Shakespeare’s play Macbeth may have been one of his most intense depictions of the corruptive attribute of power. He uses the main character Macbeth to portray how power not only corrupts himself and his wife, but how it affects the people around those who are corrupted by power’s enticing grasp.
The corruption of power is highlighted during the first act of the story where Macbeth learns of the power within his future. After coming back from the battle, Macbeth is hailed as the Thane of Cawdor by the witches. It is at this point, the seeds of corruption were planted. When Macbeth asks “But how of Cawdor? the thane of Cawdor lives...and to be king, Stands not within the prospect of belief”, you can tell that he is stunned but curious by his
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questioning of “how” he would become the thane of Cawdor, when one already exists. His questioning of the witches not only shows his intrigue at their prophecy, but plant the seeds of power which he wishes to possess. He also thinks about how the witches had said that “Thou shalt get kings,” which can also be inferred that he believes that this comment is far fetched. Directly after their meeting with the Witches, Ross notifies Macbeth that he shall “call thee thane of Cawdor”, meaning that he has become the Thane of Cawdor, just as the witches had foretold. This instant gain of power leads Macbeth to think of the other comments that the witches made, most specifically, their claim that he is to become the king. Because his prophecy came true the first time, he can only expect that the second come true as well. It is at this scene where he takes his first step towards corruption after receiving his newly received power. In the next few acts, during the rising action,a we see the corruption of power turns from a budding idea, to fully bloomed murder.
Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are consumed by the idea of becoming all powerful by becoming king and queen, and thus exact their plan to kill the king. After the deed is done, Macbeth feels remorse, knowing what he has done was wrong. He says, “I am afraid to think what I have done; Look on't again I dare not.” Even he knows that this drive to become powerful has pushed him well passed his moral bounds. Macbeth also uses the word “afraid” to describe his feelings for the deed. This choice of word, gives some insight to his true beliefs, uncorrupted by power. He knows what he did was wrong, and he feels afraid at what he has done to achieve his goal. The scene cuts to Lady Macbeth who asks Macbeth to “Give me the daggers”, She intends to frame the kings grooms. What is interesting is her lack of compassion towards Macbeth. She angrily carries out the deed he could not do, while simultaneously calling Macbeth a “Coward in thine own esteem”. She is so caught up in her scheme for power that she ignores the moral boundaries that Macbeth broke himself and calls him a “coward” for not being able to complete the plan. Calling her own husband a “coward” for murdering the king shows how she infact may be just as corrupt, if not more corrupt than macbeth. This is an extremely good representation of how corruption of power can sway and change the
thoughts of people who are caught in its gyre. Lady Macbeth shows neither understanding nor compassion towards Macbeth and only cares about the plan to achieve power. Lastly one of the most proving point of Macbeth’s murder of Banquo. He says that the “The seed of Banquo kings.” He knows that the prophecy foretold of Banquo being the father of kings. His greed for power pushes him to eliminate one of his dearest friends in order to control the power of the throne for himself. It was one thing for Macbeth to kill the king, of who he had no real connection to, but to go so far as to murder his dearest friend and his son, he has clearly lost his morality. Macbeth had gone so far to achieve his prophecy that it seemed as though he was on the brink of insanity. He later talks about how “Scorpions is my mind” because “Thou know'st that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives”. Macbeth truly shifts from a murder fueled by Lady Macbeth’s coaxing, to taking on the murder of one of his best friends. He fears that “Banquo, and his Fleance, lives” because while they are still alive he cannot truly achieve the kingship that he desires. He chooses the word “scorpions” to truly describe the pain he is in. The visualization of having a scorpion in your head, gives a better idea to how Macbeth truly feels about Banquo and Fleance living. It is at this point where we can really see that Macbeth has climaxed in his corruption. He has transitioned from someone interested in the idea of power, to murdering the king, to killing one of his closes friends. We truly see from his twisted plans and thoughts of murdering Banquo that he is fully corrupt and that there is no turning back from this point on.
After a long and hard battle, the Sergeant says to King Duncan, “For brave Macbeth,-well he deserves that name,- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smok’d with bloody execution , like valour’s minion carv’d out his passage till he fac’d the slave;” (1.2.16) . This quote shows that Macbeth is viewed as a valiant soldier and a capable leader. However, it does not take long for the real Macbeth to be revealed- a blindly ambitious man, easily manipulated by the prospect of a higher status. His quest for power is what drives his insanity, and after having been deemed the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition can immediately be seen. In a soliloquy, Macbeth says, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastica, shakes so my single state of man that function is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.140). Macbeth has just gained more power, and his immediate thought is of how to gain an even higher status as king. He imagines how to kill Duncan, and then is troubled by his thoughts, telling himself it is wrong. This inner struggle between Macbeth’s ambition and his hesitation to kill Duncan is the first sure sign of his mental deterioration. Although Macbeth does kill Duncan, he questions whether or not he should to do so, which is far different from how Macbeth feels about murder later in the play. Macbeth becomes king, and this power leads
Throughout The Tragedy of Macbeth, we see Macbeth change from a noble and brave soldier into a mere shadow of his former self. We meet Macbeth after a battle, the result of which has him named Thane of Cawdor. From this position, he falls to a paranoid man willing to do anything to remain in power. We can see his deterioration from the murders of Duncan and Banquo, Macbeth's second meeting with the witches, his treatment of Macduff's castle and his mental condition just before he is murdered.
