Macbeth Corruption Quotes

At first Macbeth thinks killing King Duncan is a dreadful thing to do:”We will proceed no further in this business./He hath honored me of late, and I have bought/Golden opinions from all sorts of people,/Which would be worn now in their newest gloss,/Not cast aside so soon”(1.7.31-35). This states that

Power corrupts the mind, to a state where you are not yourself. Duncan kills Macbeth, although he has been his friend, just to gain power. Someone who kills his friend in the sense of power just shows the corrupting power can do to a person. Macbeth ended up becoming a tyrant he ruled his country unfairly which is an abuse of power, especially because he shouldn’t have been king in the first place for a king at the time ruled by divine right not by the death of their leader.

Although killing is illegal, Macbeth sees no harm at all to killing King Duncan because he said that his son will be next in line for king. In Act 2 Scene 1 lines 64 and 65 Macbeth states, “Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell”. This showing that in his pursuit of power Macbeth will kill anyone and does not care where they end up, as long as they are dead. His ambition to be king is so high that while in this pursuit of power he will do whatever it takes to get to the top. But this comes back to haunt him when he realizes that King Duncan actually was a great king and that many would miss him, so maybe just maybe he shouldn’t have killed him.

Ambition may also be pride, which is condemned in the Bible: “the pride of man shall bring him low” and “pride goeth before destruction, and a high mind before the fall.”. This shows how Macbeth is continuing to think about God as he feels his ambitions may be too high and his downfall, which agrees with the Bible. Killing Duncan will mean reaching his ambition and gaining pride, which could be the cause of his downfall. This is also a proleptic marker that killing Duncan will lead to Macbeth’s end.

With attention to the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth struggles with the morality of his actions. Before the murder takes place, Macbeth begins to believe that the murder will “be the be-all and the end-all” to his clear conscious and would risk him to eternal damnation (Act I, line 5). Yet, the murder would bring him power over Scotland and he “shalt be kind” as told by the Weird Sisters(Act 1, line 50). Macbeth goes off of his ambition to murder King Duncan. The internal struggle of choosing mortality over motives brought forth an intense shift of loyalty to betrayal. The murder caused for Macbeth to turn on Scotland and only care for his own selfish motives. The betrayal causes for the play to become horrific and have a double meaning. Macbeth must put on a face to hide his murder to become the king. The double meaning is how Macbeth looks like a hero to all of Scotland, but only the people on the inside know of his horrific actions. He had to murder to to get the position of King, but the

In the story of Macbeth by Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth kills King Duncan out of his own greed. Macbeth had wanted so desperately to be king, that nothing would stop him. Macbeth is solely guilty of killing King Duncan, with everything going against him and very little going for him. He had the choice not the kill Duncan, but still went through with it because of stories told by witches, his wife talking him into it, and his thirst to be king.

3. 157-159) Macbeth’s arrogance is made apparent with the immediacy of his thoughts of becoming king and it is clear that the supernatural has given him arrogant ambition as Macbeth is already beginning to think of how he will be crowned king. Macbeth eventually decides he will show his “Black and deep desires” (1. 4. 58) and murder Duncan, the current king of Scotland. This is a shift from Macbeth showing loyalty to Scotland and the king as he now has arrogantly, for the benefit of himself becoming king, murdered Duncan, the king of Scotland. Duncan was greatly admired and respected by the population of Scotland. Macbeth himself describes Duncan as “meek” (1. 7. 17) and being “so clear in his great office” (1. 7. 18). When Macduff first realizes the death of Duncan, he describes the scene as: “O horror, horror, horror!” (2. 3. 73) Macbeth acknowledges that the reaction to Duncan’s death would be mournful before murdering him: “Pity… / Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, / That tears shall drown the wind” (1.7. 21-25). However, Macbeth’s only goal is to become king, not to please the population of Scotland who admires their king greatly and sees him as a righteous person. After tempting Macbeth with the idea of becoming king, the supernatural gives Macbeth arrogant ambition, forcing him to contrast his loyal and courageous personality, which motivates him to kill Duncan.

