A Powerful Coward “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.
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth miscontruses the witches prophecies. The prophecies cause Macbeth to think differently.“All Hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter”(Shakespeare 1.3.50). The witches first tell Macbeth that he will become king but they do not tell him when or how. “... a prosperous gentleman, and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief” (Shakespeare 1.3.73-77). Macbeth knows it will be impossible to become king if the king is still alive. “Two truths told, as happy prologues to the swelling acts of the imperial theme” (Shakespeare 1.2.70-78). Since two of the witches
…show more content…
“The prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, for in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires. The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is done, to see” (Shakespeare 1.4.48-53). Since the King is still alive, Macbeth decides to either give up or try to become king. “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly. If the assassination could trammel up the consequence, and catch with his surcease success; that but this blow might be the be-all and the end-all here, but here, upon this bank and shoal of time, we’d jump the life to come” (Shakespeare 1.7.1-25). Macbeth knows that killing the king is wrong but he is still contemplating on killing him just to become
Power has the ability to manipulate and control whatever one desires; to do what one pleases to do without answering to authority. The power that corrupts the characters plays an extensive role throughout Shakespeare 's play. In Williams Shakespeare 's tragedy of Macbeth, a scottish noble craving for power leads to him to commit terrible actions that creates conflict between him and society. Shakespeare demonstrates Macbeth abuses power by using it negatively against other people. Lady Macbeth has a strong desire for her husband being in power which allows herself to make unsubstantial decisions. Lady Macbeth then uses manipulation against Macbeth in order to get Macbeth to be king. Macbeth also doesn 't realize how dangerous power is and how evil it can be, Macbeth takes power for granted and decides to kill anyone who gets in the way. He relies acting on impulse until he 's blinded by evil, he can’t think for himself. When people allow the dominance of desiring a power to control their actions, there will be consequences.
William Shakespeare Macbeth shows many different types of power throughout the play during different scenes, such as supernatural power, domestic power. The witches show a strong power over Macbeth in not a physical way to force him to be there slaves yet through creating false images and roles for Macbeth to feed off to believe he will be brought great power such as becoming king.
Is power everything in the world. Macbeth by Shakespeare’s believes that power is everything in the world and will killing anybody that’s on his way to get power. Shakespeare’s believed that searching power could you to trouble
In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the characters of Macbeth, Macduff, and Lady Macbeth all interact with power and fear. In the beginning, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth become obsessed with gaining power and it consumes them. When they finally reach their goal, putting Macbeth on the throne, Macbeth himself becomes overwhelmed with the fear that he will be overthrown and lose the power he murdered to claim. Lady Macbeth feels the weight of her guilty conscienous bear down on her as she recalls the horrid deeds that they committed. Macduff on the other hand, never was in power, but he felt the effects of tyrant Macbeth. Macduff leaves for England in hopes of returning with a new king, meanwhile Macbeth murders everyone at Macduff’s estate.
Nearly everyone seems to have an innate desire for power. However, the responsibility necessary to handle all the power humans desire is not had by many. This leads to tragedies and wars amongst countries and their people.
Macbeth's Desire for Power Many scholars believe that the desire for power occurs naturally in all humans. The human mind has a natural inclination to be on top and to rule, yet many times this hunger for power destroys the sanity of the power hungry individual, and could potentially destroy the sanity of those around them. In William Shakespeare's 1623 play Macbeth, Lord Macbeth is known as a cruel, power-hungry tyrant who contributed to the desolation of Scotland.
Are people good or bad and does man have free will upon the universe or is his fate determined by forces outside his control? These are questions that have repeatedly been asked throughout human history. For thousand of years people have debated whether we are basically good in our nature and become evil or we are born this way and whether we have a choice to be good or evil or is it just our fate. Literary examples from Ellie Wiesel’s Night and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth can be used to justify the fact that people are in control of their actions and we choose to be good or evil. Humans craft their own destiny and actions we take represent each and every one of us to others. Our actions is what makes us good or evil in any aspect of our lives. Eliezer and Macbeth are clear examples how our choices give us the power to determine our own path in life.
When Macbeth is first visited by the three witches and told the prophecy of his upcoming kingdom, he is at first confused and put off by their sudden reveal. Once realizing his newly found fate, Macbeth is under the impression that what happens in his life is inevitable, concluding, “If chance will have me King, why, chance / may crown me, / Without my stir” (Shakespeare 1.3.143-145). Macbeth believes that if he is truly meant to become King, he will become King at some point. The power to become King is not up to Macbeth, but rather up to fate and fortune. Murder is not even an option at this point for Macbeth.
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.
People who obtain power are very often at risk for corruption; the more power obtained by a person, the darker the consequences on themselves and their victims. In Macbeth - a tragedy by Shakespeare in which a Scottish Lord seizes the power of those above him through murder and falls into corruption - serves as a literary example of such a trend. Both power and corruption feed off of one another; once a substantial amount of power is acquired corruption often creates a drive for even more, similar to a snowball effect and functioning like a trap.
In Macbeth, Macbeth must decide the fate of his friends, enemies, and people who just stand in the way, He got to that place because of his growing desire of power. However, he wasn’t always like that. He was persuaded by many factors, but mostly his wife, to commit those treacherous deeds. This concept is not only used in literature, but this concept is steadfast in people’s day to day lives. However, Macbeth is one of the most renowned pieces of literature that is centered around the desire of power.
As Abraham Lincoln once said “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Almost everyone can withstand adversity, but when given power you never know what may happen in the long run. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, power is demonstrated as a strong theme. Shakespeare demonstrates power as a theme when Lady Macbeth was craving for the power just as much as Macbeth.
For as long as history documents there has been the idea of good and evil, of righteousness and wickedness, and throughout Shakespeare's play Macbeth, these concepts are heavily portrayed by the actions of the characters. Macbeth takes the audience on a journey, highlighting the extremes people will go to in order to obtain power and superiority. One can argue that the play is about good and evil, and it is, however it can also be suggested that Macbeth is essentially a play about evil dominating good. This essay will endeavor to explain how Macbeth and the constant battle for power and superiority trumps good.
In every human there is an innate desire for power and evil, it doesn’t show itself in every man but in Shakespeare's Macbeth, the character macbeth is quickly overcome with that evil, as he commits acts of murder to gain this power that was foretold to him, evil consumes every bit of good that was left in him.
Power is a strong force or feeling that gives a sense to do or act with the capacity to impact the behavior of others or the outcome of events. In Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” is about characters that are allowed to get swayed by magic power. Macbeth a war hero and loyal servant to the king felt very dominant with the influence of the three witches and became greedy. Lady Macbeth his loving wife, was very ambitious with a thirst for power and position, but also feels remorse with the point of madness after the course of actions. Banquo on the other hand, a brave, noble man has thoughts of ambition with the difference unlike Macbeth is that he does not act upon them. These three characters are examples that life gives choices and the integrity of the person by what path is taken will succumb the aftermath of any event or situation. Power does not corrupt, only if the person is weak and corruptible. If there is self-control you have the power to embrace it and decide to do good or evil, it is up to the person on what is next.