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How Does Shakespeare Present The Corruption Of Power In Macbeth

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Corruption: the process by which something once innocent and pure, turns dark and cruel. Power: the ability to do as one pleases, and direct others as they wish. Together, these two make a sinister and destructive pair. William Shakespeare explores the corruption of someone that follows the gain of undeserved power. Both Macbeth, and his wife, Lady Macbeth, demonstrate the corruption that shadows their crowns. Macbeth, a play by William Shakespeare, illustrates the corruption of soul and mind due to an immense greed for power. Macbeth’s morals align with those of a noble Thane. He proves his devoted loyalty to the country of Scotland, and his beloved King, Duncan. But, once the witches enlighten him of his chance to be crowned king, he throws aside all …show more content…

Macbeth is consciously aware of the pure evil he has turned to. When Young Siward unknowingly meets Macbeth, he questions what his name is, believing nothing he could say would be worse than the name of Satan. Macbeth takes this insult to heart, and decides to prove him wrong: “My name’s Macbeth” (5.7.8). Macbeth decides to prove the child wrong solely to show the true darkness of his soul. This decision establishes the corruption of his soul. He has done irreversible damage to himself by the actions he has taken to get to the throne. Macbeth has committed murder and treason all to fulfil a greedy wish. His acknowledgement of this corruption further harbours it. The pride he holds of his dark and corrupted soul is truly inhuman, making him all the more similar to the Devil. Had Macbeth never fought for the crown, his soul would still hold the same innocence it did while he was a Thane. Additionally, the corruption of Macbeth’s mind stems from his strong desire to keep the crown. His internal instincts become severely altered, causing this corruption. Once Macbeth learns about Macduff’s fleeing to England, he decides now and

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How Does Macbeth Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

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Absolute Power corrupts Absolutely As In a close reading from, Macbeth, William Shakespeare reveals to the reader, the staggering character development of the Thane of Cawdor and Glamis, and soon to be future King Macbeth. The author illustrates Macbeth as a man known to everyone as “Valour’s Minion” , and an honorable person to becoming a sadistic and cold-blooded king. As we progress in the story we see that Macbeth first taste with Murder starts with him doubting himself , and his ability in killing an innocent soul. As Macbeth’s persona begins to change, the murdering of Banquo becomes so effortless and easy, than that of King Duncan’s was , because Macbeth saw the “light” in Banquo and realized how far Banquo could threaten his kingship.

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Shakespeare reflects Macbeth’s descent into moral corruption by shaping Macbeth’s thoughts to acknowledge himself as immersed in deep bloodshed. Macbeth’s belief that it would be difficult to turn back from his actions, as Shakespeare intended, illustrates his egocentric trait. Macbeth either doesn’t want to or doesn’t see any other path than to continue his heinous acts. Macbeth only thinks about the actions that benefit him to continue as king. Shakespeare ruins Macbeth’s ego by having his desires unchecked or seen by anyone else, leading him to corrupt himself further and harm

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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.

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Macbeth's Desire For Power

118 Words | 1 Pages

Macbeth, the character, provides a perfect example of how even an honorable person can become corrupt when this desire is not regulated. While Macbeth is loyal and compassionate at the beginning of the play, he turns into a crazed lunatic by the end, simply because he chose to pursue power the wrong

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How Does Shakespeare Maintain Power In Macbeth

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A continuous struggle for power is a common idea in literature, but the immoral desire of power can destroy the goodness in people. In the tragedy, Macbeth William Shakespeare introduces Macbeth and his story how his desires of power lead to his demise. Initially Macbeth was a loyal warrior who lived and served for his king,; however, his desires for power corrupts him. In order to maintain his power, he begins to kill

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Everyone wants power and control. Power makes people feel irreplaceable and secure, like they can cut ways through life with power by controlling their surroundings and eliminating their enemies. Shakespeare's Macbeth shows how rapidly a person can be easily changed by a small taste of power and their strong desire for it afterwards. One of the characters, Macbeth, demonstrates to the audience how a righteous person in no time could become malicious. In the beginning of the play it is obvious that Macbeth is a loyal and patient person but once his desire of power gets heightened, he becomes greedy and malicious.

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Written by Shakespeare, “Macbeth” offers a journey, a deep analysis of fate and free will altering a man’s suppressed desire; driven by supernatural forces, to his closest loved one. One of Shakespeare’s most compelling characters Macbeth is depicted as a praised hero, a loyal and good warrior soon entangled with the likes of dark witches, his foils, and his wife that initiate the downfall of his short reign as king.” Macbeth” is an inevitable tragedy tainted by the grasp of corrupting power and ambition, a trail of destruction breaking moral constraints. ” Fair is foul, foul is fair”, appearances are deceiving some hidden behind intricate prophecies, or heroic acts; as a whole

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How Is Corruption Shown In Macbeth

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Macbeth’s corruption neither comes from nothing or from one single cause. The witches’ prophecy, those weird sisters, rose his curiosity and interest in the first place. Lady Macbeth, his seemingly innocent wife, pressures him into taking the throne in the first place. His ambition, his desire to be king, influences his decisions after he takes the throne. Macbeth’s corruption originates from the witches’ prophecy and continues through Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s own ambition.

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Macbeth's Strengths And Weaknesses

824 Words | 4 Pages

At the beginning of William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ the protagonist Macbeth is described as ‘brave’, ‘noble’ and ‘honourable’, however Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeths desire for power consumes them. Macbeth’s ambition overrides his conscience and transformed his greatest strength into his greatest weakness. Macbeth’s inability to resist temptations that led him to be greedy for power, Macbeth’s easily manipulative nature which allowed his mind to be swayed, Macbeth having no self control and his excessive pride was what allowed him to renew his previously honourable and celebrated title into one of an evil ‘tyrant’. Macbeth is led by the prophecies of the witches after they foretell he will become the Thane of Cawdor. Not only the witches, but also his wife easily manipulate Macbeth as she attacks his manhood in order to provoke him to act on his desires.

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Although at the beginning of the book he is portrayed as a very honorable man the promise of power tempts him to do anything to attain that power showing how even a noble man such as Macbeth at the beginning of the play When given hope of attaining power reveals his greed and thirst for power and what he is willing to do for it. The concept of power and Corruption have been researched and studied throughout the years and found in multiple fields none being more prominent than politics. although it is commonly

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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.

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William Shakespeare, playwright of Macbeth, shows the importance that power and corruption can hold on a person’s humanity. In order to prove the true effect of personal gains, he uses the main character, Macbeth, to show how evil people are willing to become. Personal power has the ability to be essential to greatness, but at the same time is able to destroy a person’s true nature. Believe it or not, Macbeth once was a man of honor. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth was loyal to King Duncan, a strong military leader, and a respected husband.

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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.

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Macbeth loses his last scrap of morality when he orders the murder of innocents to enrage a rival. Shakespeare’s Macbeth shows that humans will do whatever it takes to achieve and maintain power by charting Macbeth’s descent from noble thane to murderous tyrant. Macbeth’s position of thane is already quite powerful but the need for more power overwhelms his loyalties to others.

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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.

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