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Power corrupts in Shakespeare
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"Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it" [Lord Acton, British Historian]. It is human nature that the more power one desires the more corrupt actions they have to commit to attain power. Power is the ability to have control over people and/or things. People who are powerful can and in most cases will create an illusion of anything they want you to see about them. This illusion can make people blind to their true intentions. For instance police officers are looked at as good, we looked to them for our safety because they are here to "protect" us. Yet there are many reports of police brutality on innocent citizens. Even if a crime were to be committed there is no need for police to use violence of any sort unless action was taken on them. If no attempt of action was taken on an officer then the officer is abusing its power. Leading people to believe that police officers are corrupt meaning dishonorable, immoral, or not pure. In which case this idea of power leading to corruption is not only true but happens to those least expected to. In William Shakespeares' tragedy, Macbeth, the character Macbeth gains power by killing people and lying, he kills king Duncan out of greed, he kills his "best friends" Banquo out of fear, and then fails to realize that he is not invincible.
Power leading to corruption is more of a fact than an idea, in most cases when all is said and done the one with the power isn't who they said they'd be. Macbeth was once a Scottish nobleman whose greed for power became to overwhelming leading to his own demise. Shakespeare begins Macbeth, with the appearances of three witches. Each witch exclaims that Macbeth will be the thane of Glamis, the thane of Cawdor and afterwards he'll b...
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..., Macbeth becomes everyone’s enemy, he in convinced he is invincible which leads to his inevitable downfall and demise. Macbeth was a perfect example of how correct society is when it is said, "Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it". It means not everyone does the right thing to get to where they are, people use and abuse one another for what they want. Although it may be deceiving no one cares as long as they get what they want. Power is literally what rules the world, corruption is what happens to the ones who gain to much power. In other words there is no getting around the statement power leads to corruption.
Works Cited
[Lord Acton Quote http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely.html
Shakespeare, Willaim, and Aaron Durband. Macbeth. Shakespeare Made Easy . Hauppagem, NY: Barron, 2004. Print.
Through the characterization of the protagonist Macbeth, Shakespeare encapsulates the controlling forces the power ascertains over its victims. One of the powers that Macbeth is drawn into through the external influences such a...
The corruptive nature of power can be observed in both novels Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945) and The Wave by Todd Strasser (1981). In the wise words of Lord Acton, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." (Phrase Finder, 2012) The simple nature of mankind is to want power and when man achieves this, he gets addicted, wants more and thus becomes corrupt. This exploitation of dominance relates to when the dictator loses his moral values and abuses power purely for his own benefit and loses sight of what the initial goals were. Even the best intentions, such as those that were only just formed in Animal Farm and The Wave, can be distorted by the basic human instinct of selfishness
To conclude, power itself is not corrupt by its nature. Power turns corrupt when people use it for their self-interests instead of for the good of many. Shakespeare shows that the corrupt power does not triumph with the death of Claudius as well as those affected by it, including Hamlet, Gertrude, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Laertes. Overall, Shakespeare was trying to show that power is not corrupt until an individual abuses it for wrong reasons. It is man's free will that allows the human race to choose how power will be used.
Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.
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
In the Shakespearean tragedy, "Macbeth", there are many examples of corruption. When Macbeth became Thane of Cordor, his wife, Lady Macbeth, was very delighted to hear of such news. And upon hearing that Macbeth had been visited by witches who saw Macbeth as king, she used every last resort to thrust her husband into power, by use of murder (of the king), blackmail and fraud. This is a perfect example of corruption, because as soon as she felt the tingle of power, she was lusting for more.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, ambition is defined as an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power. Power is defined as the ability or right to control people or things. Neither of these definitions have a positive connotation. Often, people with ambition will step on whomever they need to get what they want. Do ambitious people ever feel happy with their lives, or are they always striving for more while others are perfectly content? How do power and ambition influence the choices we make? This is apparent throughout many works of literature and film. In Macbeth, Macbeth is driven by his ambition to become king. In Animal Farm, Napoleon is driven by his ambition to control the farm. In The Little Mermaid, Ursula is driven
Lord Acton once said “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”, which William Shakespeare proves in his play “Othello” through the manipulative character Iago. Throughout the play Iago craves power and deceives others to receive power. Over time Iago gets the power he desires and his corrupt self is eventually seen by others. Power debases Iago as how he got the power is not righteous. Within the tragedy, Shakespeare uses the idea of appearance versus reality with Iago, to show how authority can pervert a person.
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.
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Lady Macbeth is one of the perfect examples of the total corruption power and ambition can cause. She starts out confident, sure of her ambition and how to gain it. She believed that by becoming a man, becoming what she thought was a creature who would stop at nothing to attain power and it's privileges, she could gain what she needed without being impeded by emotions such as remorse, or pity. She calls upon the witches to give her these things and so creates an interesting relationship with them despite never actually meeting them. Finally, however, Lady Macbeth appears not to be able to hold her cool and collected self together. She begins sleep-walking and it is here that we see her fear truly appear. She becomes corrupted not only in body and soul, but fully in the mind as well.
... As Macbeth gained power he became more and more vile, and as he lost
Shakespeare’s writing of Macbeth captivated his audience and kept them on the edge of their seats. Macbeth is a classic tale of greed and corruption. The more power a person has the more corrupted they become. They had to have what they did and more, it was never enough. They would do whatever it took to get what they wanted even if it meant killing the King of Scotland, just so they could have it all. Corruption controls and destroys lives and will turn you into a person that others don’t want to be around. It changed the lives of the people of Scotland and corruption still changes lives today. When a person is in power too long and the decisions they make directly conflict with others they don’t feel responsible for their actions. The facts remain, whether you prefer the truth or the captivating fiction, both stories of Macbeth will be remembered for years to
William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Macbeth is driven by goals and ambition. When one is working towards the achievement of power, a different mindset is developed, sometimes for the worse. Once Macbeth disregarded his conscience, he could achieve his goal by whatever means necessary. Though Lady Macbeth also wanted to gain power, she took a different approach. Rather than physically removing people from the picture, she implemented tactics of manipulation. Though Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both working towards a common goal together, they go about it in different ways.
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.
We see the character of Macbeth go through a personality transformation after a powerful predicament from Three witches. Starting as the highly thought of thane of Glamis, Macbeth is told he shall become thane of Cawdor and then king. The witches, quickly portrayed as evil, could have predicted these events, or simply planted the idea in Macbeth’s head, to exploit his fatal flaw.