Word Literature, Period 7
8 May 2018
Three Parallels of Macbeth and Bashar al-Assad’s Rise to Power
In the play, Macbeth, greed was a dominating theme. It defined Macbeth and his actions, and over time he became a cruel and corrupt leader. Macbeth commits murder to gain power and retain his position as King of Scotland. This is not unlike Bashar al-Assad, the current dictator of Syria. While Bashar didn’t kill anyone to become president, he did join the military and was groomed to be the next president after his father passed away. In each case, once greed influenced their rise to power, Macbeth and Bashar both took similar paths that was directed by evil wrongdoings.
In looking back at Bashar and Macbeth’s beginnings we see that both
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The act of killing the king was too much for Macbeth to bear.
Bashar and Macbeth use their power as leaders to either corrupt or murder anyone who opposes their rule. As time went on, both men have found it easier and easier to kill those opposed to their leadership.
When Bashar first came to be the ruler of Syria, he seemed to want to change the culture of the Syrian people. Shortly after taking over the leadership of Syria, he was able to remove many potential rivals. Early in his tenure as leader, he stated that “democracy was a tool to a better life” (Bashar al-Assad Biography 3). However, that transition never took place and the people of Syria continued to be treated poorly, and in some cases, in-humane.
After killing Duncan, Macbeth begins to dwell on the prophecy given to Banquo when they met the three witches in the woods. Although Banquo would never be king, his son Fleance would be named head of the throne in the future. Macbeth became very jealous and thought that his friend, Banquo might suspect him of killing Duncan. Banquo is a brave and wise man. These qualities allow Macbeth to see Banquo as a rival. Macbeth
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‘Tis much he dares,
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor
To act in safety. There is none but he Whose being I do fear; and under him My genius is rebuked, as it is said
Mark Antony's was by Caesar” (3.1.53-61).
Macbeth’s greed to retain his power blinded him and made him believe Banquo meant him harm. Macbeth ignored the past when he was Banquo’s friend and instead focused on keeping power. So to assure his reign as king Macbeth orders the murderers to kill Banquo.
At the coronation, Macbeth’s paranoia got the better of him, and he thought he saw Banquo’s ghost at the dinner party. When he begins to yell at Banquo’s ghost the lords and ladies realize it was he who killed Duncan and Banquo. In Act III, Scene IV, Macbeth says in front of his guests:
“Avaunt, and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee!
Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold;
Thou hast no speculation in those eyes
Which thou dost glare with.” (3.4.112-115)
This shows how far Macbeth has fallen into a world of madness that is driven by
He tries everything he can to rid himself of the witches' forecasts. He dispatches assassins to kill Banquo and his son as soon as he recalls the prophecy that Banquo will be greater than him. When the three witches reveal their final prophecies, he feels safe. Macbeth's murder of the king exemplifies his attempt to
He is proclaimed king, but knows he is to be usurped by those of Banquo's lineage. Upon this ghastly realization, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Without consulting his wife, who previously had been the only one seriously considering such horrid treason, he hires assassins. Where Macbeth was friendly and kind before to Banquo, he know thinks of him as only an enemy. “Both of you know Banquo was your enemy...
He does not want to do the dirty work himself because it will look bad on his part, so he hires murderers to kill Banquo. With the killing of Banquo, Macbeth says “Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold Thou hast no speculation in those eyes.” The murder of Banquo gets to him to a point where he starts hallucinating and seeing ghost of Banquo.
Macbeth, believing Banquo and his son are the only ones standing in the way of a long and prosperous reign, hires two murders to kill his best friend. Macbeth manipulates the murders, who are at first unwilling to commit the crime, by convincing them that Banquo is the enemy. In Act III, Macbeth whispers “That it was he, in the times past, which held you so under fortune, which you thought had been our innocent self.... And are you so gospeled to pray for this good man and for this issue, whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave and beggared yours forever?” (3.1.85-86,98-101)
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.
