macbeth essay

Jeff Lafountain

A-Block

3/17/09

Power Corrupts

During Macbeth the saying power corrupts is very true. Macbeth and his friend Banquo are walking through the woods on there way back home from battle. When three witches appear on the path, and of these three witches they all have some thing different to say. The one thing that sticks out to Macbeth the most is what the third witch says. “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1/3/52) This interests Macbeth so much that he begins to be over whelmed with power. Macbeth is very devious in his actions causing him to do some thing that he soon will regret.
Macbeth is under a lot of stress due to his new position of Thane of Cawdor. His wife Lady Macbeth is not helping the fact that she heard what the witches said about Macbeth being king here after. Is being very manipulative about getting him to be king. The only way that Macbeth can even become king is if he kills King Duncan. Macbeth is enkindled by the strength and power that the thought of being king is having on him. Its will be the deciding factor when he over troughs king Duncan.
Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth is under a lot of stress when King Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle. “The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements.”(1/5/40) when King Duncan is at Macbeth’s castle Macbeth and his wife are planning an evil scam to kill King Duncan. Macbeth is being corrupted by power in the case that all he wants is to be king and have more power but in order to do so he has to kill King Duncan. He kills King Duncan by using the drunken guard’s daggers to stab him to death. With no emotion he comes out of the room holding the daggers and staring into nothing.
After the act of killing king Duncan is all done and over Macbeth is faced with another bitter decision. On to kill his very close friend Banquo. When Macbeth haired arrogant assassins. But Macbeth was not very devious about hideing the fact that he had hired them. This causes Macbeth to go crazy and see Banquo’s ghost. At this part of the play is when Macbeth starts to lose his mind and get a little crazy.
Macbeth goes and sees the three witches again standing around there cauldron of boiling trouble. During this he finds out three new things, but the one thing that Macbeth needed to know to know was that no one could killed him born through a woman. The only thing was that Macduff was pulled from his mother’s womb. And this will happen when the trees attack. “When the army’s come through the woods” but Macbeth is going by the trees. And Macduff and his men come through the trees and begin to massacre all of Macbeth’s men. And it’s a stand off with Macbeth and Macduff.
By the end of the play all of the charters are turning against Macbeth. “Not in the legions of horrid hell can come a devil more damned in evils to top Macbeth.” (4/3/63)This quote resembles to me that there can never be another king as bad and corrupt by power as Macbeth. Macduff kills Macbeth in a dull and he rightfully becomes king. All of the land is at peace and is very thankful that Macbeth is no longer the king.
It is safe to say that Macbeth was strongly corrupted by power that it leads to his down fall from king. And the UN doing of every thing he had worked for and done. The deaths of his own friend and the king where for nothing. All he has to show for his life was he was a shitty king but a great warier.