...Power has been the aspect that has lead many leaders to become corrupt and loose their power or die trying to keep it. The power people chase is brought upon by selfishness and greed. Once one is corrupted with power they will do anything and everything they can to obtain more of what they want. How you use your power defines your character. In the play “Macbeth”, power is a corrupting force that can change a man’s character and cause him to act in evil ways. Corruption can be motivated by power and the advantages people see in it. In “Macbeth”, Macbeth gets a little power and soon begins to want it all. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth make a plan to kill Duncan, the king, “But I worry about weather or not you have what it takes to seize the crown.”...
Words: 1140 - Pages: 5
...Evil in Macbeth In Macbeth, the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth undergo drastic changes as the play unfolds. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth regress from logical and human like people, into evil characters that would be found in a horror film. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seem like two usual human beings, but after hearing about possibly becoming king and queen these characters turn to the dark side and resort to murdering the current king to take the thrown. Once the characters resort to murder, regret and guilt begin to consume their lives, resulting in death for both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Throughout the play Macbeth, the elements...
Words: 1621 - Pages: 7
...in his play Macbeth to show the cycle of violence that repeats throughout the play. Shakespeare first introduces the character of Macbeth as a brave hero. In the first act messengers tell Duncan about Macbeth’s bravery in war. The bloody images used in this act show Macbeth as the hero of war who should be rewarded for his bravery. Thoughts of heroism and bravery fade quickly as plans to murder Duncan for Macbeth’s benefit and power gain arise. Blood quickly changes to a motif of guilt and fear because of the murder that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have committed. Surprisingly Macbeth keeps killing to calm his fear but sheds more blood in the process. The killings result in meeting the unnatural and bloody Macduff, who wants revenge and ends the cycle of violence....
Words: 1387 - Pages: 6
...Blind Leading the Blind In MacBeth, Shakespeare writes about a greedy, power-hungry man who murders the king to fulfill his selfish desires. MacBeth was one of King’s Duncan’s noblemen and honorable general. However, after he is claimed as the Thane of Cawdor and Glamis, he believes a prophecy by three witches that he will become King and, along with his wife, decides to murder King Duncan in an attempt to gain more power. Although MacBeth grew uncertain about going through with the assassination, his wife, Lady MacBeth, manipulates and deceives him to follow through. As a king, he becomes a tyrant and starts to kill anyone who he felt threatened his position on the throne, including one of his good friends, Banquo and the family of MacDuff. Throughout his reign, the MacBeth’s guilty consciences take a toll on them and eventually lead to both of their downfall. Furthermore, MacBeth’s reign does not last long when MacDuff gets revenge against the tormentor by killing him in the end. As a result, King Duncan’s son, Malcolm, becomes king. Through the use of symbolism and characterization, William Shakespeare, in MacBeth, depicts how one’s desire to gain power causes others to change gender roles to create deception within an environment. In MacBeth, MacBeth’s horrific murders proved how strongly he desired to gain power. Desire means to have a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. When a person desires something, he or she becomes...
Words: 2516 - Pages: 11
...The downfall of Macbeth is most often attributed to either his own ambitions run amok or the influence of his wife's Machiavellian manipulations. The husband and wife work in tandem to bring about the prophecies of the Weird Sisters, and it is Macbeth's hand that does the greater evil deed against Duncan and the only evil against Banqo and MacDuff's family members; in essence the rise of the Macbeths to power is one of shared responsibility. Their downfall is played out on the same road as they travel in opposite directions to and from being responsible for their own fate. The belief in the occult is an element of the play that drives its tragedy; an element that may be lost on modern audiences looking to find motivation for Macbeth's murderous deeds. The belief in prophecy is particularly important in gaining a foothold on understanding the downfall of Macbeth and his Lady. When Macbeth first comes upon the Weird Sister and they roll out the prophecies for both Macbeth and Banquo, and by extension Duncan and his family, more is going on than just a foretelling of the future. The prophecies instill in Macbeth the realization of his dreams, of course, but they also portend that the darkest fears of Macbeth will be realized alongside his dreams. Without Macbeth's unquestioned belief in the occult and acceptance that the Weird Sisters have the power of prophecy, there would be neither a rise nor a fall. If the rise of Macbeth to king can be said to be a combination of belief in...
