Power In Macbeth

In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, power is something that everyone craves, but, for Macbeth, power makes him woeful. Macbeth shows how terrible he is when more opportunities of power are introduced to him. Several bad reflections are, Macbeth kills his king Duncan to become the king of Scotland, appointing people to kill his best friend Banquo and his son Fleance to shatter their prophecy and executing Macduff’s family because Macduff fled to England to liberate Scotland from Macbeth.

Alexander Knight Michael Newton English 11 28 February 2024 How Macbeth Got Corrupted by Power Power is something that can easily corrupt one’s morality. In the play, Macbeth, you see a great example of this. At the beginning of the play, he was shown to have morals, humility, and humbleness, but at the end of the play, you see him as a whole new and wicked character. This couldn’t have been done if it weren’t for the motifs to build up the theme to show this to the audience. Early in the play, Macbeth and Banquo are exploring a forest when they encounter three witches who tell them a prophecy of how Macbeth will inherit the throne and they all collectively start hailing for Macbeth as king.

The “poet of England” William Shakespeare shows in his book Macbeth how power can corrupt the mildest mind on earth. Over the centuries we as humans have known that power can corrupt us, also that it is extremely hard to keep it under control, an example of it’s in the quote of Lord Acton “Powers tend to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely”. But what science tells us about it? I can see how the sensation of power can be addictive, and the feeling that it gives can lead you to made improper actions, that power is something so subjective because how much is enough power? Also, it has thousands of faces that are not so easy to recognise, as example Lady Macbeth, her weapon of choice was seduction while Macbeth was murder, both had something

Whenever Macbeth tries to gain power through the unnatural it causes his fate of a gruesome death to be sealed tighter. Macbeth rises the ladder of power at an unnatural pace. Although his methods are much more unorthodox than most, through killing, even if he can’t seem to comprehend it himself he has become a murder for power. Very quickly after coming up with the plan to kill the king to become king himself he is walking through the woods and finds “a dagger which I see before me,”(2.1.44) but he can’t quite wrap his hands around “I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” (2.1.47).

“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.

“Those who have true power share it, while those who hunger power abuse it. The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.” MacBeth worked his way into the world of power with his faithful wife Lady MacBeth, by scheming up plans of pure destruction. In result he became a heartless and conniving person who took advantage of everyone for his own personal gain. Not caring who he hurt in the process, his goal was to be on top.

Throughout the play “Macbeth,” power is shown in many different ways: the power a title holds, the power an individual can hold, and most importantly, the power that can be held when these two factors collide. Power is an idea that influenced the entire plot and storyline in Macbeth. It was tossed around to signify the evil that lurked with it, mercilessly grasping onto anyone who ever desired power in any shape or form. Power subconsciously enables a person to feel invincible and superior; it pushes them to go to extreme extents to reach for more until they eventually have everything, and their fire for every obsession and experience has been extinguished. Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” clearly indicates that lust for power is the root of all evil by showcasing factors such as Macbeth’s greed, Lady Macbeth’s behavior and death, and Macbeth’s attitude.

In William Shakespeare's "Macbeth", the power dynamic in Lady Macbeth and Macbeth's relationship shifts dramatically. At the beginning of the book it is apparent that Lady Macbeth is the 'boss in the relationship' as she manipulates him into doing what she wants. In Contrast, Macbeth struggles with his morals and is overcome by grief under the horrific circumstances that develop throughout the plot. As the plot thickens, and both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seem to be plagued by guilt, we witness a drastic change. Contrary to the beginning of the play, Macbeth seems to be the dominant one in the relationship.

Lady Macbeth provides a scheme for Macbeth to assassinate the King. She is manipulative and persuasive in corrupting Macbeth s judgement. “What beast was’t then that you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man.” (Act I. Sc.VII) In this quote, Lady Macbeth is agitating Macbeth by saying he is not a man if he does not do what he says he is going to do, which is to murder the king of course.

Shakespeare spends an inordinate amount of time ruminating on basic questions surrounding power: how does one acquire it, can they keep it for any prolonged period of time, and is it inherently corrupting? After seeing all these questions answered primarily through the death of characters, it would not be unexpected for readers to believe that Shakespeare meant for the latent antagonist of his histories and tragedies to be power. Therefore, this essay will examine the performance of power in Macbeth to demonstrate that the model given to readers by Shakespeare for its acquisition is one that requires individuals to take on a highly performative and unsustainable nature. This performative nature is exemplified by the many acts and identities

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the witches are the most powerful characters in the play, as they have the power to influence Macbeth’s actions through their persuasive techniques and ability to foresee and influence the future. In Act 1, Lady Macbeth reads a letter from Macbeth regarding his meeting with the witches. She becomes aware of the Witches’ power and the significance of the Witches’ prophetic words. In the letter, Macbeth describes the witches as if they have ultimate control over his fate and he learns that “they have more in them than mortal knowledge.

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.

Could people's craving for power ruin that person and the people around them? Power most certainly could ruin friendships, relationships, families, and even communities. I will now explain how power is the most important role in the play Macbeth written William Shakespeare, and it changed many people's emotions, friendships, and trust for one another. I think power was the inevitable goal of the entire play. The real question is, how from do some people go to achieve power versus others?

In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character’s goal is to become the king. Macbeth seeks to gain as much power as he possibly can and this ultimately leads to his demise. He hears the prophecy of the witches and becomes so obsessed with fulfilling the prophecy because it states that he will eventually become king. Having this information, Macbeth goes out of his way to force the prophecy to come true. He becomes so power hungry that he tries to force fate leaving him with an undeniable guilt for his actions, the loss of love from the people who once loved him, and a harsh death in the end.

No wildfire burns without ignition, and no misdeed comes about with the perpetrator alone at fault. There are always others who had an impactful effect. This is demonstrated in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, where an extensive cast of characters are developed through their roles in the titular character’s road to condemnation. Macbeth’s quest for power came to fruition through the temptation and support of other characters, demonstrating that without others, he would not have met his downfall.