Hamlet, upon returning, sarcastically describes his feelings toward Claudius as "A little less than kin and more than kind." (Act 1, Scene 2) referring to his awkward position of now being the stepson of his uncle. In this play, Claudius not only kills Hamlet's father, but also guilts Hamlet's girlfriend Ophelia into trying to drive Hamlet even deeper into madness. (Piphetti, gradesaver.com) Claudius's insurmountable greed was inherent and he wasn't able to overcome its transformation into evil. .
One of Shakespeare's most villainous characters is disliked mainly because he is extremely good at being bad. Iago, from Othello, the Moor of Venice, appears to epitomize the phrase "pure evil," and at first his actions seem to originate from this simple cause. When one takes a closer look at the motivating factors behind Iago's actions, it can be concluded that his actions all stem from the same basic flaw: greed. Because of his self-indulgence Iago conspires to break apart the marriage of Othello and Desdemona because it appears that Iago is attracted to Desdemona, despite the fact that he's already married to Emilia. To split apart the couple, Iago hatches a plan to convince Othello that his wife has had an affair with Cassio, who is Othello's lieutenant. To accomplish this, Iago has his wife steal Desdemona's handkerchief so that he can use it as "proof" that she cheated on Othello with Cassio. In hatching his plan, Iago states:.
"I"ll pour this pestilence into his ear,.
That she repeals him for her body's lust;.
And by how much she strives to do him good,.
She shall undo her credit with the Moor.
So will I turn her virtue into pitch,.
And out of goodness make the net .
That shall enmesh them all." (Act 2, Scene 3).
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this plan is that Iago intends to use Desdemona's integrity and goodness against her in an effort to "make the net that shall enmesh them all," as said above.
In his trademark no nonsense, down-to-earth style, he explains how anyone even someone who is terminally ill can not only find meaning in his or her life but also make a valuable contribution to society. ...