It is said that there are seven deadly sins in the world. Greed is one of those sins, as well as jealousy. Just like in our world, A Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare has greed and jealousy as some of it’s driving forces. There are many characters in this play, but the most important ones are the Three Weird Sisters/Witches, Macbeth, Banquo, Lady Macbeth, Duncan, Malcolm, and Macduff. In Macbeth’s tragedy, Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches who tell him that he will become Thane of Cawdor and then king. Once he becomes Thane of Cawdor and his wife, Lady Macbeth, finds out about this and the prophecy, she convinces her ‘goody two shoes’ husband to kill the current king, Duncan, and frame it on the servants. After Malcolm
…show more content…
Right before Macbeth murders Duncan (after finally being convinced by his wife), that’s when things start to spiral out of control, that 's when Macbeth begins to lose his sanity. Before he goes to kill Duncan, he begins to imagine things. “Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee; / I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” (II. i. 44-46) Macbeth states as he gets ready to commit treason. He (unconsciously) recognizes that his greedy ambition is wrong, and that he will pay for what he is going to do. However, he still does the deed. Afterwards, when Lady Macbeth meets him in the basement, he thinks that he hears something, and tells his wife “Methought I heard a voice cry, Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep, — the innocent sleep,” (II. ii. 47-48). He knows what he has done was wrong; he murdered an innocent, sleeping man. Also, he says that he hears a voice say “‘Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore / Cawdor / Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more.’” (II. ii. 55-57), which foreshadows how Macbeth will become paranoid with fear and jealousy, how he will no longer be able to sleep in peace with what he has done. Again, this is the beginning of Macbeth’s downward spiral, the beginning of his insanity. This is one of many of …show more content…
Here, he is now ‘officially’ insane. At the beginning of Act IV, he goes to the Witches once more, wanting to know how to protect what he now has. The Witches summon apparitions to ‘speak’ out of, and they say “Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn / The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth.” (IV. i. 90-92). Basically, they mean that Macbeth cannot be killed by anyone born from a woman, which Macbeth obviously thinks that mean no one can harm him. He is happy, his possessions that he claimed out of greed are safe from everyone until he dies a natural death. The Witches also tell him that he will be safe until Birnam forest moves towards his castle. Out of his greed and jealousy comes pride, another sin. Another consequence. Macbeth’s pride, greed, and jealousy are going to be his downfall, because in Act V, Birnam Wood comes to Macbeth. That means that an army hiding behind large branches storms his castle, and Macbeth doesn’t care. However, when confronted by Macduff, he tells him his prophecy. And Macduff tells him “And let the angel whom thou still hast served / Tell thee Macduff was from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped.”, and what Macduff is telling him is that he was a C-section baby. He was never ‘born’ of a woman. Macbeth loses his pride, and his jealousy come back, just for a moment, before Macduff kills him. Macbeth’s greed and jealousy made him crazy, and were his ultimate
Right before Macbeth murders Duncan (after finally being convinced by his wife), that’s when things start to spiral out of control, that 's when Macbeth begins to lose his sanity. Before he goes to kill Duncan, he begins to imagine things. “Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee; / I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” (II. i. 44-46) Macbeth states as he gets ready to commit treason. He (unconsciously) recognizes that his greedy ambition is wrong, and that he will pay for what he is going to do. However, he still does the deed. Afterwards, when Lady Macbeth meets him in the basement, he thinks that he hears something, and tells his wife “Methought I heard a voice cry, Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep, — the innocent sleep,” (II. ii. 47-48). He knows what he has done was wrong; he murdered an innocent, sleeping man. Also, he says that he hears a voice say “‘Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore / Cawdor / Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more.’” (II. ii. 55-57), which foreshadows how Macbeth will become paranoid with fear and jealousy, how he will no longer be able to sleep in peace with what he has done. Again, this is the beginning of Macbeth’s downward spiral, the beginning of his insanity. This is one of many of …show more content…
Here, he is now ‘officially’ insane. At the beginning of Act IV, he goes to the Witches once more, wanting to know how to protect what he now has. The Witches summon apparitions to ‘speak’ out of, and they say “Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn / The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth.” (IV. i. 90-92). Basically, they mean that Macbeth cannot be killed by anyone born from a woman, which Macbeth obviously thinks that mean no one can harm him. He is happy, his possessions that he claimed out of greed are safe from everyone until he dies a natural death. The Witches also tell him that he will be safe until Birnam forest moves towards his castle. Out of his greed and jealousy comes pride, another sin. Another consequence. Macbeth’s pride, greed, and jealousy are going to be his downfall, because in Act V, Birnam Wood comes to Macbeth. That means that an army hiding behind large branches storms his castle, and Macbeth doesn’t care. However, when confronted by Macduff, he tells him his prophecy. And Macduff tells him “And let the angel whom thou still hast served / Tell thee Macduff was from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped.”, and what Macduff is telling him is that he was a C-section baby. He was never ‘born’ of a woman. Macbeth loses his pride, and his jealousy come back, just for a moment, before Macduff kills him. Macbeth’s greed and jealousy made him crazy, and were his ultimate