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Comparing Macbeth And Polanski's

Decent Essays

To have ambition is to have a strong desire to do or achieve something. Greed is an intense and selfish desire for something, this is often viewed as a detrimental personality trait. Often these two traits coincide, creating a dangerous combination inside the human mind. As the lines between greed and ambition cross, a person takes more risks, doing whatever they have to in order to achieve what they want. This can be seen in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Transformations of the original text such as Polanski’s film and the Shakespeare Retold BBC version of Macbeth represent the themes of ambition and greed differently and effectively. In Roman Polanski’s Macbeth, ambition is a highlighted theme that is transformed in an effective manner. Polanski manages to portray the original aspects of the text; Macbeth’s ambition, …show more content…

However, despite the obvious portrayal of ambition the most noticeable aspect of theme in Polanski’s Macbeth is the transformation of the character Ross. In the original text Ross was a minor character, a messenger who is often cut out of performances. In the film Ross is portrayed by Polanski to be a political opportunist and self- involved politician who places himself at the hands of whoever has the most power. He becomes a man that Macbeth trusts to make sure his dirty work is carried out and Ross becomes “a confidant of the King”. Ross is a climber, an ambitious man who is loyal only to the person with the most power. So long as the person he is helping has enough power to help him gain a higher title, he does anything they command. Ross assists in the ambush against Banquo taking the role of the third murderer, disposing of the other murderers and arranges for

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