Tyranny in Shakespeare's Macbeth

Tyranny in Shakespeare's Macbeth

All humanity is tyrannical. Every person wants the world to conform to their wishes. A product of the ego, this desire culminates in tyranny among those that have the arrogance, opportunity, and instability to embrace and foster it. We find Macbeth with the opportunity, and his arrogance and instability are bred by ego and contranatural forces, such that he becomes a tyrant. Duncan's soft handed rule allows Macbeth the opportunity to plot against him while his proclamation of Malcom as the heir to his throne provides motive, a wounded ego. Lady Macbeth and the witches, whether they be contranatural forces or perverted minds, prod him into action, exacerbating his tyrannical leanings, and sway the inner conflict which eventually develops. Macbeth's rise to tyranny and his hold on it are products of his ego, provoked by inner conflict and those around him, and as such are opposed to the natural order which strives for balance.

Tyranny is not something easily obtainable. By it's nature, it cannot be. The rule of one must be a complicated task simply because it requires the subjugation of all others. At first, Macbeth feigns indifference, claiming that "If Chance will have me King, why, Chance may crown me, without my stir,"1 and "I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more, is none."2 There is an inner conflict inside Macbeth, a sign of his weak character, which outwardly questions the morality of his actions, but more truthfully questions the probability of success. He is not at all concerned with whether what he is doing is right, he only cares about whether he will succeed. Finally, his strength comes to him, when "Nature seems dead, and w...

... middle of paper ...

...eclaims the power that Macbeth has usurped. Each force that played a part in his accession played an equal part in his downfall. Self, wife, and witch together toppled Macbeth as they proved poor opponents for the force of Nature. The offensive tyrant is banished, and Nature returns what is rightfully his to Malcom.

Work Cited

Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul arstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.

1Act I. Sc. III. Ln. 142-4

2Act I.Sc. VII. Ln. 46-7

3Act II. Sc. I. Ln. 50-1

4Act I. Sc. VII. Ln. 27

5Act I. Sc. VII. Ln. 12

6Act I. Sc. V. Ln. 40-6

7Act V. Sc. I. Ln. 68-9

8Act V. Sc. I. Ln. 9

9Act III. Sc. I. Ln. 60, 65

10Act IV. Sc. I. Ln. 50, 104-5

11Act I. Sc. V. Ln. 1-3

12Act II. Sc. III. Ln. 58-9

13Act II. Sc. IV. Ln. 9-10

14Act II. Sc. II. Ln 60-2