A leader is someone who can take charge of a situation and be able to make the right decisions in a short amount of time. A leader works well with others and those around him follow his instructions. Some people are natural leaders and others only think they should be in charge, but all of them are nothing without people to direct. The choice to take on the responsibility of leadership is hardly ever one’s own, especially when one is a member of the royal family and has to take command because of his bloodline. To become king is an honour that passes through a family that has earned the respect of the country. Sometimes though, the person who receives this honour is not right for the position and needs to step down by his own will or by force. Other times the heir to the throne has the perfect balance of attributes and is able to lead the country to prosperity. In literature, kings are often the main leaders and all fit into different categories both good and bad. One piece of writing where this categorization is the case is in the tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Throughout the play, multiple characters that have different qualities and strengths hold the title of king. Two of the characters, Duncan and Macbeth, who become king die because of their positions and their leadership styles. Meanwhile, the fate of the third king, Malcolm, is unknown but gives a sense of hope and stability for Scotland. Macbeth develops these characters through their leadership types of leading from afar, leading by control, and leading by example.
At the beginning of the play, Duncan’s character develops by how he leads Scotland from a distance. Duncan is set apart from his country and only interacts with his Thanes and servants. He does ...
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To conclude, throughout Macbeth the characters of Duncan, Macbeth, and Malcolm develop because of their leadership types of leading from afar, leading through control, and leading by example. The kingdom of Scotland went through tumultuous times in the play but survived the struggles of adapting to new leaders with different uses of their powers. Not all of those who take the throne are well suited for the role and the responsibilities that one has to take on. While not everyone can control a country, everyone has leadership ability and just has to find where he can use his skills in the best way. Whenever one decides to take on a leadership role, he must know if he can handle everything that comes with that choice. Extensive thought needs to go into this choice and if one feels he cannot handle all the work he should step down and let another take over.
Words like “dark” and “treacherous” and also tyrant are to name but a few. In Macbeth we see how the kingship is potential for good or evil. Macbeth is seen as a hero for some. “Brave Macbeth” to refere. “If good, why do I deal to that suggestion/ whose horrid image death and unfix my Hair/ and make my seated heart knock at my ribs/ against the use of nature? Present fear.”(1.3.147-155) As said in this quote, Macbeth has stated that he has no fear against whatever he will face showing good kingship because of the amount of power is in his hands. Macbeth is not the only one with great power. King Duncan performs two of the basic duties of a king: punishing the bad and rewarding the good.”My plenteous joys/ Wanton in fullness, seek to hide themselves/ in drops of sorrow- sons, kinsmen, thanes,/and you whose places are the nearest, know/ we will establish our estate upon.” (1.4.39-49) Duncan shows that not everything is easy and not everything is even to some by hand. Everyone must earn what they are given.Malcolm unlike Macbeth is able to tell appearance from reality in his superiority as
Leadership can be defined in a myriad of ways; but for the purpose of the question, it is but not limited to the affect someone who takes charge of a group of people with authority or rank; to be an influence to those who look to the leader. In the epic poem, “Beowulf”, there are two different views on leadership based on their leaders {i.e. King Hrothgar and Beowulf). With King Hrothgar, he accepted the help of Beowulf to fight in order to defend the people of the Herodot, “Beowulf my friend/fight for us” (457-458). Due to the understanding of his age, King Hrothgar shows humility and admirable stance, adapts to someone who admires him, allowing Beowulf to fight for the people of Herodot. Beowulf on the other hand, shows his leadership by taking the initiative and offering his aid to King Hrothgar’s people, to fight the demon Grendel, who is terrorizing the people. This leader...
Macbeth is a brave Scottish general that receives a prophecy from three witches that he will one day become King of Scotland. In the beginning of the story you first meet Macbeth as a kind, innocent young man but as the story progresses he becomes the most hated man out there. Macbeth has the pressure of whether or not he wants to kill Duncan so that he can become king and at first he doesn't want to. However, as he talks to Lady Macbeth he conforms to her thoughts and opinions and ends up killing him. This leads to a whole new Macbeth who ends up losing site of who he truly is. He starts to care more about having the power then actually caring about his friends and family. This even leads him into killing his best friend Banquo and in the end Macbeth gets killed. This is a perfect example of why following your own thoughts and not conforming to others is better in the long run. Along the way Macbeth ended up losing the most important thing, himself just because he decided to conform to the thoughts of his
The drastic measures for the attainment of power are necessary for any upcoming ruler to obtain what they desire. Macbeth had the right ambitions and aspirations when stepping up to rule Scotland, but unfortunately the increase in power increased his greed and paranoia which also painted a larger target upon his back. The people did not appreciate the means of how he obtained his power and especially did not appreciate the ways he kept and defended it. No evidence in the play exists to say Macbeth ruled as a tyrant one could speculate he was an excellent ruler like many that came before him but that would be a large speculation to make. Under the circumstances, Macbeth had great potential, but became corrupted and sank due to his greed, desires, and the opinion of his
The longing for power can seem to be that empty hole that anyone would try to fill inside themselves, but one should always be careful what they wish for, because as we can see in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Macbeth’s ascension to the throne of Scotland is unlike the typical reign of a monarch in any country for that matter. The rising glory of Macbeth is primarily what this play focuses on, but there are several steps Macbeth must take to reach his desired destination. There are multiple aspects that lead to Macbeth becoming king, but in actuality, there are three key ideas that are the most compelling. The first of these three factors happens to be Macbeth’s ambitions just in general, especially in early parts of the play before the
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play centred around opposing forces trying to gain power in the succession for the throne of Scotland. Macbeth, in the beginning, is known to be a noble and strong willed man, who is ready to fight for his country. However, one may see that Macbeth has a darker side to him, he is power hungry and blood thirsty, and will not stop until he has secured his spot as King of Scotland. Though Macbeth may be a tyrant, he is very nave, gullible, and vulnerable.
