desire conquest of any land that he thought he would be able to conquer. As a military genius Napoleon thought too highly of himself and believed he was brilliant and everything he did was the best option. His selfish nature, however, caused thousands of lives to be lost on his wages of war. A once great general whose pride and ambitions quickly turned himself into a Macbeth like character. When he was crowned emperor all the power got to him and corrupted him beyond belief. Just like Macbeth and many other tyrants and power hungry people in history and fantasy, his ambitions caused him downfall. The text says "In June of 1815, Bonaparte is defeated in the Battle of Waterloo by the Prussians and British.