Abuse Of Power In Macbeth

Having or desiring power and fame can often lead to immoral decisions and eventually a major downfall. This can be seen in many literary works, including the tragic play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. This play focuses in on the ability of power corrupting a person. After hearing the promising prophecy from the witches, Macbeth does whatever it takes to gain control and become king. This includes him murdering King Duncan and many other innocent people.

“Nearly all men can stand the power of adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power” (Abraham Lincoln). Someone can come off as a good person until they are given power. When someone has power, they may abuse it or treat others unfairly. Giving someone power and seeing how they act can show their true character. Macbeth is the most responsible for the events that occur in the play because he misconstrued the witches prophecies and was overcome by greed.

Plato, a greek philosopher, once said, “The measure of a man is what he does with power” (Brainyquote 1). In other words, when giving someone power, their true character is revealed. For instance, in William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, some character’s genuine personalities were unveiled once obtaining high authority over others. In the drama with Macbeth, he portrays both coercive power and referent power throughout the written work, as defined in, “French and Raven’s Five Forms of Power.”

Macbeth, an ironic tragedy of the 17th century, is perhaps one of the most appraised works by renowned playwright William Shakespeare. Such fame, though, can be justified through the play’s effective utilization of themes and their evocative subtext; however, Shakespeare particularly focusses on the theme of power and has done so with intent. Macbeth visualises power in two forms, being that of divine and supernatural. The play forms a representation that, alike with the socio-cultural beliefs of the Elizabethan era, divine power should not be tampered with. Otherwise, the consequences can be detrimental, as demonstrated by the painful ends of characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Both individuals use the process of illegitimate power to

The witches prophecies and Lady Macbeth’s influence intensifies his ambition and drives Macbeth to obtain and maintain his title of Scotland by whatever means, even murdering his best friend, Banquo. “Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, ...no son of mine succeeding. If’t be so, for Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; For them the gracious Duncan I have murder’d; ...To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings! (Act III. sc.I) At this point Macbeth’s passion becomes more and more extreme to the point where no one stands in his way. His greed, violence, and hunger for power drastically declines his

Power can change people in a way that is incomprehensible either for good or for evil. Power can make one so greedy that someone will do anything for it and won’t let anyone, or thing stand in their way. Macbeth by William Shakespeare portrays both the positive and negative uses on Power through the main characters. Macbeth’s greed of power allowed him to exercise abuse and ultimately he was corrupted and destroyed by power. Lady Macbeth used power in a positive way but her ultimate goal was domination of the Crown. Shakespeare uses dialogue and symbolism to allow his readers to engage with his mood and therefore the concepts of power.

Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragic tale about a Scottish general corrupted by power and greed. Throughout the play, the audience traces the disintegration of Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth has a profound influence on the play, as it is her highly ambitious and controlling nature that influences Macbeth to make the decisions that lead to his downfall. Lady Macbeth also says various of lines, that depending on the way the reader interprets them, can help the reader better understand the complexity of Shakespeare’s characters. A particular scene in act III serves as evidence to the beginning of the decline of power for Macbeth and his wife. The lines in this scene may subtly foreshadow either the dissertation of Macbeth’s allies, or the beginnings of Lady Macbeth loosing her mind.

The addiction to power is why the world is not at peace today. In the story Macbeth, the main character Macbeth was a loyal general to his King Duncan. He took lives and accomplished every one of Duncan’s wishes. "If chance will have me king, chance may crown me", Macbeth (Act I, Scene III). Macbeth showed that his addition to the thought of power has overcome his loyalty to his King. This thought had Macbeth feeling anxious. He wasn’t this role and he knew he was going to achieve it. "Is this a dagger which I

Power is the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events. When people have too much power it can lead to corruption. Macbeth’s power as king led to the corruption of Scotland and his downfall. He was given to much power which he acquired himself by killing Duncan because he believed he would be a better ruler. No one stopped him because they didn’t know the horrible deeds he done for sure and were scared to speak out in the fear of their lives. Too much power went to Macbeth’s head that he was paranoid that someone was out to take his crown away. He had many executed and left Scotland in a fearful state that was much different than when Duncan ruled. Macbeth did not see anything wrong because the only thing that mattered was him being and staying king. Macbeth’s political power as king made him jealous and led to the corruption of himself and Scotland that often ended in murders, therefore, emphasizing that too much power is a destructive,

Power corrupts the weak minded into doing deeds that are immoral. This is a run on theme in Shakespeare's “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, where both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth take the opportunity to seize the throne of King Duncan by murdering him in his sleep. As a result, while Macbeth was able to take the throne, the power he gained corrupted both him and Lady Macbeth, leading to their ultimate demise.

Power is something most people strive to get when they don’t have it. Power is what runs the world now and has for a long time. The problem with power is that it corrupts. Through out time it’s posed a problem. Shakespeare’s drama Macbeth is a great example of how power will corrupt even at the thought of it.

In the beginning of the play, the witches make three prophecies. First, that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor. The second part of the prophecy is that Macbeth will become King. The third prophecy being that Banquo will be father to future kings. When Macbeth first hears the prophecy, Duncan holds the position as king. King duncan is also a very loved king by his people. Macbeth and Duncan even have a good relationship. Macbeth is Duncan’s greatest war hero and because of Macbeth’s great success in battle, Duncan rewards him by promoting him to the position of Thane of Cawdor. With this promotion, Macbeth realizes that the witches first prophecy was true. With this realization, Macbeth’s head begins to fill with thoughts of killing King Duncan to speed up the process so that he can become king. When he tells his wife of the prophecies and his promotion, she becomes extremely

Power : What Is Its True Purpose? As centuries have passed, the use and abuse of power has always been the main part of largely known reforms of countries, build-ups of governments, famous written stories and plays, underlying sparks of war, and many more. But this use of power hasn’t always been the best for change.

The Tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is about the need to rise to power and the loss of one’s humanity. Throughout the play Lady Macbeth and Macbeth struggle to keep their humanity while trying to balance the power they seek out. The play instructs that power and humanity aren’t two things that can co-exist; one will lead to destruction and death while the other one will lead to a happy life. Power is something that many people seek out. It can give the most wonderful, glamorous life anyone can dream of.

Complicated consequences result from the abuse of power that is central in William Shakespeare’s play ’Macbeth’ following immoral manipulation. Macbeth was written in 1606 during the reign of King James I and was used as a warning to potential threats of the King. It is a form of praise and admiration towards the King by Shakespeare as those who immorally seize power will ultimately possess a destroyed fate. Through analysing the text, we can see that abuse of power through supernatural manipulation on human nature is evident therefore guilt and delusions are consequences of that power abuse.