Shakespeare's Macbeth is all about greed. Everybody
is greedy, including Macbeth and his crazy wife, Lady Macbeth. Macbeth started
out as the Thane of Glamis, which is already pretty good. Who wouldn’t be
satisfied with that position, right? Well, Macbeth wasn’t. In fact, he
plots and kills others in order to gain a higher
rank, demonstrating his insatiable hunger for power and just how much he lacks
in the “chill” department. Macbeth’s actions symbolize greed, just as this
photograph, taken by photographer Nick Knight and featuring model Karlie Kloss,
does too. Nick Knight took a total of seven photographs, with each one
representing of the seven deadly sins. In this particular photo, the model
represents greed, which directly connects with Macbeth’s character.
The first time Macbeth shows his greed
for power is when he begins thinking about murdering those who obstruct his
path. Basically, he isn’t just greedy, he’s a greedy, violent psychopath. Macbeth
heard the prophecy told by the three weird sisters, and he says, "My
thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man
that function is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is but what is not.”(Act 1
Scene 3) Banquo comments that Macbeth is “in rapt,’ (Act 1 Scene 3) describing
how Macbeth can be easily carried away by the thought of gaining more power. This
is a total change from Macbeth’s personality in the beginning of the play,
because he was actually quite “normal” (But of course, who has the right to say
what is normal and what is not normal?). However, soon he becomes willing to
commit any crime to advance his own interests, including regicide. It’s almost
as if Macbeth is high, except instead of being high on marijuana, it’s power. Macbeth
knows that his greed is morally wrong, in fact, he describes them as “black and
deep desires” (Act 1 Scene 4), but his hunger for power is too strong. He lets
go of all his morals, and along with the encouragement from his wife, Lady
Macbeth (she’s a loose screw), his greed cannot be satiated. The list of people
that Macbeth kills include Duncan, the King of Scotland, two of the King’s
guard and Lady Macduff, all done in order to move up in ranks or to cover his
past crimes. To further your understanding of the situation, just imagine Mr.
Arcand killing everyone to take the place of Dr. Curtis. In Nick Knight’s
photograph, there is triangular shape in the background. A triangle is the
perfect depiction of Macbeth’s path. He starts out as a Thane, which can be
represented by bottom left corner of the triangle. As he moves up and gains
more power, he traces along the edge of the triangle, up towards the peak. The
reason for Macbeth’s advancement is his greed, which is represented by the
model featured in the photograph. This marks the first half of Macbeth’s
journey, and as he reaches the peak of the triangle, he has become King. He
rules with an iron fist, turning the Scottish people against him, and his
despotic rule would eventually lead to his downfall.
The second
half of the triangle following the peak represents Macbeth’s eventual downfall.
As more and more people start hating on their new King, Macbeth begins to reach
the end of his reign as King of Scotland. Greed, which brought Macbeth to the
top, is also the reason for his downfall. His unchecked drive for more power
transforms him into a tyrant, as described by his once loyal subject Lennox and
the elder son of King Duncan, Malcom. Soon, many of Macbeth's men abandon him.
Macbeth's dark past, which includes his murder of a previously widely loved
King forces a sense of paranoia onto him. Macbeth is constantly afraid of
losing the power that he had gained, and he loses any sense of morality he had
before. As Macbeth begins using fear as a method of rule, the Scottish people
turn on him. Eventually, Macbeth is too far gone. Lady Macbeth commits suicide,
and Macduff murders Macbeth. Before Macbeth is killed by Macduff, Macduff tells
Macbeth, “Then yield thee, coward, and live to be the show and gaze o’the time.
We’ll have thee, as our rarer monsters are, painted on a pole, and underwrit,
“Here may you see the tyrant.”” (Act 5 Scene 8) Everyone agrees that Macbeth
has abused his power, and Macbeth dies because of it. Macbeth’s downfall,
represented by the second edge of the triangle leading to the bottom right
corner, cannot be blamed on anyone but himself and his wife. Greed led to
Macbeth's gain of power, but it also was the main factor of his fall. The
bottom right corner of the triangle in the photograph symbolizes Macbeth’s
death. Sad, right? Not really. He deserved it.
Nick Knight’s photo, featuring a
model symbolizing greed, also paints a picture of Macbeth’s path as his rise to
power and his downfall. Macbeth’s insatiable greed for power caused him to
become King of Scotland, but it eventually resulted in his isolation and death,
represented by the triangle in the photo’s backdrop.
To see the article featuring the photograph taken by Nick Knight, click the following link:
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