Corruption Of Power In Macbeth Essay

Fear of Corruption Although leaders try their best to become an image of respect and authority, many face a problem with the corruption of power. Unfortunately, leaders mainly become corrupt from their fear of the unknown or loss of control; it is from these anxieties that leaders are then pushed into rash decisions that lead them to becoming tyrants. From these human faults, Shakespeare formed the play Macbeth which truly captured the corruption of power in human leaders. Shakespeare is well-known for mirroring life through his literature and in Macbeth a powerful message on the tribulations and internal conflicts kings face. In fact, Macbeth was based on the Scottish king Mac Bethad during the turbulent years of conflict in Scotland. At the start of the play Macbeth is a loyal and respected warrior of the king but later on he

As Macbeth devolves from a confident warrior and leader to a paranoid tyrant, one can see that fear is an innate human trait that ultimately corrupts both strong and weak leaders. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a respected soldier and leader who devotes all of his loyalty towards King Duncan. From the start of the play, Macbeth is introduced by the telling of his bravery in the battle against MacDownald and is regarded as “Brave Macbeth” (I.ii.16) and his fellow combatants even agree that “[Macbeth] deserves that name”(I.ii.16) of a valiant warrior who led Scotland to triumph in that battle. As a result, the image of Macbeth is already established as the perfect admirable hero that the audience can