Macbeth- the consequences of rapacity

Essay by effectzHigh School, 11th grade February 2005

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"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed" is a quote from the famous peace encouraging Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. The meaning behind this is that people are offered sufficient amount to fulfill their needs, but they cannot seem to get enough because of their one evil quality: greed. Macbeth, a play written by William Shakespeare named after the main character, portrays this aspect through him. If there are other individuals than Macbeth himself that are responsible for his tragedy, it is none other than his own wife and the three witches, who foretold his future. Even though both characters should be blamed, his wife Lady Macbeth is the main cause of his tragedy. Macbeth's calamity presents a great lesson; greed can conquer us all.

In the beginning of the play, Shakespeare shows us that the evil and wicked witches have already targeted Macbeth, and they make predicaments to provoke his cupidity.

At first, Macbeth is genuinely a good general, very loyal to his king, and has a wonderful life. But, when the old hags inform him of being crowned king in the future, he starts to have desires. Foretelling such news is the trigger to Macbeth turning into a whole new character. This is when the idea of murdering Duncan, the king first comes up and he is faced with a difficult decision. Without these iniquitous witches, the play Macbeth could not have ended so unfortunately.

Already, with these thoughts and pressure upon him, Macbeth faces another adversity; his wife. During this time of burden, Lady Macbeth starts fortifying him to assassinate Duncan. Although the witches were the cause of Macbeth's evil thoughts, Lady Macbeth is entirely responsible for his actions. Macbeth constantly backed down because of the generosity of Duncan and his loyalty...