In Macbeth’s soliloquy, he talks about Banquo’s “hath of wisdom” and how Banquo acts safely(58). This illustrates that Macbeth is afraid of what Banquo might do. This illustrates Macbeth’s ambition because he is not going to give up until he finds what he is looking for if he gets suspicious with Macbeth. This makes Macbeth very scared of Banquo because if Banquo finds out that Macbeth killed Duncan, Macbeth’s life is going to be hell and Banquo is immediately going to tell everybody in Scotland. Macbeth fears Banquo so much that he will “champion his utterance” and will battle anybody to keep his crown(77).
Greed for power leads corrupt leaders to pursue power through ruthless and violent ways, putting their countries in an unstable state. Macbeth commits murders and violent acts to earn his absolute power, but his corrupt mindset of yearning power leads to instability in the Scotland. After hearing from the witches, Macbeth admits that, “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical/ Shakes so my single state of man/ That function is smother'd in surmise /and nothing is but what is not.”
If thou canst nod, speak too./ If charnel-houses and our graves must send/ those that we bury back to our monuments”, (III.iv.70-74) Banquo’s ghost showed up to the dinner and Macbeth was the only one who could see him. He threw a fit and was creating chaos yelling foul things at the thin air. Macbeth's mind is so corrupted that he's imagining the ghost of the man he had killed. He is losing his sanity and giving in to the foulness of murder and evil.
“Avaunt, and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee. / Thy bones are marrowless; thy blood is cold; / Thou hast no speculation in those eyes / Which thou dost glare with” (3.4.93-96). Macbeth hallucinates and claims that he sees Banquo’s ghost.
Being that Banquo seemed suspicious of Macbeth subsequently the night of the king 's death. Apprehensive of his throne Macbeth would do anything in his power to prevent even the slightest chance for anyone to take the throne from him.
He reveals that he is not strong minded and is easily influenced by those around him. It is through Banquo that one can actually identify Macbeth with these traits. If it were not for Banquo’s calm and responsible reaction to the foretelling, it would be difficult to hold Macbeth on a basis on the appropriate way to respond to the situation. Banquo is not after sole success, and still considers himself successful even with his sons being heirs to the kingdom. With this genuine appreciation, we are able to view Macbeth as a greedy and irrational character.
In play Macbeth, Shakespeare reveals that an individual’s great desire for power will lead him/her to perform consequential deeds that will scar his/her conscience and change the outcome of his/her life eternally. Macbeth is informed by three witches that he is going to become king and this initiates Macbeth’s thought of becoming powerful. Macbeth doesn’t act on his thoughts until he tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, that he could become king. Lady Macbeth is extremely power hungry and does all she can to convince Macbeth to be just as desirable as her. Together, they come up with a plan to murder King Duncan, so that Macbeth can become king like the witches foretold.
Furthermore, the murder of Banquo led Macbeth to destruction. Later in the play, Macbeth was troubled by the Banquo’s ghost. Macbeth acts out of desperation to get rid of Banquo’s ghost (III, iv, 82-7). Here, it shows Macbeth’s destruction of mind, which is fuelled by his fear and guilt. Eventually, Macbeth’s
If you’ve read a number of Shakespeare’s books, you’d know he has a thing for violence. From the suicides of Romeo and Juliet, the murders of Gertrude and Claudius, and the assassination that led to Macbeth’s downfall. In the book Macbeth by William Shakespeare, a man led by political greed kills to take what he believes is his, followed by breaking prophecies given to him by three witches. Macbeth lived the rest of his life doing his best to make prophecies come true using violence. Through this violence, it led a sane man to become insane, damaging his mind for good due to the witches’ prophecies.
I am afraid to think what I have done; Look on 't again I dare not.” (Act II, sc ii, Lines 48-50). Macbeth is getting extremely paranoid and feels bad killing Duncan. Macbeths ambitions caused him to murder Duncan, but he also had Banquo murdered, and wanted to murder Banquo 's son, Fleance. Macbeth wants Banquo killed because he saw him as a threat; however, Banquo had been Macbeth 's friend and thought he could trust him. "