Humans are always fascinated by power. Sadly, they do not realize the danger of it until it is too late. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare's underscores how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both consumed by power. In the beginning, Lady Macbeth dominates Macbeth, manipulating him to kill Duncan. After the death of Duncan, Macbeth becomes ambitious, and hires murderers to kill Banquo without notifying Lady Macbeth. Even though he is a decorated soldier, when Macbeth rises to power, he becomes ruthless. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth becomes weak, and insane. Shakespeare illustrates how Macbeth’s obsession with power undermines his moral judgement, leads to his mental deterioration, and ultimately results in his death.
... As Macbeth gained power he became more and more vile, and as he lost
An idea such as power establishes itself in most societies throughout the world. Power sets the basis for order and civilization, but it also causes chaos and collides with other human instincts such as greed and ambition. Power presents itself in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth in a confusing manner. Macbeth yearns to gain power and has the means to gain it, but the method of his gaining of power have been questioned by critics since its inscription in 1623. Macbeth, while tyrannical in gaining his power in the murdering of Duncan, sets the premise of the story and in this murder makes a name for himself on his leadership qualities. A man’s gain of power should not determine who they are as a ruler or even
The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare illustrates how greed for power and wealth can result in the destruction of oneself as well as others. The play's central character, Macbeth is not happy as a high-ranking thane - leading him to assassinate Duncan to become King, while unknowingly dooming himself. Throughout the play many examples are evident of Macbeth's unquenchable thirst for power.
The Problem of Power in Macbeth "Power poisons every man who covets it for himself" (Chute 126). In the Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, the character, Macbeth, kills the respected King Duncan in his quest for power. However, during his rule, Macbeth demonstrates that he is incapable of mastering the power and responsibilities of being a king. His drive for power and maintaining his power is the source of his downfall. Macbeth is not meant to have authority beyond Thane of Cawdor.
It is in human nature that the more power one desires the more corrupt actions one must do to attain it. In Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth, a Scottish noble's craving for power leads him to do terrible deeds that leads to his demise. Shakespeare shows that power corrupts by using Macbeth who corrupts under the thought of have power over others. Macbeth becomes corrupt under the thought of becoming king and gaining almost complete control over the people that he rules. Macbeth wants the power badly enough to do horrible deeds such as commit regicide. Lady Macbeth becomes very ambitious and allows herself to become seduced to the idea of becoming Queen. Her ruthlessness urges Macbeth to commit regicide by questioning his love for her and his own manhood.
Shakespeare's play Macbeth provides the reader with a clear understanding of ambition's corrupting power in Shakespeare's tragic character Macbeth, through his inner conflicts, struggles to maintain stable relationships with those surrounding him, and clashes with society. To begin, Macbeth experiences an internal downfall due to his ambition, where he battles 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. [.]
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth is a five-act drama that shows a clear example of how pride, greed, and power can alter a man's actions and personality. The taste of power blinds the story's main character, Macbeth. Sparked by Lady Macbeth, he becomes heartless and cruel as he kills anyone who is a threat to his power due to his paranoia of losing the throne. This fear ironically leads to his downfall and loss of the throne. The theme of the story is deceit and evil and how they affect a man's decisions.
After struggling with the thought of killing Duncan, Macbeth is reprimanded by Lady Macbeth for his lack of courage. She informs him that killing the king will make him a man, insinuating that he isn’t a man if he doesn’t go through with the murder. This develops Lady Macbeth as a merciless, nasty, and selfish woman. She will say, or do anything to get what she desires, even if it means harming others. It is this selfishness that makes it hard for the reader to be empathetic towards her later in the play, as it is evident in this scene that her hardships were brought on by herself. If she hadn’t insisted on the murder, she would not be driven in...
The corruption of power in today’s world can harm many people and things it come in contact with. For example, Donald J Trump. A man guided by his own self interest, who cares about only himself and power. Another iconic piece of corruption of power is at least one of the best plays Sir William Shakespeare has made….Macbeth. In Macbeth Corruption of power is a key thing that people often fall into when they are given a taste. Like relating back to what I was saying earlier about Donald J Trump, he gave into power too easily and he let the power manipulate him and his decisions. In this essay, I will be talking about how the corruption of power and its affects on us in today's society. Using proof from the Macbeth play,
The corrupting effect that power has on people has been seen throughout the ages in both literature and life. In literature, figures like Macbeth deteriorate into tyrants, and in life, people like Aaron Schock abuse their power for their own personal gain. Starting at the beginning of Macbeth and ending with the death of Macbeth, the effect that power
To become powerful, is to become corrupt, and The Tragedy of Macbeth is a prime example. In William Shakespeare's tragic tale, a young nobleman 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.
The main theme of Macbeth-the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints-finds its most powerful expression in the play's two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the play he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral acts. One of Shakespeare's most forcefully drawn female characters, she spurs her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong in the murder's aftermath, but she is eventually driven to distraction by the effect of Macbeth's repeated bloodshed on her conscience. In each case, ambition helped, of course, by the malign prophecies of the witches is what drives the couple to ever more terrible atrocities. The problem, the play suggests, is that once one decides to use violence to further one?s quest for power, it is difficult to stop. There are always potential threats to the throne?Banquo, Fleance, Macduff?and it is always tempting to use violent means to dispose of them.