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Essay / Greek and Christian Pride in Shakespeare's Macbeth
When Macbeth first meets the witches, they say: "All hail, Macbeth!" Hello, Thane of Glamis! Hello everyone, Macbeth! Hail, Thane of Cawdor! Hail everyone, Macbeth, who will now be king! (1.3.49-51). They told him he would become a ruler, thereby establishing a high ego and ambition that would only grow with greed and sin. Warning him of the witches' words, Banquo said: "The instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us over with honest trifles, only to betray them with the deepest consequences." » (1.3.126-128). Even if witches tell the truth, there is always a catch and things may not be what they seem. But Macbeth is already planning a plot to assassinate King Duncan. These new titles make him more arrogant and increase his ego. Later, Macbeth encounters the witches, this time frustrated and demanding. To reassure Macbeth about his absolute tyranny, they tell him about his future and make his defeat seem impossible. The witches say: “Good! Ye rebellious dead, never rise again till Birnam Wood rises, and our high-placed Macbeth shall live for the benefit of nature; pay for his breath (1.5.101-104). This only makes his ambition greater and makes him overconfident in his victory. He ultimately goes as far as murder in such a way as to make it unlikely that the throne will be taken from him. Thanks to what the witches told him, Macbeth decided to put his destiny in his hands and do what he thought was best for him. Pride is expressed when the seeds of malevolence are planted in one's mind by the witches the first and second time. This overconfidence leads to its destruction and