Abuse Of Power In Macbeth

Damonte Dorsey
Mr. Miazga
IB, English III HL
Summative Assessment, Macbeth,
Word Count: _____
How did English playwright William Shakespeare use the motif of tyranny to highlight the dangers of unchecked ambition and the corruption of power in his tragedy play, Macbeth? Tyranny is the cruel, oppressive, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control. Tyrants make harsh decisions affecting many people’s lives, eventually leading to their downfall. In the tragedy play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth, “a victorious general,” receives a prophecy that he will become king. Through the manipulative nature of his wife, his life takes a turn for the worst. Shakespeare uses the motif of hallucinations and illusions to emphasize the guilt

He feels the pressure of his conscience weighing on his mind. “Is this a dagger that I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch you. I have not seen thee, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight? Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?” (2.1.48-51) Macbeth, under the pressure of his wife, questions whether he should murder Duncan. His “heat-obsessed brain” is feeding him the illusion of a dagger. He’s unsure what to do or if he should do it. The hallucination of the blade that Macbeth sees shows his uncertainty, fear, and foreshadowed guilt. Knowing that he is an honorable general, he feels the guilt of betrayal, eventually overwhelming him. “Mine eyes are made fools of the other senses or worth all the rest. I see thee still, and, on thy blade and dagger, gouts of blood, which were not so before. There’s no such thing. It is the bloody business that informs/so to mine eyes” (2.1.56–61). Macbeth is currently imagining how he’ll kill Duncan. He wants to trick himself into believing he could kill such a righteous man. His manliness is tested, and he is willing to put his honor behind him. Shakespeare’s use of this soliloquy paints the picture that Macbeth is trying to psych himself into

“Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” (5.2.53-55) Lady Macbeth’s conscience is constantly overwhelmed by what she’s done. This shows when she’s sleepwalking and is witnessed by the gentleman. Her guilt is emphasized when she says, “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand,” meaning that she believes that no matter what she does, the smell of blood will not go away. Her horrific actions haunt her, and she cannot overcome them. Which has been the reason why she’s been sleepwalking. “The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands never be clean? No more of that, my lord, no more of that. You mar all with this starting.” (5.1.44-47) Lady Macbeth is starting to become overwhelmed by guilt; she believes that she’s the reason that the wife of the Thane of Fife is nowhere to be found. Her actions are finally catching up to her, and she’s feeling the momentum of them crashing into her. This quote is also very ironic because we know that the wife of the Thane of Fife has been killed at Macbeth’s command. But it is known that Lady Macbeth was the catalyst for all the evil deeds both have done thus far. She began to hallucinate because she couldn’t handle having so many deaths happening under their rule. Instead