From the very beggining of the play, Shakespeare introduces the way the government is structured. The way the government is organized in Macbeth is as follows: the king stands at the top of the pyramid, later comes the nobles, or as they are refered as in the play, thanes, and below them goes the rest of the people. Shakespeare, of course, concentrates on demonstating how much power each person has and how the King is the one with the most authority. However, as the play proceeds, it is discovered that the nobles in fact hold more power than the King actually does. The reason for this would be that nobles are wealthy men that own land and can support the country economically, what in fact the King cannot do on his own. This aslo would explain
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is described as being “valiant”. He is a skilled warrior, who is loyal to his king and his country. Almost single-handedly, he wins the war for Scotland. He defeats many of the enemy soldiers, including a traitor, all in the name of his king. But, when three witches encounter Macbeth and his friend Banquo, Macbeth’s ambition begins to grow. They tell Macbeth that he will be Thane of Cawdor and King. Soon after, Macbeth meets with King Duncan. He informs Macbeth that he is the new Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is astonished, and from then on he is obsessed with being king. His ambition begins to become ruthless when Duncan proclaims that his son Malcolm is the Prince of Cumberland, and therefore, the heir to the throne: “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step/On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap, /For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;/Let not light see my black and deep desires:/The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be/Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.” (I,iv,48-53) At this moment, Macbeth, realizing that they stand in the way of the witches’ prophecies, decides that both Duncan and Malcolm need to die for him to be king. As soon as Macbeth kills Duncan, he enters into a world of evil. Later in the play, Macbeth’s ambition becomes increasingly ruthless. He kills his best friend Banquo, and almost kills Banquo’s son, Fleance, because he believes they would stand in the way of his reign. The witches told Banquo “Thou shall get kings, though thou be none.” (I,iii,67) This means that Banquo himself would not be a king, but that his successors would be. Macbeth tries to prevent this by killing Banquo and his son Fleance.
Macbeth is a tragic play which begins by setting up the story of a hero of Scotland. This hero is the main character Macbeth. “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (Crowther Macbeth 1.1.12). Very early, a reoccurring theme is introduced, as well as the planted idea of power. Both of which are given to us by the witches, with unknown motives. Nonetheless, the witches plot the eventual downfall of this Scottish hero. Yet how this approach is made is due to the possibility of gaining a higher position of power. The reason for Macbeth’s corruption in Shakespeare’s Macbeth involves the power that power exerts over an individual who has gained a position of authority.
When Macbeth becomes king he controls almost everyone, from servants to assassins. He even attempts to order the three witches to do his bidding. However, Macbeth’s actions and demeanor later in the play are the result of Lady Macbeth, who holds sway over her husband. It is she who at first coaxes and controls Macbeth, resulting in the change in his personality. The supernatural, in particular the three witches, exert control over both Macbeth and his lady. In fact, it is their influences that initiate the sequence of events, and are therefore an integral part of the play.
Macbeth is a brave general who fights for his country Scotland, defeating the King of Norway. He is loyal to his king Duncan, but Macbeth has ambition to take over the kingdom for himself. He has lots of doubts of if he is doing the right thing, but still murders Duncan and then Banquo who is another general who fought with Macbeth. These murders and guilt about his treason are leading Macbeth to become insane. This essay shows that although Macbeth’s strong desire for power is influenced by the three witches in the play and also the planning and ambition of his wife Lady Macbeth, in the end he is responsible for his self-destruction.
In Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, Shakespeare creates the ruthless character Macbeth, who is willing to go beyond any measure in order to attain the power of being king, including murder, deceit, betrayal and overpowering the chain of being. Macbeth was first tempted by the idea of kingship when three witches presented him with their portent of Macbeth becoming the next King of Scotland. Ebullient, Macbeth, immediately informed his wife of the news and they both pondered the thought of having the power to rule all of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, a power seeker herself, promptly schemed a plan to kill King Duncan in order for her and her husband to rule, displaying her ready ambition for power. Macbeth’s thirst for power ate away at his conscience
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the focus that is placed on the character of Lady Macbeth helps to convey the play's theme of the strife created by the struggle for power and control that is present throughout the entire work. Shakespeare presents her character in great detail and shows her to be a dominating, authoritative woman who thrives on the power she holds over her husband. He then shows the principle character, Macbeth, rise up and join his wife in a struggle for power of his own. It is the actions that Macbeth takes in attempt to achieve ultimate authority that lead to his downfall, and it is Lady Macbeth's loss of control over her husband as he gains this independence which causes her own weakening and eventually leads to her demise as well.
To become powerful, is to become corrupt and The Tragedy of Macbeth is a prime example. In William Shakespeare's tragic tale, a young noblemen soon becomes corrupt when he is given the opportunity to become king. His need for power and safety drives him to corruption, ultimately killing off anyone who stands in his path: innocent or not. Throughout the play, many characters portray the impact power has on a relationship: Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, Banquo and Macbeth, Macduff and Macbeth and many more. While all these characters were affected by power in the play, Banquo and Macbeth's relationship best demonstrates the effect of power. By examining the effect that power can have on relationships in The Tragedy of Macbeth, it is clear that Banquo and Macbeth's relationship represent best what the impact of power on friendship can be like. This ultimately illustrates that the need for power can drive people to take extreme measures in capturing that power.
As many tragic heroes depicted throughout works of literature, the character development within a story indicates what causes the drastic turn of events. In this case, Macbeth’s catalyst for his drive to kingship was his encounter with The Three Witches in Act I, Scene III. Their confrontation consisted of the witches proclaiming him Thane of Cawdor initially and t...