Corruption In Macbeth

During the Elizabethan times in England, William Shakespeare wrote many plays, including one of the most famous ever, Macbeth. The play is laden with corruption and is seen through the eyes of the main character, Macbeth. Macbeth becomes corrupt as a result of the deceitfulness of three witches, his wife, Lady Macbeth’s ambitions and manipulations, and his own ambitions to become the King of Scotland, which leads to his tragic downfall
At the beginning of the play, the reader meets the three witches, who the reader eventually finds out are evil. The first time the witches meet Macbeth, they give him two prophecies: he will become the Thane of Cawdor and he will become the King of Scotland. The first of the prophecies quickly comes to

fruition. King Duncan rewards him with the title of Thane of Cawdor for his loyalty and bravery in battle and because the previous Thane of Cawdor, Macdonwald, is executed for treason.

Later on in the play, when Macbeth is already crowned king and already committed his second of two murders, he is met with three apparitions, sent by Hecate, the leader of the three witches. The second apparition states, “The power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth,” (4.1.79-80) prompting Macbeth to believe that he is immortal and nobody can destroy him. Consequently, Macbeth is given a false sense of security because of the equivocation, of the second apparition.
Although the witches’ prophecies and their equivocations are one of the causes of Macbeth’s corruption, Lady Macbeth also plays a role in Macbeth’s downfall, due to her manipulation and her own ambitions, that help lead Macbeth to the crown. Before Lady Macbeth hears of the prophecies given to Macbeth, she is a normal wife of a noble, with no visible evidence of having any violent

intentions. However, once she hears about the prophecies, one could say she goes insane, especially when she asks the spirits to unsex her “and fill [her]...of direst cruelty” (1.5.41-42). After she becomes “unsexed,” her manipulation of Macbeth begins with her plan to eliminate King Duncan. The plan includes Lady Macbeth performing all the hard work by making the king’s chamberlains drunk and out of the picture, and all Macbeth will have to do is slay Duncan. At first Macbeth is hesitant to follow the foolproof plan and is called a coward by his wife. Macbeth is offended at being called a coward, and says “Who dares do more do none” (1.7.47), meaning that going through with the murder of Duncan will make him less of a man because Macbeth was his kin, his subject, as well as his host. Nonetheless, he eventually follows through with the plan because he takes offense to being called a coward, and not a man. After Macbeth slays Duncan, he is supposed to plant the two bloody daggers on the chamberlains. However, Macbeth forgets, and refuses to return to Duncan's chamber. Due to his refusal, his wife is prompted to call him a coward once again. So, Lady Macbeth returns to the chamber to place the evidence, and keep all eyes of of her and her husband. Macbeth being called a coward multiple times does not sit well with him, therefore, his true ambitions emerge from within him and lead him in the wrong direction.
From the very beginning of the play, Macbeth ignores his own conscience and follows his own ambition unconsciously, making himself the main cause of his downfall.

For example, he continually questions Lady Macbeth “if we should fail,” (1.7.59), wondering if he really wants to kill Duncan and live with the consequences that will be lodged in him and his conscience. Nevertheless, with disregard to his conscience, he decides to slay the king, so he can become the next king of Scotland without difficulty. Although Lady Macbeth and her manipulations are a major reason why Macbeth kills Duncan, she is no longer in the picture afterwards. Macbeth takes matters into his own hands, and he discovers his violent urges, which is a way for him to disregard his own conscience. The first victim of his violence is Banquo, a co-general in the army with Macbeth, and his son Fleance. To eradicate Banquo’s suspicion of Duncan’s murder, Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his son. Lady Macbeth has no part in this plan, and Macbeth told her to stay off to the side, until “[she] applaud[s] the deed” (3.2.44). The murderers are only able to eradicate Banquo in the altercation, as Fleance flees to Scotland, escaping the tyrant rule of Macbeth. When Macbeth is informed of Banquo’s execution, his conscience attempts to grab hold of him again. His brain sees the ghost of Banquo at his banquet, which results in a small glimmer of hope that Macbeth will return to reality and acknowledge

the evil he is bringing to Scotland. Nevertheless, he ignores what he sees and continues with his violent compulsions. After the death of Banquo, Macbeth is faced with the three apparitions, resulting in him obtaining a false sense of security. Although he could have tried to understand the apparitions, he takes everything literally, making him believe he is unstoppable. Therefore, Macbeth continues on his killing spree, adding Lady Macduff and her family to the list. Macbeth, like before was not able to commit the murder single handedly, so he hired three murderers to commit the crime. This once again proves that Macbeth does not believe in what he is doing, and is allowing his conscience to manipulate him, leading to his tragic downfall. His power was no more after he is beheaded by Macduff, the one person Macbeth was told to fear by the witches. Macduff happened to be “untimely ripp’d” (1.8.16) “from his mother womb” (1.8.15), proving the second apparition right. By the time Macbeth faced Macduff, he learned that his violent intentions were the main cause of his downfall, not the witches nor his wife.
From the very beginning, Macbeth is corrupted by the witches and manipulated by his wife’s ambitions, but the main cause of his corruption was himself and his own dangerous and violent intentions. The play, Macbeth, has taught us to never let one’s ambitions take hold of one’s conscience. Even if your conscience appears to be leading you in the wrong direction, it has a plan. Macbeth ignoring his conscience is the main reason for his corruption and his downfall; don’t become Macbeth, let your conscience guide you.