Power Corrupts
Power can lead to either great things or a tragic ruin. Sadly, it is more often that power leads to a dark, desolate place. Many leaders are easily corrupted by the power they are granted. When power falls into the wrong hands, then disaster is just around the corner. The corrupted leaders typically don’t last long in their position and bring themselves down quickly. People tend to take advantage of the power because they are given power overnight and don’t know the best way to handle it. The lust for power is where the corruption begins. Throughout history, it is clear that when one gains power for the wrong reasons, they don’t use the power wisely. Power corrupts is a theme clearly seen in The Tragedy of Macbeth, Hamlet, and Animal Farm.
In The Tragedy of Macbeth, power evidently corrupts Macbeth. He longs to have the power that King Duncan has and will stop at nothing to get it. In his lust for power, he kills King Duncan in his sleep. His wife convinces him to commit the heinous crime. The three witches tell Macbeth that he would eventually become king, and his impatience leads him into action. When Macbeth
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finally gains the power he longs for, it doesn’t take long before he is a complete tyrant. When someone stands in the way of his kingship, he has him immediately killed. The witches prophesy that his good friend Banquo would be the father of a long line of kings, but this meant Macbeth wouldn’t be king forever so he has Banquo and his son killed. Returning to the witches, Macbeth finds out that he is safe from Macduff, but has his family killed anyway out of fear. After Macbeth commits his murders, he shows no signs of remorse. In an article printed in the New Zealand Herald, Dixon says people believe Macbeth went mad, but he really knew exactly what he was doing the whole time (Dixon). The power truly went to his head and he would do anything and everything to stay in power. In an article on BBC, it shows that Shakespeare uses the theme of power corrupts in Macbeth because of an event during the reign of King James I. Guy Fawkes and his soldiers attempted to blow up King James and his parliament in 1605 (BBC Editors). Those who participated in the event were brutally tortured and executed after they confessed. King James I strongly supported Shakespeare, so Shakespeare wrote Macbeth as a form of warning to anyone else who was thinking about killing the king. The editors of BBC make a good point by saying, “Excessive ambition will have terrible consequences.” Macbeth literally loses everything when he lets the power corrupt him. King Claudius is another example of a king corrupted by power. King Claudius has a story similar to Macbeth’s story. In his lust for power, Claudius poisons King Hamlet, which happens to be his brother. Just two months after he assumes the throne, he takes his brother's widow and marries her. This greatly disturbs Prince Hamlet because he has some suspicions about Claudius. Denmark falls into a very dark place while King Claudius is in power and Prince Hamlet says it best in Hamlet, “Denmark’s a prison” (Shakespeare 2.2.236). Because he doesn’t want to lose his power, Claudius tries very hard to cover up his guilt from killing King Hamlet, but Prince Hamlet has a way of proving he is guilty. Prince Hamlet sets up a play to prove Claudius’s guilt and as soon as Claudius realizes the purpose of the play, he runs out and continues to try to cover up what he has done. His power as king makes him think that he can hide his guilt forever. King Claudius wants to conceal his guilt longer, so he decides to come up with a master plan to kill Prince Hamlet. Only Prince Hamlet knows the significance the event of Claudius running out of the play. It shows that he is guilty of killing the king. Just like Macbeth, King Claudius lets the power take over and he is eventually defeated. It is not very clear as to why Shakespeare used the theme of power corrupts in Hamlet.
Shakespeare wrote it during the start of the seventeenth century and he likely borrowed the story from an earlier text. SparkNotes says there are a few different possible sources, but Shakespeare most likely borrowed Hamlet from a twelfth-century Latin history of Denmark written by Saxo Grammaticus, and Histoires Tragiques by a French writer named Francois de Belleforest (SparkNotes Editors). Shakespeare wrote Hamlet as a revenge story that would fit in with the themes and ideas of the Renaissance. Shakespeare shows how one character's actions affect the entire kingdom. When Claudius gains the power of the king, every single decision he makes affects everyone, not only his family. When power takes over it causes Claudius to make irrational
decisions. Orwell wrote Animal Farm much later than the works of Shakespeare, but it still carries the same theme. Old Major is a pig who is the head of the farm and he no longer wants to live under the authority of the humans. Sadly, he dies soon after he expresses the ideas of rebellion. Not long after his death, Napoleon and Snowball begin fighting for power. Snowball comes up with the idea of building a windmill. Knowing that it is a good idea, Napoleon rejects the idea. Napoleon knows he would lose popularity if Snowball has a better idea than he does. Assuming more and more power, Napoleon runs Snowball from the farm and puts the other animals to work on the windmill. Being the tyrant he is Napoleon decides that the other animals have no say in anything regarding the farm and the pigs are the only ones who can make decisions. A storm damages the windmill and when Napoleon finds out, he again puts the other animals to work immediately. As time goes on, Napoleon begins acting more and more like a human and begins treating the other animals poorly. The pigs take over the farmer’s house, and sit inside eating while the other animals are outside tirelessly working with little nourishment. Boxer is the most loyal of all the animals, which lead to his demise. Orwell states in Animal Farm that Boxer’s two mottos are, “Napoleon is always right” and “I will work harder” (Orwell 69) Receiving many wounds during a battle, Boxer is weak and falls down while working on the windmill. The animals assume that Boxer went to the hospital, but truthfully, Napoleon sells him to the glue factory so he can have more money for the things he wants. By the end of the book, the animals can no longer tell the difference between the pigs and the humans. The power the animals give to Napoleon led to the complete downfall of the Animal Farm. Even though Napoleon was really just an animal as the rest of them, the power he gained made him think he was superior to the rest of the animals. An article on English Works says George Orwell wrote Animal Farm as an allegory of the Russian Revolution (Minter). The theme of power corrupts is evident all throughout Soviet Russia, so Orwell doesn’t have to add the theme to the story. He primarily writes Animal Farm to show how oppressive the Soviet Union was. Joseph Stalin was a terrible dictator who claimed to want equality within the nation, but really ended up just bringing the nation down completely. He saw what he could do with the power he gained and didn’t know when to stop. According to the Context of Animal Farm, Totalitarian Communism is a form of government where one ruling party controls the actions of the rest of the state. The Animal Farm created by Napoleon is definitely an example of this type of government. Animal Farm is as an attack on any kind of power that tries to control in an unjust way (SparkNotes Editors). In conclusion, power can easily fall into the wrong hands and wreak havoc on an entire society. Allison Porter, who wrote an article for the Kentucky Bulletin said, “Injustice and unhappiness increase when rulers take unfair advantage of those they govern” (Porter 22). Macbeth lusted for power and ended up killing innocent people to get what he wanted. King Claudius killed the reigning king, took over, and led Denmark to a very dark place. Neither one of these men were happy with the outcome of their actions. They let the power they possessed destroy their morals. If they‘d have known the grief they would go through, then they wouldn’t have done the things they did. Napoleon may have seemed okay with his actions at first, but he had completely lost his identity by the end of the story. Power changed all of these characters immensely. They were all moral characters until they assumed positions of power. The power they gained completely corrupted them in the end.
