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Ambition in macbeth
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Ambition in macbeth
Mental health in macbeth
Character Analysis Of Macbeth Essay
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Jacalyn Doerwald Shugrue/Stins Humanities 6+7 The Power-Hungry Macbeth Macbeth is praised a hero at the beginning of the story, and by the end, he’s considered a villain. Macbeth had his rise of power, and then his plunge to less than nothing. It’s actually quite interesting to see how Macbeth is affected by outside influences. All beginning with the witches, then to Lady Macbeth, he is heavily influenced.
Trevor Bingham English IV Mrs. Ruiz Feb 14, 2023 Macbeth in Control Would you kill your best friend for what you desire most in the world? Would you sacrifice everything you love? In Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Macbeth A Scottish general, Macbeth, was told by three witches that approached him on the battlefield about his future. He is encouraged to kill the king by his wife to move his future along faster.
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.
There are many instances in media such as movies, books, and TV shows where a good character is turned evil either by their actions or the influences of another. This polarizing action also occurs in the real world and can be witnessed through looking at history, or looking at our world today. In the case of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar there are several characters who go mad with power, most noticeably Marcus Brutus, often referred to as ‘Brutus’. Another instance of a person of significance being corrupted by power is Henry VIII of England. Both men in a like manner started out innocent, were given a taste of power, and then took advantage of that power and became corrupt.
Desire, power, control: Three traits that are ignited in Macbeth as a result of his wife, Lady Macbeth and the three witches. From the start, we are introduced to the main character, the Thane of Glamis, a patriotic and noble man. We see things start to change after Macbeth is visited by three witches, who predicts he will soon become the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth ignores this prediction until he visits his wife, Lady Macbeth. In Macbeth, Macbeth is manipulated by his wife Lady Macbeth, and the witches, who are the true causes of his downfall.
Macbeth may not be the hero Scotland thought he was, because he could have genuinely been a good person and cared about Duncan or only considered not killing him because he was his cousin being the only thing stopping him from doing it. But the power could be to blame since some naturally want the power to control others, though not everybody with power is bad. Duncan is a good example of power not causing people to be corrupt, since he treated Macbeth well by giving him land, making him cawdor, etc. Maybe it was the fact that Macbeth was his cousin, but he wasn’t killing everybody he didn’t trust like macbeth did. As a matter of fact Duncan even stayed over in Macbeth’s castle without any suspicion towards him at all.
Everyone, at one point in their lives has wanted power more than anything. Those who do get it have to make the decision whether they want to use it for good or evil. Power can turn a person into something they never dreamed they would become because it starts to take over their lives and people do not know what to do with so much power. There are many examples of power in the play Macbeth and every person that got it used it in very different ways. This caused many changes in people from turning from good to evil or evil to good.
Abusing power is capable of ruining many lives, including the individual’s. Having power can be a good thing, but misusing it, such as characters from the works Brave New World, Oedipus the King, and the movie, The Giver causes destruction. In each work, a character possesses great power and misandles it. In Brave New World, Mustapha Mond is able to dehumanize an entire civilization with the use of many practices and drugs. Oedipus, in Oedipus the King, lets his hubris get the best of him, and results in a horrible punishment for himself.
Throughout history power has been corrupted people many times. For example, Hitler, Napoleon, and even George Bush have all been corrupted by power. Any person who gains power usually uses it to their advantage. Shakespeare realized that humans are naturally corrupted by power. Many of the kings and queens of his day were corrupt.
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.
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.
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.
It is human nature to want power, to be at the top of the pyramid, to be king/queen, but that comes at a price as shown in Macbeth. In the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth will do anything to have absolute power and nothing stands in their way. From killing to going completely mad, they will become the next king and queen at all costs. The ambition and the want for power is so high that they kill many, they do whatever they can to be one step closer, and they go completely insane, all because they want that absolute power.
Most people question, “ How does the quest of power cause people to act? ”. Over the years the question has been proved to cause people to act differently. Not just in history but in many movies, plays, books, and even in current events today. The quest of power drives people to do things out of their character.
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.