Words: 990 - Pages: 4
...Ambition – A Tragic Flaw Macbeth by William Shakespeare highlights the blinding powers of ambition demonstrated within its characters. Ambition has the potential to prompt a character to build determination and fulfill many achievements. On the other hand, ambition can also become a character’s leading tragic flaw. The main plot of the play displays the various acts Macbeth carries out in order to dismiss the threats between him and the throne. Although he implements the murder of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth is the intelligence behind his violent actions. Since she is the most influential individual in Macbeth’s life, Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband using belittlement and emotional blackmail in order to achieve her own ambition, to gain...
Words: 2329 - Pages: 10
...Limitless Macbeth In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character of Macbeth has many goals and does anything he needs to in order to make those dreams come true. Shakespeare develops Macbeth’s ambitions in the play which usually revolve around him trying to gain power. Shakespeare indirectly shows how the acceptable limit of ambition relates to death. He develops the idea that when death occurs Macbeths ambitions become darker and less acceptable. At first Macbeth is loyal and fights for his country but when the ambition of being king comes along he hesitates to kill Duncan. Once Macbeth becomes less humane and after Duncan’s death Macbeth’s ambition goes over the limit and he kills Banquo and MacDuff’s family, hungry for power. But is Macbeth now being king make him able to cross the acceptable limit of ambition without being questioned. Shakespeare in the beginning of his play suggests to his audience that Macbeth is a loyal, fearless, selfless warrior as shown in the quote “For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)/ Disdaining fortune with his brandished steel” (1.2 18-19). It’s showing how Macbeth battled his way through the Norwegian soldiers all the way up to Macdonawald and cut him from his stomach to his head. Duncan, the king, has a great response by breathlessly saying out, “O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!” (1.2 26). This shows just how satisfied the king along with the whole country is of Macbeth for fearlessly fighting off the Norwegian invaders...
Words: 891 - Pages: 4
...Ashley 1 Ryan Ashley Mr Grabham Eng4U 11, 11, 11 Division of Power between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, power is shared between the two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Even though during the time that the play takes place it is not correct for a woman to have equal, and even in some cases more power than a man, Lady Macbeth is pictured as having such. Her husband allows for equality in their relationship from the beginning scenes. This equality however becomes unbalanced due to different situations and actions than unfold within the play. The change of power is caused by both the power and follies of Macbeth and his wife. These follies and strengths include Lady Macbeth’s intelligence and planning, and her emotions, and for Macbeth, include his determination, and dependence on others. During the play, the balance of power constantly shifts back and forth between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are considered to be equals in the relationship in the beginning scenes. This is shown in how Macbeth addresses her in his letter saying “This have I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of greatness, that thou might’st not lose the dues of rejoicing,.” (I, V,). He calls her his dearest partner in greatness, which completely goes against what is normal at the time because it is showing equal status, rather than Lady Macbeth as being subservient to her husband. This has a great effect...
Words: 1763 - Pages: 8
...wrong. But when we ignore our feelings of guilt, it can lead to the destruction of our conscience. In his play Macbeth, Shakespeare incorporates his idea of guilt into images for the audience. Blood and water are two symbols in Macbeth that function as keys to unlock the hidden message of the effects of guilt. Blood is used to remind Macbeth and Lady Macbeth of their violent actions, while water represents a way to cleanse their minds of the remorse they feel. Shakespeare’s use of blood and water are a chilling reminder of the power that guilt may have on people or how a person might overcome guilt, but become emotionally dead. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are two characters that are responsible for the bloody actions that occur in Macbeth. Blood is a reoccurring image that travels with the characters, not only on their hands, but in their minds. Wherever violence takes place in the play, blood is shown on the characters immediately after the crime. When Macbeth is involved in one of these crimes and kills Duncan, he soon regrets what he has done. But the blood on his hands shows the evidence of the act and that it can’t be undone. Lady Macbeth suggests to get rid of the evidence by putting the blood on the guards so “it must seem their guilt” (2.2.73). The symbol of blood can be seen as “the image of death” (Holloway 108). It represents the violence, since Macbeth says, “blood will have blood” (3.4.153). The characters want to escape their feelings of guilt and forget the murder...