    In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the repercussions of Macbeth murdering his King are very numerous. Through themes that include, imagery, soliloquies, atmosphere, and supernatural beings, Shakespeare enforces the magnitude of Macbeth’s crime. Most of these factors are linked together.

But despite Macbeth’s desire to take the throne, he does not want to kill Duncan. What pushes Macbeth over the edge is Lady Macbeth. She tells Macbeth to follow his ambitions and kill Duncan. She says that murdering Duncan is not a sin, and that it is all worth it for the crown. These words from Lady Macbeth’s mouth are what made Macbeth decide to follow through and commit murder. “I am settled and bend up each corporal agent to this terrible feat.” (1.7.92-93). Macbeth will do the act, but he is very reluctant to do so. In conclusion, Macbeth’s ambitions and his loyalty towards Lady Macbeth are huge factors for why Macbeth was torn, and why he decided to kill Duncan.

People’s actions result from their nature and their situation in life. Through hardships and triumphs, and person’s morality may change to adapt to their new reality. Through the filter of their morality, people may make different choices depending upon their situation in life. In the 17th century tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses time to demonstrate how circumstances influence people’s actions. Life’s circumstances can contribute to the corruptness or the virtue of a person’s heart.

Macbeth is mainly driven to kill Duncan because of his hubris, he had it in his mind that the throne was righteously his and that he alone deserved it. Macbeth also accepts that it was mainly his “vaulting ambition” that persuaded him to murder Duncan (I.7.27). In the end, Macbeth’s fate seems to be justified and fitting, but in a sense can still be viewed as greater than he deserved. The actions that Macbeth took weren’t decided by him alone, he was greatly persuaded by Lady Macbeth and tricked into it was the witches. Without the other external pressure, it possible that he wouldn’t have gone through it because of his honor and sense of loyalty. Macbeth also shows some remorse over killing Duncan in the quote "I’m afraid to think on what I’ve done; look on't again, I dare not….wake Duncan with thy knocking, I wish thou couldst," (II.2.52-53.75-76). Unfortunately at this point, remorse is much too late and Macbeth is stuck on the path he has been lead down. In the end a tragic hero must die a tragic death, but only once they have fallen from great heights and have made irreversible mistakes. A tragic hero also courageously accepts their death with honor as well as recognizes their own faults which have lead them to this

Macbeth has nothing personal against the king, but he is in Macbeth’s way of being king. There’s no real reason for Duncan’s murder except his own. His ambition changes from a good person to a bad person, he murders the king just to take his place. Macbeth just wants the power, shows how his ambition is leading him to commit horrible crimes that will eventually lead to his downfall and death. The author also uses foreshadowing to show how overly ambitious Macbeth

Macbeth wants to be in charge. Macbeth is willing to murder and deceive those closest to him in order to become king. Macbeth is told by the witches that he will eventually become king. But Macbeth doesn’t know how he’ll become king when Duncan is already the king so Macbeth kills him so he can now be the king. Macbeth cries after he killed Duncan because he feels guilty.

Although there are several influences in Macbeth’s decision involving the killing of Duncan, the main influence being his wife, Macbeth is still fully responsible for the death of the king. Nobody is more responsible of a crime then the one who commits it. Regardless of how many people influence someone to commit a crime, the one who actually does it has to have some type of motive to do so. Also, Macbeth wasn’t forced to kill Duncan, meaning it wasn’t a life or death situation for him. He didn’t have to commit the crime, he was just too ambitious to gain power, therefore he would do anything to obtain it. In the beginning, Macbeth was considering not going through with the plan to kill Duncan, and even through the influences of Lady Macbeth

The general argument made by Shakespeare in Macbeth is that the character of him does not change but it does in many ways. One point was because he is not the same person when he starts the play and when the play is over. Another thing is about the corruption of his character. Finally, is the death of Macbeth and why it happened.