Search For Power In Macbeth

One of the most profound and disturbing themes in Shakespeare’s Macbeth involves the search for power. Under the influence of unchecked power, Macbeth takes actions that have serious and devastating consequences for himself and for other characters in the play. Once Macbeth has committed an act in which he uses power for negative ends, he finds it increasingly difficult to restrain himself from resorting to the perverted use of power. Macbeth’s search for power leads himself into to bad decisions and things he will regret for a long time. The search for power will lead people to do crazy things. Throughout the play from the prophecy in the beginning to, Macbeth’s guilt trip to Macbeth being killed. The search for power does not begin with

He now has some power and doesn’t want to lose any, and will do anything to stay in power. “And though I could with barefaced power sweep him from my sight and bid my will avouch it, yet I must not, for certain friends that are both his and mine, whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall who I himself struck down. And thence it is that I to your assistance do make love, masking the business from the common eye for sundry weighty reasons. (3.1.134-142) Macbeth has this thought to kill Banquo because he his in Macbeth’s way of becoming king. Macbeth doesn’t want to kill Banquo because he believes that he will lose power because everyone who cared for him and banquo would soon lose love for him. Macbeth is too guilty and people are starting to notice something weird about Macbeth, Banquo believes that Macbeth has something to do with the murder of the king. “There's comfort yet; they are assailable.Then be thou jocund. Ere the bat hath flown His cloister'd flight, ere to black Hecate's summons The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums Hath rung night's yawning peal, there shall be done A deed of dreadful note. (3.2.44-49) This quote is significant because Macbeth is now planning to kill banquo because Macbeth believes banquo knows he killed the king and that would affect his rise to power. he explains how he is going to hire assassins to do the dirty work

Macbeth is now king and the prophecy has come true. Macbeth feels invincible and goes into battle with no armor and is willing to kill anybody that stands in front of him. Macbeth believes he can’t be killed because of the prophecy. ” thou wast born of women. But swords i smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, brandished by man that's of a woman born”. The rush of feeling invincible has rushed to Macbeth’s head, he now is cocky, ignorant and looking to kill more people. Macbeth his not afraid of battle and goes into it with no armor on, macbeth is not scared of Macduffs sword because he can not be killed by a man born by a woman. At the end of the play Macbeth’s reign of terror has come to an end “Hail king for so thou art behold where stands the usurpers cursed head. The time is free” (5.8.54-55) Macbeth throughout the play had gone through many feeling on his way to power, Macbeth fights macduff at the end of the play. Macduff kills Macbeth and severs his head for all the people Macbeth had killed. None of this would have happened if Macbeth wasn’t greedy for power and just followed his gut from the beginning of the