Words: 1603 - Pages: 7
...battles in Macbeth; it features the murder of men, women and children; suicide and beheading Macbeth shows that once one violent act is done, it only leads to another, and this does not stop. This means, violence usually does not fix anything. In Macbeth, as soon as his ambition took over and he became a serial murderer, it didn't turn out well in the end - Macduff killed Macbeth. This is similar to many problems of society today, especially in teenage boys. Many people believe physical violence is the only way to fix their problems, which actually, it will most likely only cause a bigger one. Fights can never end up good - someone will always come out of it second best, and the other may even be caught out by the police or teachers! This leads to my next point, masculinity. "Dispute it like a man I shall do so, but I must also feel it as a man, I cannot but remember such things that were most precious to me." This is a quote from Macbeth (IV.3.26) where Macduff is ready to prove he is the more 'manly' one of both him and Macbeth. Even Lady Macbeth is willing to become more masculine so Macbeth can become king, shown in the quote under Ambition. Like Macbeth, Macduff and Lady Macbeth, people nowadays still 'need' to prove their masculinity by violence, especially teenage boys, and that is why the theme of violence is so relevant in today's society. Ambition and Power Ambition is the most obvious theme seen in Macbeth. We see ambition run amok in both Macbeth and...
Words: 447 - Pages: 2
...Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a play about the limitations of one’s free will. In the play, a character named Macbeth is prophesized to be the next heir to the throne of Scotland by three witches. Whether Macbeth chooses to believe the prophecy is entirely not up to him since it already seems that fate had been decided, which is the central theme for the play. In this play, one may believe that he or she have authority over his or her life. However when examining the behavior of Macbeth, supernatural forces become the template for his fate that he is destined to follow. His wife, Lady Macbeth, is an important character because of her influences towards Macbeth. In fact, if it were not for her, Macbeth would probably still be alive by the...
Words: 944 - Pages: 4
...the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. It tells the story of a man who commits regicide – the killing of a monarch, likely so that person will succeed him- to become king and then continues the killings in order to sustain his power.. This movie highlights the idea of corruption in achieving a goal, as well as the violence, cruelty and the overall oblivion of the status quo. This play takes place in Scotland. This play can be connected to Queen Elizabeth. She was arguably the greatest monarch that ever ruled England. Under the rule of Queen Elizabeth, England became a major world power as well as encouraged the Arts and great literature by William Shakespeare. When Robert Devereux – the Earl of Essex died, Elizabeth started to lose the interest as well as the control she had on running England. She had lost the will to rule and died at age 70 in 1603; King James VI of Scotland was crowned King James I of England, just a few years before the play was written. It should be noted that James also named Shakespeare's acting company "The King's Men" so; the purpose of Macbeth was probably to please the king. The movie was released in 1983. It was written by William Shakespeare and directed by Jack Gold. Macbeth is played by Nicol Williamson, a Scottish born actor. Lady Macbeth is played by Jane Lapotaire. The three witches are played by Brenda Bruce, Eileen Way and Anne Dyson respectively. Macduff is played by Tony Doyle. The tragedy tells the story of a man named Macbeth, a general...
Words: 1212 - Pages: 5
...In the tragic play script ‘Macbeth’ written by William Shakespeare, we follow Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as their ambition turns from good ambition like respecting their country and fighting for their King, to evil ambition, as they develop an evil flaw by performing evil acts like murder and deceitfulness. At the beginning of the play script, Macbeth is determined to do good works so that he will be well known and remembered. Then Lady Macbeth’s longing for the crown causes her to be very manipulative. She persuades her husband to do evil and once Macbeth does what she wants, they are caught in a spiral of evil doings. At the beginning of this play script, Macbeth does well in the war against the Norwegians. King Duncan orders the death of the...
Words: 901 - Pages: 4
...“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” (Aung San Suu Kyi) In the tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare, a man named Macbeth is approached by three witches who tell him his future. Macbeth tells his wife Lady Macbeth and they plan and follow-though with killing the king for power. Macbeth gets in over his head with the desire for absolute power and fears that his friend’s son will kill him for power as the witches predicted so he sends hit men to kill his friend and his son. William Shakespeare uses personification, diction, and characterization in Macbeth to reveal the theme of power corrupting innocent people. Shakespeare...
Words: 964 - Pages: 4
...In the play “Macbeth” written by William Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth was faced with Misplaced Ambition. Shakespeare's character Macbeth was a brave and faithful soldier. King Duncan was very fond of Macbeth who admire his bravery and consider Macbeth and outstanding general. The prediction that was preordained by witches was that one day Macbeth would be King and the mistake of confiding to Lady Macbeth about his destiny drove her to become power hungry. This mistake lead to Macbeth killing his cousin and close friend King Duncan. Macbeth’s decision to kill the king drives him mad and eventually leads to his timely demise. William Shakespeare uses Irony and Satire to show how Misplaced Ambition can lead to the rise and fall of...
Words: 958 - Pages: 4
