Dictatorship, in its diverse forms, has remained a norm in human systems of government since time immemorial. Whether manifested as the absolute monarchs of yore or the recent communist and fascist dictators of the 20th century, conventionally, dictators became oppressive and incapable of governing due to the corrupting influence of power, and most met their ends at the hands of the angry masses, such as the famous execution of King Louis XVI of France. The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare and the biography of recently deceased Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi both show the damaging nature of unbridled ambition and power. The former is the story of the tragic-hero Macbeth, once a celebrated soldier, who was driven to regicide to hasten …show more content…
First, the motive that drove Macbeth to depose King Duncan was his desire to see the fulfilment of the Three Witches’ prophecy about him becoming king after Duncan, since their other prophecy about becoming Thane of Cawdor had indeed come true. However, there was no need to overthrow Duncan since he was a virtuous king, as attested to by Macbeth’s own words: “Duncan / hath borne his faculties so meek […] that his virtues will plead like angels […] against / The deep damnation of his taking-off” (1.7.16-20). Confessing to himself about his foul motive, Macbeth also said, “I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition” (1.7.25-27). As someone who had already experienced honour as a celebrated general (1.4), Macbeth’s desire for further glory was greatly strengthened by the prophecies, because of which he contemplated murdering Duncan even though there was no justifiable reason for doing so. True to his intention – and bolstered by his wife’s encouragement – Macbeth finally murdered a sleeping King Duncan and was proclaimed king, but not without unnatural occurrences that foreshadowed an evil end. Therefore, the reader notices that selfish desire for power corrupted Macbeth’s motive for becoming king from the beginning, and eventually led him to commit the horrible act of …show more content…
Firstly, the beginning of the end of Macbeth’s reign started with Malcolm, the rightful heir to the Scottish throne, mustering English support against Macbeth. However, by this time Macbeth had become completely bedazzled by his own power, encouraged by another prophecy which claimed that “none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” and that “Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until / Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill / Shall come against him” (4.1.98-99, 101-103). As predicted, Macbeth was not killed until these two seemingly impossible things happened; Malcom's army used branches from Birnam Wood for camouflage and Macbeth's killer, Macduff, was born of a caesarean section. After Macbeth’s death in battle, Scotland's crown was restored to its rightful owner. In consequence, Macbeth’s short but eventful reign demonstrates that power intoxicates one to the point that their arrogance prohibits them from even defending themselves. Nevertheless, Macbeth's end could not have been anything other than what was predestined by the witches – he was a lost case from the start. However, in real life, someone who is tempted by promises of future riches and authority should not yield to the temptation if the way to that is by committing immoral acts. Unfortunately, Qaddafi
In The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, we see Macbeth, a loyal soldier, turn into a complete monster by killing innocent people for the sake of power. This eventually leads to Macbeth’s mental breakdown, descending into madness as a cold blooded murderer, until his fateful death. There have been many Macbeth-like figures who have followed in his footsteps throughout our history, such as Julius Caesar, Joseph Stalin and especially Maximilien Robespierre, in the French Revolution. Robespierre killed many people, including one of his colleagues, to gain political power. The selfishness and greed that is shown in Macbeth Robespierre, and other historic
Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.
Macbeth is captured by his wild ambition at the opening of the play when he and Banqou meet the three witches. The witches tell Macbeth that he is the Thane of Cawdor, and later will be king. They tell Banquo that his sons will be kings. Instantly Macbeth started to fantasize how he is going to be king. He understood that in order for him to become king he has to kill Duncan. “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical”(Act 1 Sc. 3, p.23). He was pondering about the assassination until the moment that he could no longer control his emotions. “To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself and falls on the other-“(Act 1 Sc. 7, p.41). Because of his “vaulting ambition” he killed Duncan.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square, 1992. Print. The New Folger Library Shakespeare.
Macbeth’s ambition to obtain power convinces him that it is his destiny to become King of Scotland, and that he should do anything to fulfill that destiny, even if it involves him committing tremendously immoral acts such as murder. After Macbeth realizes that the witches may actually speak the truth due to the second prophecy (Thane of Cawdor) becoming true, he begins to have an eerie and frightening thought of him killing his king and friend, Duncan, in order to ac...
The essence of Macbeth lies not only in the fact that it is written by the universal talent William Shakespeare; the royal-conspiracy, the political unethical activity, the killin...
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.
To begin, Macbeth experiences an internal downfall due to his ambition where he battle between his desires and moralistic values. Initially, the idea of attaining power over Scotland by killing King Duncan sparks a sense of fear and paranoia in Macbeth, however, his conscience struggles to take over his ambition: "that we but teach/ Bloody instructions, which being taught, return/ To plague the inventor. [...] I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but only/ Valuing ambition, which o'erleaps itself/ And falls on th' other-" (1.7.8-28). At this moment, Macbeth contemplates on killing King Duncan as he visualizes the long term consequences of committing the crime. The reader can grasp his moral judgement as he understands that by proceeding with the murder, he is only causing his own demise and punishing himself. With that b...
The tragedy of Macbeth opens up with him returning home from a victorious military battle, displaying his honor and excellence. This is, also the first time he is presented with the opportunity for power. His success covered him with glory in defense of the crown. Macbeth is busily basking in his own glory and soaking up credit when Duncan basically steals his spotlight from right over his head, proclaiming Malcolm, Duncan's son, as the heir-apparent. This action also belittles Macbeth's achievement, since the procession of the throne is not necessarily dictated by bloodlines. Duncan is basically announcing that Macbeth, while noble, is inferior to his son Malcolm. This is where Duncan provokes Macbeth to hate him and also points out what Macbeth must do to become King. Duncan even tempts Macbeth, by pronouncing him as the Thane of Cawdor. This gives Macbeth a taste of power and he begins to have a desire for more. This desire or ambition is his fatal flaw. Shakespeare, by using Macbeth as a guide, shows that even the honorable men can fall into the hands of evil just like everyone else. No one is safe from his or her own ambitions of power and success. It is clear that Macbeth ends up a far more brutal and simple...
In the play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare has a strong theme of power. Macbeth is a king who is given three predictions from three witches, one of which is that he will become king. The one problem is he doesn’t know what he has to do in order to become king. His wife then decides that in order for him to become king, he must kill the current king. This one murder then leads to others in order to cover the original murder up. Once Macbeth becomes king, he doesn’t want anything to change, he wants to stay king until he dies. He then begins to kill again, but instead of killing to cover something, he is killing anyone who stands in his way of staying king. Macbeth’s fate is affected by the personality trait of bravery, his ability to be manipulated, and his determination.
Seeking for greater power, Macbeth murders Duncan who is the king at that time, which caused a great pain for the kingdom. Duncan is a great king, but just not a so good human reader. He has never been aware of Macbeth. He never have a thought that Macbeth might be a danger, who is willing to kill him for the throne. On the other hand, Macbeth does not accept to be just a general for the rest of his life. He wants a greater power, higher position than he is having at the time. Because of the suggests from the trio witches: “ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.2.49-50), Macbeth has the thinking about killing the king to take his throne. By calling Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor, they give Macbeth the thought that being a king is his fate. On the night Macbeth is planning to murder Duncan, the Old Man see many strange events: “And Duncan’s horses (a thing most strange and certain),/ Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, /Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out/ Contending ‘gainst obedience, as they would/ Make war with mankind” (2.4.14-18). It creates a scary feeling in the kingdom, and means something bad will happen to the kingdom.
Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Macbeth”.The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company (1974). 1312-1342. Print
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Elements of Literature, Sixth Course. Ed. Kristine E. Marshall, 1997. 300-312. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999.