ipl-logo

Corruption Of Power In Macbeth

310 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Macbeth corruption of power

As “Macbeth” continued, Shakespeare shows Macbeth slowly becoming more corrupt having Macbeth listening to the witch about assuming the position as king, kill Duncan for power, killing Banquo in order to remain in power. Macbeth heard the prophecy from the three witches and acknowledge that it could be true. After hearing that he had became the thane of Cawdor, Macbeth said that “If ill,/ Why hath it given me earnest of success/ Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor” (Macbeth, I, 3, 144-146). Macbeth accepting that the prophecy could be true shows that he is slowly falling into the hands of the twisted sisters, and was one of his first actions that lead to his character change. Macbeth killed the king in order to gain power. While holding
Show More
Related
739 Words | 3 Pages

He questions the witches about their knowledge on why he would become the Thane of Cawdor, as he still believes the current Thane is alive, but the witches vanish into thin air (1.3.70-78). Macbeth is told by Ross that he will be the next Thane of Cawdor, and he then realizes that this was one of the witches’ predictions. Macbeth informs Lady Macbeth of the new title, and Lady Macbeth begins planning his route to take the crown. He is very reluctant to kill the king at first, but Lady Macbeth convinces him that they will succeed by getting the chamberlains to become drunk, and Macbeth will kill Duncan with their knives (1.7.64-76). Macbeth feels a pressure from his wife, and to the three witches who predicted his future reign.

Read More
507 Words | 3 Pages

In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth and his wife plot and kill Duncan over a prophecy they receive. This leads to the death of Him and Lady Macbeth and many others. Is power a corrupting force? Yes in the play, Macbeth is given much power and he abuses it, being corrupted with the idea of power. This is prevalent through the plot, characters, tone, and theme of the play.

Read More
375 Words | 2 Pages

The scene that was chosen was Act 3, Scene 1, numbers 118 - 129. The scene is about Macbeth and two murders planning to kill Banquo. All of this stems from a fear of the witches' prediction of Banquo’s sons becoming king and taking it from Macbeth. As he thinks about this Macbeth concocts the idea to have Banquo murdered without the blood on his hands. What is so dramatic about this scene is that Macbeth and Banquo were best friends, they were almost as brothers, and they fought next to each other in battle.

Read More
662 Words | 3 Pages

The Deterioration of Macbeth In most of Shakespeare's works, there is always a certain theme. Romeo and Juliet’s theme was love and tragedy. Hamlet’s theme was the mystery of death. And the theme for Macbeth is power corruption, which I will elaborate on. In Macbeth, there are many times in which power corrupts Macbeth and he loses every bit of morality that he has.

Read More
780 Words | 4 Pages

Macbeth only becomes Thane of Cawdor, because of a traitor, but he himself later becomes a traitor. In the beginning it was easy for Macbeth to fight for his king and to honor the name of the man who ruled his land, but once he finds out his future, his entire mindset changes. Macbeth fights and wins a battle in favor for Scotland and king Duncan. A few hours after the battle, the Weird Sisters tell Macbeth what his future looks like. He becomes obsessed with the idea of becoming king and one can sense his thirst for power.

Read More
496 Words | 2 Pages

In the play Macbeth by Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth believes he will be king. The power he thinks he will have causes him to kill the people who stand in his way Of fulfilling his destiny. The Spiderman quote “With power comes great responsibility,” relates to the theme of Shakespeare's play Macbeth. Macbeth and the actor Lindsay Lohan, share the trait that people with power often abuse it, corruption is frequently the result of responsibility to great for one person.

Read More
876 Words | 4 Pages

Over the course of the play, power causes Macbeth to turn from honorable to cruel which leads to his downfall. Early on in the play, ¨Macbeth¨, Macbeth is seen as an honorable man toward everyone, especially toward king Duncan. When the witches tell Macbeth that he will be thane of Cawdor and soon king he says,¨I know I am thane of Glamis. But how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives, a

Read More
263 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the play Macbeth there are plenty of examples of corruption of power, the character that shows corruption of power the most in the play is Macbeth. Throughout the play, you can see Macbeth get greedier for power and as you continue reading the play you can see Macbeth's thirst for power. Macbeth kills the king so he could be next in line to become king, he kills Banquo, his companion, to cover his tracks of killing the king so Banquo could not get suspicious about the death of Duncan. The final example of corruption of power is when Macbeth gets the power of being king he leads troops into a battle he believes he can’t lose. "Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires"(1.4.50-51).

Read More
438 Words | 2 Pages

Because Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s decision to murder Duncan, Both face the guilt of the power they abused portrays on the shadows that reflect on them as well as the natural consequences they will face. During the first half of the play, Lady Macbeth expresses her unnatural feelings and this is demonstrated through the corruption of power when she want’s to hire people to kill Duncan because she thinks that Macbeth is too scared. At first, when Lady Macbeth hinted “Their drenchèd natures lies as in a death”(1.7.78). This demonstrates that Lady Macbeth is characterizing corruption of power due to the fact that she want's to kill Duncan, therefore she can be queen of cawdor while Macbeth is king.

Read More
931 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the tragedy, Macbeth 's character takes a big, yet gradual change for the worst as ambition starts to completely take over him. Once the three witches give Macbeth his prophecies he transitions from a brave, loyal man to a cold blooded murderer. His power hungry personality leads to a character change from who he was before he knew about the witches prophecies, after he learned of them, and right before he was murdered. In Macbeth, Shakespeare dramatises the damaging physical and mental effects of ambition on those who seek power for their own sake.

Read More
673 Words | 3 Pages

Macbeth shows that he is willing to kill King Duncan because he is interested in the witches prophecy, after they tell him that he will become ‘Thane of Cawdor’ and then the King.

Read More
1323 Words | 6 Pages

As humans, the desire to want control or influence is natural. However, some people may go to greater extremes than others to obtain this power. For instance, in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth was characterized as a good man, well renowned for winning a battle. His wife, on the contrary, Lady Macbeth, has a strong urge to obtain power and she is willing to do anything to acquire it. She implemented the thought of destroying everyone who stood in the way along the path to reach royalty in Macbeth’s mind by making him feel like he as though he is less of a man if he decided not to.

Read More
1025 Words | 5 Pages

A common theme in Macbeth is that power and corruption come hand in hand. Frequently, people with power lie and go against the better welfare of their people. Tragic hero, Macbeth, and political mastermind, Joseph Stalin, end up corrupted by trying to control and obtain power. They both wanted power and superiority so they did everything they could to get higher and higher on the totem pole.

Read More
1619 Words | 7 Pages

Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!...that shalt be king hereafter (Act 1, Scene 3).” The play Macbeth starts off with the three witches telling Macbeth and Banquo that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor and then he will become king. Soon after, Macbeth learns that King Duncan has named him as the Thane of Cawdor. With this, Macbeth begins to believe that the witches’ prophecies must be true and is determined to become king. He says, “Let not light see my black and deep desires (Act 1, Scene 4),” implying that he has the inner desire to now become king.

Read More
789 Words | 4 Pages

Power can not only bring ambitious people honors, but also make them lose everything. In the play, Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, it demonstrates that the immoral power influences the life of Macbeth dramatically. Macbeth’s abuse of power destroys his relationship with his cousin, friend, and wife, which shows that Macbeth’s wild ambition causes him to be isolated. Macbeth’s abuse of power destroys his relationship with his cousin, Duncan.

Read More

More about Corruption Of Power In Macbeth

Related Topics

Open Document