Macbeth - Power Corrupts

Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, there is a reoccurring theme: power corrupts. The saying “too much of anything isn’t good for you” is especially true with power. People can be significantly changed by power, and often times for the worse. After becoming King unrightfully, Macbeth decides to use his power to have deeds done that, had he not been king, been difficult to do.

Macbeth, while returning from battle, encounters three witches who tell him that he will become Thane of Cawdor and after that become King of Scotland. At first Macbeth is skeptical, but after he is made Thane of Cawdor he is confident that the prophecy may be true. When Macbeth informs his wife, Lady Macbeth, of the witches’ prophecy she urges Macbeth to kill King Duncan and become King, like it had been prophesized.

Doing as his wife had asked, Macbeth goes and kills King Duncan, cautiously framing his guards so that it looked like they killed him. Once a respectful and sincere war hero to his country, Macbeth had now committed regicide against his own king.

Clearly, Lady Macbeth is the one in the play that is the first affected by power. Just the thought of being queen of Scotland is enough to drive her to the idea of murder. Lady Macbeth definitely “wears the pants” in the relationship. Whatever she wants, Macbeth will do. Lady Macbeth’s power over her husband had corrupted her so much that she had him murder the king. She would do anything for more power.

“How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me.
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums,
And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done this.” (1.7.60-64)

She would kill her own child just become queen of Scotland. This shows that she is very much corrupted by the thought of power and would go great lengths in order to get it.

Another example of power corrupting a character is when Macbeth hires two assassins to kill anyone that could possibly bring down his reign as king. He calls upon the killers to murder Banquo, his once good friend, and his son, Fleance, who was prophesized to become king someday by the same witches that prophesized Macbeth’s future. Knowing of the prophecy, Macbeth feels slightly threatened by Fleance and needs him out of the picture. Unfortunately for Macbeth, Fleance gets away.

“…Fleance his son, that keeps him company,
Whose absence is no less material to me
Than his father’s, must embrace the fate
Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart:
I’ll come to you anon.” (3.1.148-152)

The corruption that has occurred to Macbeth is now so great that he has sent assassins upon his once best friend and attempted to kill his son as well. One would almost feel sympathetic for Macbeth had he not become so malevolent and detached from life.

The final, most important example of power corrupts occurs in last scene of the play. This example shows what corruption can lead to. Macbeth will not go down without a fight and goes hand to hand with Macduff, a Scottish general, to try to keep his reign of power alive; literally.

“I will not yield,
To kiss the ground before you Malcolm’s feet,
And baited with rabble’s curse.
Though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane,
And thou opposed, being of no woman born,
Yet I will try the last. Before my body
I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff;
And damned be him that first cries, ‘Hold, enough’” (5.8.32-39)

Macbeth and Macduff begin to fight off-stage and when Macduff reappears he is holding Macbeth’s dead body. The corruption that occurred to Macbeth received the greatest punishment of all. He killed to get power and he killed to keep the power he received. “Blood will have blood" (3.4.121), murder leads to more murder. The quote rings true in the case of Macbeth who did all he could to keep the power he unrightfully took.