Macbeth Greed And Corruption Essay

Corrupting power has been showcased through many stories like Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Throughout Macbeth, the desire for absolute power is the main drive for the two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. They are consumed with a great craving for ultimate rule, and are willing to achieve it by whatever means necessary. Power had corrupted the thoughts, actions and behaviors of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. As a result of their greed, selfishness and longing for supremacy, they were unable to escape the tragic fate at the end of the play that was a result of their own doing.

It is in human nature that the more power one desires the more corrupt actions one must do to attain it. In Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth, a Scottish noble's craving for power leads him to do terrible deeds that leads to his demise. Shakespeare shows that power corrupts by using Macbeth who corrupts under the thought of have power over others. Macbeth becomes corrupt under the thought of becoming king and gaining almost complete control over the people that he rules. Macbeth wants the power badly enough to do horrible deeds such as commit regicide. Lady Macbeth becomes very ambitious and allows herself to become seduced to the

“All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” is a quote from Lord John Dalberg-Acton, explaining that any amount of power can corrupt the mind, but absolute power will take over. This is represented throughout history: in politics, monarchies and times like the french revolution. Many writers have used this theme in their works. One work that includes this theme is William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The play Macbeth follows Macbeth, a brave warrior as he gains power from his deeds both good and bad. By killing the Duncan, the former king, Macbeth rises to power and takes control of his country. With every bit of power that the Macbeth’s gain, they become more and more corrupt.

     Personal power has the ability to be essential to greatness, and at the same time is able to destroy a person’s nature. In the drama Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main character, Macbeth, becomes corrupt through power that he gains. The play shows that even someone who starts out like Macbeth and does not crave power, will do terrible things to gain authority and power.

Firstly, Macbeth and Mae both display that their ambition leads to their downfall due to the greed that took over their character and motivated them to continue. In Macbeth, Macbeth is thinking of killing Duncan but is still unsure about the whole idea. He says, " I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself / And falls on th' other." (Shakespeare 1.7.25-28). Macbeth has just explained that there is no real justification for the crime because Duncan is his relative, a good king, and, furthermore, a guest at his castle. This quote here is describing how Macbeth realizes that he is being overly greedy and that if you are too greedy, there is a very high chance that you'll end up in a very bad situation.

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the main characters are obsessed by the desire for power. Macbeth’s aspiration for power blinds him to the ethical implications of his dreadful acts. The more that Shakespeare’s Macbeth represses his murderous feelings, the more he is haunted by them. By analyzing his hallucinations it is possible to trace his deteriorating mental state and the trajectory of his ultimate fall. Throughout the play Macbeth is never satisfied with himself. He feels the need to keep committing crime in order to keep what he wants most: his kingship. The harder Macbeth tries to change his fate the more he tends to run into his fate. His ambition and struggle for power was Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play.

After hearing the prophecy that he will become king, Macbeth resolves to leave his future up to fate proving his pride and prestige are very important to him. Once he is told of Malcolm being named successor to the throne, Macbeth decides that if he is going to reach his goal he cannot leave it up to luck. Again Macbeth’s resolve to murder Duncan wavers when he leaves the grand banquet to assess his situation and decide whether he wants to proceed. His arguments include wishing to keep his honor and not kill Duncan for Duncan is there ‘in double trust’. Thus, Macbeth is shown to be clinging to his honor. Finally, Macbeth must stand his ground one last time against his wife who uses tact to emasculate Macbeth. In his final attempt to stop the whole ordeal before it can start Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he does not want to ‘cast aside’ the honor he has just recently received. Unfortunately, Lady Macbeth will have none of what her husband is saying and so convinces Macbeth to follow through with his plan of murdering King Duncan. Hence, the audience is given the first example of how powerful selfish motives are and how quickly they can spread to others along with cause them to perform unthinkable

Lady Macbeth reveals her greed early on in the tragedy of Macbeth. She convinces Macbeth to kill King Duncan in order to fulfill the prophecy that the witches gave Macbeth (becoming king). Her manipulation of Macbeth shows how she supports murder in order to obtain more

Any person could say in one point of their life they have wanted power and authority. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the tragedy starts off with a loyal subject named Macbeth who is crowned Thane of Cawdor. Once Macbeth was crowned Thane, he wanted something greater, something superior, and to do that he had come up with the idea to kill, even though he was fearful of being caught. The most superior person that everyone was loyal too and loved the king. Macbeths want for that power is later turned into corruption. The corruption of power inside Macbeth turns his loyal side to a cruel,darker, and malicious side. The desire for power can corrupt loay subjects by relying on fear to maintain one’s position. In Macbeth, our protagonist, at

women, money, power. These were all three things that tempted Macbeth. Lady Macbeth seems quite the contrary to how women in Elizabethan England would have been, the only women were able to obtain power was by influencing their husbands. This was a great advantage of Lady Macbeth’s on which she played and used very successfully. She was able to influence her husband so strongly that she convinced him willingly into committing murder willingly; Shakespeare displays the strength of power that women have the ability to possess if they wish, he conveys women as sneaky and willing to result to extreme tactics to get their own way; it shows just how dangerous women can be. Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth as an icon for powerful women.

Throughout reading the play, Macbeth changes a lot from being a man of loyalty and honesty, to a man of whom is power hungry and greedy. This shows how the more power you receive the more power you want; which in many cases, such as this one leads to destruction. Many of the choices that Macbeth made were influenced by the power that he had, and this power began to take over him. This then lead to greed and destruction of not only others, but himself as well.

Very few producers of art can actually let their works claim the appellation 'classic.' For to create a piece of work - literature, art, or poetry, that stands the test of time, that proves the author's premise relevant not just in the period when he created it, but also in the generations that follow, is not an easy task. The works of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) have, more than once, proved worthy of the title 'classic.' Not only does his work hold up, as he wished, a mirror to his own society, but manages to reflect what is going on much later, and indeed, may be relevant well into the next millennium, if civilization continues to peruse Shakespeare's writing. A

From the beginning, Lady Macbeth is seen as greedy and prepared to do what her husband will not, in order to get what she believes they are destined for. She is more

The rise of an individual and the gain of power can often be intoxicating. This control placed in the hands of one can often ignite thoughts and actions of greed found deep inside. This can often be seen in the history of civilization as countless leaders have neglected the good of their people to fuel their own selfish desires. Lord Acton once expressed, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This is embodied in the play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare as numerous characters abuse power to manipulate and destroy the lives of many. Though the examination of, Lady Macbeth, the three witches and Macbeth, it becomes apparent how the gain and loss of

Macbeth ambition is to become king which serve as an abundant and tragic flaw that ultimately leads to his demise. Macbeth is portrayed as a brave and noble man for winning the battle; however, he becomes the victim of an irrepressible ambition which have no boundaries. Macbeth's obsession for power takes control of his actions and desperate needs. As in the novel Macbeth is a noble man as he risked everything to protect Scotland from the Norwegians. Macbeth recognized his intentions were completely immoral, however his ambition betrayed him, forcing him to murder the king and anyone who posed a threat to his throne.