Corruption In Macbeth

During the Elizabethan times in England, William Shakespeare wrote many plays, including one of the most famous ever, Macbeth. The play is laden with corruption and is seen through the eyes of the main character, Macbeth. Macbeth becomes corrupt as a result of the deceitfulness of three witches, his wife, Lady Macbeth’s ambitions and manipulations, and his own ambitions to become the King of Scotland, which leads to his tragic downfall At the beginning of the play, the reader meets the three witches, who the reader eventually finds out are evil. The first time the witches meet Macbeth, they give him two prophecies: he will become the Thane of Cawdor and he will become the King of Scotland. The first of the prophecies quickly comes to

Later on in the play, when Macbeth is already crowned king and already committed his second of two murders, he is met with three apparitions, sent by Hecate, the leader of the three witches. The second apparition states, “The power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth,” (4.1.79-80) prompting Macbeth to believe that he is immortal and nobody can destroy him. Consequently, Macbeth is given a false sense of security because of the equivocation, of the second apparition. Although the witches’ prophecies and their equivocations are one of the causes of Macbeth’s corruption, Lady Macbeth also plays a role in Macbeth’s downfall, due to her manipulation and her own ambitions, that help lead Macbeth to the crown. Before Lady Macbeth hears of the prophecies given to Macbeth, she is a normal wife of a noble, with no visible evidence of having any violent

For example, he continually questions Lady Macbeth “if we should fail,” (1.7.59), wondering if he really wants to kill Duncan and live with the consequences that will be lodged in him and his conscience. Nevertheless, with disregard to his conscience, he decides to slay the king, so he can become the next king of Scotland without difficulty. Although Lady Macbeth and her manipulations are a major reason why Macbeth kills Duncan, she is no longer in the picture afterwards. Macbeth takes matters into his own hands, and he discovers his violent urges, which is a way for him to disregard his own conscience. The first victim of his violence is Banquo, a co-general in the army with Macbeth, and his son Fleance. To eradicate Banquo’s suspicion of Duncan’s murder, Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his son. Lady Macbeth has no part in this plan, and Macbeth told her to stay off to the side, until “[she] applaud[s] the deed” (3.2.44). The murderers are only able to eradicate Banquo in the altercation, as Fleance flees to Scotland, escaping the tyrant rule of Macbeth. When Macbeth is informed of Banquo’s execution, his conscience attempts to grab hold of him again. His brain sees the ghost of Banquo at his banquet, which results in a small glimmer of hope that Macbeth will return to reality and acknowledge