Monday, April 24, 2017

Macbeth Literary Analysis (FINAL DRAFT)

Greed, being noted as a deadly sin, is the act of man's selfishness and desire that will benefit only them. The actions taken to achieve that desire can end up killing or corrupting the one with the selfish goal. In the gruesome novel Macbeth, the main character uses murderous attempts to achieve his goal and keep people from taking it away from him, which in the end made him a madman that was killed. Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, shows how the consequences of man's greed can turn into their own destruction, and that one must avoid temptation of a selfish goal.

The start of greed comes with a thought that is brought up by someone or an outside source, then as the idea settles in, doubts and a warped form of "a conscience" lead to a turn to a stronger desire. "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!/All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!/ All hail Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter." (1.3.48-9) The character Macbeth was fated with a general desire of man to harness power that comes with the title of a ruler. With the thought rooted into Macbeth's mind, his thoughts will rejoice at the fact that his fate brings good fortune, but begin to warp with how fast he wants this power. "Art thou afeard/ To be the same in thine own act and valour/As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that/Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life,/And live a coward in thine own esteem" (1.7.39-43) The doubts that creep in warp the mind toward the selfish goal, persuading the person through the idea that they could be a coward for not wanting to take action. Manipulating the mind so it bends to a dark thought can lead to consequences that are unintended, often the death of the person who first desired their goal. Macbeth's greed was planted in him upon hearing his fate, and then sprouted and grown by the persuasion of his wife, successfully convincing him that his fate is what he wants, and he wanted it fast.

When a person sees good fortune in their fate, they bring every possibly way to earn it and keep it, a result of greed's hunger for power. "Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going,/And such an instrument I was to use!" (2.1.42-3) Macbeth wanted to earn the power of a king quickly, and planned to kill the king in order to become one himself, which was later encouraged by the temptation of his wife. The action was dirty and horrid, yet Macbeth performed it anyway for the sake of his desire. "To be thus is nothing,/But to be safely thus: our fears in Banquo/Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature/Reigns that which would be feared." (3.1.48-50) Along with Macbeth's feared his reign going to the line of Banquo's sons as heirs. Macbeth demanded his sole power selfishly, going as far as to make sure Banquo and his sons never take away his power by any means necessary. The greed that sprouted in Macbeth grew with his obsession in keeping power to himself, driving him to commit terrible deeds.

The setting sun of greed in man is the destruction of oneself, both mentally and physically. "Thou canst not say I did it: never shake/Thy gory locks at me." (3.4.52) Macbeth was fried in the mind due to the death of Banquo setting his guilt. Despite his initial ill thoughts, his mind erodes as his confuses himself over thinking who knew what he did and who didn't. "I have no words:/My voice is in my sword, thou bloodier villain/Than terms can give thee out!" (5.7.36-7) Macbeth's greed comes to a fall with his death, the consequences of his desires and carrying out the actions he felt were necessary coming back to haunt him. The one who killed him knew Macbeth's crimes and his warped mind, therefore ending him to stop further crimes so long as Macbeth ruled. Had Macbeth not performed these deeds, regardless of knowing his fate or not, his death wouldn't have been untimely.

The order of greed laid out for Macbeth, warping the mind, committing the crimes, losing his life, came about with his desires taking root. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, a man's greed for their selfish desire can result in their own demise, therefore one must avoid temptation of a selfish goal. Humans are easily tempted by thoughts or ideas that revolve around something they wish to obtain, leading to the process of greed's rise and fall. Noting the greed in humans, it's needed to stay away from thoughts that can corrupt the mind and bring unintended disaster.




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