Similarities Between Napoleon And Macbeth

“There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.”(Charles de Montesquieu) Most of the tyrants throughout both history and literature are similar because tyrants possess the same characteristics. Two famous military dictators are Macbeth and Napoleon. Macbeth is the Irish leader in the Shakespeare play Macbeth. Napoleon was a French emperor who came to power after the chaos of the French Revolution. While these two are similar by the way they came to power, they are quite different in their reactions to their wife's death and by the acts they did while being leader of their country. Macbeth began his ascent to power in a way that was similar to most monarchs of the time; planning a coup. A coup is defined as a violent and illegal way of seizing government power. Macbeth is most famous for his plan to kill Duncan, the King of Scotland. This idea takes root after hearing the prophecy the witches gave. They foretold that he would first become the thane of Glamis and then the King of Scotland. When he began to second guess his plan to kill Duncan, Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth convinced him to follow through with it. Their

While Macbeth worked to only benefited himself and his throne, Napoleon worked to help the entire nation. One of the most well known actions Napoleon did during his rule was the creation of the Civil Code of 1804. This new code, also called the Napoleonic Code, established a new way for judicial ruling and “equality under law” (Kishlansky 626 ). Napoleon also established better education programs and helped to improve the economic situations by creating the Bank of France. The Bank of France centralized the taxing system and made a stabilized currency. Napoleon did not do these things to make himself better but to make the nation better as a whole. However, Macbeth did things to make himself a better