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. 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. In the start of Macbeth, Shakespeare portrays the character Macbeth as a well respected brave warrior. Macbeth is a general who fought victoriously in battle for Scotland and his king. Macbeth’s brave and impeccable deeds don’t go unnoticed by King Duncan, who verbally praise him and grant him the new title “Thane of Cawdor.” Unhae Langis, author of Shakespeare and Prudential
If you value humility and being altruistic, you will be sincerely disappointed in the outcome of Macbeth along with modern day rulers’ real life decisions. Shakespeare’s character Macbeth was a powerful ruler who became extremely egotistical when he was given power that wasn’t his. Along with being egotistical, he is very selfish when it comes to making decisions that only benefit him. This is shown in modern day scenarios; for example, Hitler and Nayib Bukele. All three narcissistic men do things to benefit themselves to endure power.
Macbeth’s greed takes over him as he chases a fool’s dream. Macbeth's ambition leads him to secure his power; he overlooks his guilt and focuses on doing whatever it takes to hold onto his authority. Shakespeare demonstrates, in a variety of techniques, how just ambition alone can bring down the even the greatest of men. “There is something wrong with a individual’s character if opportunity controls their loyalty.” Sean Simmon’s the writer of this quote explains how blinded someone can be when given certain opportunities which can be directly related to the character Macbeth.
When we are first presented with the character of Macbeth he is pictured as a noble and loyal warrior. However, once his future is presented to him by the witches saying that he, Macbeth, is to become the next great King of Scotland, he begins to lose focus and makes the wrong decisions. Macbeth begins to only make choices that will benefit only himself and to gain power. Becoming almost unrecognizable to the person he once was. After confronting his wife, Lady Macbeth, he isn't the only one with a lust for power.
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.
In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth, one of the main characters in the play is a very ambitious person who is unable to be grateful for the power he already sustains. Thinking about what the witches had prophesied for Banquo’s son being the next king after Macbeth, angers angers. After a kong conversation between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, Macbeth comes to a conclusion about what to do about Banquo and his sons, telling his wife that , “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
Throughout the Tragedy of Macbeth, we see several changes that Macbeth goes through. From the beginning, Macbeth is depicted as a hero and a valiant soldier. However as the novel continues, his character changes dramatically from a champion to a tyrant. After winning a battle, Macbeth is given the title of Thane of Cawdor. This sparks his ambition to do whatever it takes to remain in power.
Power is always coveted in any society and the world of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is no different. In the play, Macbeth, a noble lord, shows his hunger for power with thoughts to remove an heir to the throne from power. Macbeth’s impatience to be king leads him to stain his honor by using murder. Macbeth travels further down the path of evil by arranging the assassination of a friend.
The tragedy play Macbeth by William Shakespeare tells the story of a hero’s journey to kingship. Macbeth begins the play as a war hero in the army of King Duncan. He was advised by three witches that he would soon become the Thane of Cawdor and eventually the King of Scotland. He is then named Thane of Cawdor since the previous one was being executed for betrayal. That day, Macbeth writes to his wife, Lady Macbeth, to tell her about the prophecy.
The human desire for power isn’t all that difficult to understand if one truly knows and accepts the selfish reality of human nature. Typically, at a person’s core is their need to survive. A person’s needs is that person’s number one priority because above all else, humans want to live. People are terrified of the unknown, and death is the embodiment of all things unknown.
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.
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.
As Macbeth and Banquo approach the witches, they begin to praise Macbeth for being courageous and loyal to his country during the war. Macbeth was thane of Glamis , but not the thane of Cawdor and definitely not the
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.
Throughout literature, we see human characteristics in our characters. Characteristics such as punishment, downfall, middling character, free choice, and nobility. In this play called Macbeth we see all these characteristics fall into place throughout the good and bad choices acted on by our main character Macbeth. The play demonstrates how power will make or break character and lead to his/her own destruction by possessing a few of these characteristics. Macbeth demonstrates both literal and figurative nobility as the plot beings to grow throughout the play.
Macbeth’s performance during the battles showed true bravery and courage. He Beheads Macdonwald, and he defeats Macdonwald rebels. Macbeth was able to fight off the Norwegians and the Scottish traitors, which was the Thane of Cawdor. Because of all this, King Duncan gives Macbeth the title Thane of Cawdor.