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Power And Corruption In Macbeth

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In Shakespeare’s novel Macbeth, the theme of ambition for power and the corruption that comes along with it, is seen through the main character Macbeth. Macbeth first gains power at the beginning of the book, but as he rises higher up in the ranks, he begins to become more controlled by his newfound power in an effort to become the king of Scotland. As his power grew his corruption did as well, killing anybody who threatened his path to become king. This would lead to the eventual death of him, his wife and countless others. By analyzing the way Macbeth is under the influence of unrestrained ambition for power, it is clear that an unhealthy urge for power can lead to serious and devastating consequences for not only himself but the people around…show more content…
Macbeth has just killed Banquo and although he was under the control of his ambition for power and to keep the throne he describes what he has done as “For mine own good...were as tedious as go o’er” (3.4.24). He describes his incredibly outrageous act as a comparison as walking through a blood river. Macbeth suggests that once a man has committed a murder for his own gain, which Macbeth has to protect the throne, it’s impossible for him to stop at just that. Turning back from what he has just done would be a “tedious” amount of effort on his part. At this stage in the book, Macbeth’s ambition is willing to do anything to gain the throne and help himself. By now in the book Macbeth has killed Duncan, the Chamberlins and his right-hand man Banquo as well, he also is beginning to hallucinate and people who are near him are starting to pick up on it as well. These murders show how out of control Macbeth is and how he see’s anyone who threatens his power as a person who deserves to be killed. He is starting to freak out, and this would eventually lead to his demise as the people around him began to lose trust in him. These murders show how Macbeth’s character has changed over the book due to his ambition and corruption, making him a violent and savage…show more content…
In the beginning of the book, Lady Macbeth was the one who urged Macbeth to kill and was first the one we were introduced to who wanted power. However, as Macbeth begins to spiral out of control so does Lady Macbeth. She is haunted by what she and Macbeth have done and we see her remorse in Act 3 as “Naught’s had, all’s spent…Should be without regard. What’s done is done” (3.2.10). In her soliloquy, she is talking about how she and Macbeth have gained their goal of having and protecting the throne. However, their happiness that they thought would come with it is not present. She starts to contemplate if all the murders that they have carried out were really worth it and how that they will have to live with the hallucinations that came with those murders. She also begins to tell Macbeth how their actions will stick with them and they will have to get over it. Both of them are currently suffering from a tremendous amount of guilt as a result of their ambition taking them over. These gilts would fade away in Lady Macbeth and turn into sorrow as she began to walk in her sleep trying to remove the blood from her hands. This ambition that drove them until it was too late also comes with the consequence that was Lady Macbeth’s death. This ambition shows that once it was too late for Lady Macbeth there was no turning back and they couldn’t live with the action
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