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.
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.
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
Power. It is defined as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Throughout time, certain individuals have acquired power in their society as a way to govern and keep order among their community. Power is not a new concept; it was used in the past by many emperors, kings, and queens, and is still being used by presidents, prime ministers, and dictators. Although, it has been used to further progress societies into what the world is like today, not all power has been used for the best of mankind. But what goes awry to make power turn corrupt? In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, it is illustrated how power can turn corrupt, when authoritative figures, who possess power, abuse it for their personal gain, rather than for the common good of the society.
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
Even after four hundred years, Shakespeare's plays still continue to resonate with modern audiences. This is because Shakespeare's plays explore universal themes which still remain relevant in today's society. In Macbeth, Shakespeare dramatically explores how one man's excessive ambition and greed for power led him to tyranny and absolute destruction. The ideas explored in Macbeth still remain relevant in the contemporary world where individuals can get tempted by wealth and power and forget all sense of moral direction.
What drove him to become a power hungry tyrant was his wife. She put ideas in his head that changed him. A day before Macbeth would not speak of the idea of killing the king and now he was considering it. By killing the Duncan, gaining the title and king, and not being caught, Macbeth was given an enormous boost. He now felt invincible and let power finally get to him and corrupt him. With this new amount of power, Macbeth was not willing to let it slip away. To protect his power, he did whatever was necessary. Macbeth cowardly had Banquo killed, going against everything he ever believed in. Killing Banquo was not enough for Macbeth. Shakespeare shows to the audience how power can make a person go higher in the world but at the same time make them more vulnerable. Macbeth was now vulnerable, to solve this he sent the murderers to kill Macduff.
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.
Macbeth abuses his own power by murdering and getting away with it, lying to his followers or ones who believe him, and bribing his servants. The first abuse in power is killing Duncan and getting away with it. Macbeth and his wife had planned to murder him in such a way where no one would believe that they had done it. “I have done the deed—didst thou not hear a noise?” (2.2.L14) This is Macbeth telling his wife that he...
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.
Macbeth chooses the wrong path to accomplish his ambition. Killing Duncan is wrong and he knows it but can’t help himself. An example for dominance of power in addition to Macbeth can be presented in Brian De Palma’s movie Scarface. Al Pacino as Tony Montana creates excessive wealth from distributing cocaine because he thrives for power. As the movie progresses, the drugs make him crazy and he kills more and more people who die in violence followed by the main character. Similarly, Macbeth’s ambition for power becomes his weakness which finally brings tragedy to his character. He is a tragic hero because he can’t seem to help himself even though in the beginning he was good and was a hero in Scotland. Similarly to Dr. Mathur, Faith Nostbakken argues that “The witches do not completely determine Macbeth’s actions. If they did, Macbeth would simply be a victim rather than a tragic figure who suffers the consequences of his own choices. As he wades deeper and deeper into his own darkness, pulling the kingdom down with him, the weird sisters spur Macbeth to his own corruption…In the service of evil rather than good, they equivocate in their prophecies, encouraging destructive behavior.” (Understanding Macbeth
Macbeth’s visions and the prophecies of the witches cause Macbeth to make poor decisions, which lead him to his eventual downfall. Macbeth started off as a noble, virtuous man, he was loyal to the king and was well respected by the other noblemen. The prophecies and hallucinations corrupted Macbeth’s intentions and as a result, Macbeth became power hungry and overzealous. A combination of Macbeth’s ambition and paranoia lead to many senseless murders.
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.
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 Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is presented with circumstances that are beyond his control. However, he isn’t able to behave how he wants as many internal and external factors negatively influence his actions and way of thinking. He meets three witches that tell him about his future and how he will eventually become the king of Scotland. Macbeth believes the witch’s prophecy and imagines all the fame and power that would come with the crown. His desire outweighs his ability to think rationally as he has “black and deep desires” (1.4.3) to kill Duncan. Macbeth really doesn’t want to harm him, as Duncan is very loyal and caring, however, the idea of unlimited power changes his mind. He executes his original plan and claims the throne