Macbeth Corruption Essay

Julian Escobar

Mrs. Cramer

Honors English 2

17 May 2023

Corruption in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Corruption can be seen in everyone, whether it’s people in power, someone you know, or even you. This case is no different in fiction, often used as a way to convey character development and to help progress the story, and this case is no different in Macbeth. Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, follows Macbeth, a general in Scotland during the 11th century, and his descent into madness as his desire for power causes him to become more and more corrupted, hurting those around him who he would have otherwised cared for. This can be seen as Macbeth killing his cousin and leader King Duncan in order to take his role as king. This leads down a long

Macbeth’s demise is eventually met by the hands of Macduff in a duel between the two. This plot connects to the thesis because of the heavy undertones of corruption in the story by Macbeth and those around him. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, corruption is used to show how power can lead one to do things that could be seen as wrong to gain or maintain power, which can be seen in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s actions and speech.

Macbeth’s actions help to show his corruption by the actions he commits to maintain his power by abusing the amount he has. This can be seen in what Macbeth says when he makes his decision on what to do to Banquo when he realizes that Banquo’s bloodline is destined to become king, which is when Macbeth says, “It is concluded. Banquo, thy souls flight, if it find heaven, must find it out tonight” (3.1.161-162). Here, in this quote from Macbeth, it can be seen that he has decided that he is going to kill Banquo and his son Fleance to prevent their bloodline from becoming king, and to make sure he and his bloodline continue to reign. This shows us that Macbeth is willing

The first example of this can be seen by Macbeth killing Duncan after hearing the witch's prophecies in order to become king, “I go, and it is done. The bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell” (2.1.75-77). This quote is the last thing Macbeth says before killing Duncan in order to gain the role of king. Macbeth says to himself after he is done doing this task that Duncan shall be summoned to heaven or hell, implying that he really is going to kill Duncan as he going to the afterlife. This shows the corruptness in Macbeth because of him killing Duncan, his own cousin and leader, in order to gain the role as king. The other piece of evidence of Macbeth’s actions being corrupted in order to gain power, is how he listens to the witches and even comes to them for help, although they are partially the reason he is now corrupted the way he is. “Even till destruction sicken, answer me to what I ask you” (4.1.63-64). In this quote, Macbeth returns to the witches, the ones who corrupted him in the first place. To gain more information to gain power, although being aware of their destructive ways, he still returns to them in order to gain information from the prophecies, which help give him power. this shows the corruptness in him,