Many of us are driven and tempted by glory and power. We all want to be known and to have everything we could ask for. But sometimes, this lust for power isn't good for a person. It can influence us to do things against our beliefs. It can mold us into a different person than from what we really are and turn our life around the wrong way. The story of Macbeth, written by Shakespeare, shows a man that has these traits. It shows a man show driven by his lust for power that he is willing to kill the people closets to him. In the end, He learns the consequences of these horrible actions. Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a prime example of how power is a thing that can corrupt a man's intellects and virtues, and shows us that we must never allow this corruption to turn us toward evil.
In the beginning of the book, Macbeth is a war hero. He encounters three witches that inform him that he will soon become king. Because of the impatience of both himself and his wife, he is driven to kill many people so that he may reign as king. Now at the beginning, he thinks that once he becomes king, all that he will have is riches and glory. But what comes to him is just paranoia and fear. He did not act alone. His wife is the one that influenced him to do this horrible deed. She called him a coward and less than a man because he was too afraid to follow his ambitions. "What monster was it then that made you share this scheme with me? When you dared to do it, then you were a man."(act 1, scene 7, lines 47-49) He was too easily influenced to do the wrong thing. His lust for power and his fear of being a coward was much greater than his conscience. This is where he went wrong. Instead of thinking about the possibilities and following his morals and intellects, he chooses to follow what everyone else tell him and also follow the evil path. "Where's that knocking? What's happening to me, that every noise I hear scares me? Whose hands are these? They're plucking my eyes out...." (act2, scene 2, lines 58- 62). After killing people, he becomes haunted by both the spirits of his victims and the guilt that comes with murder. He was not expecting that he would feel the repercussions of his bad deeds. The un expected consequences of his actions are what changed him. It made him insane. He was no longer the person that he once was. He was no longer the friendly, kind hearted, loyal war hero.
Like all books, a great lesson can be learned from this. Macbeth represents a general man. Everyone at one point or another seeks power. This book shows that when we seek this power, we must take the righteous and truthful path. Macbeth decided not to. He decided to cheat his way to the throne. And therefore, he experienced the consequences. The consequences that drove him mad, and the ones that changed him till the moment of his death. "You can't say I did it! Don't shake your gory locks at me." (Act 3, scene 4, lines 52-53). This is an example of how Macbeth was after killing people. The guilt clouded his thoughts and caused him to have many sleepless nights and also caused him to practically go insane. "The smell of blood is still there. All the per fumes of Arabia cannot sweeten this little hand. " (Act 5, Scene 1, lines 43-45). This is an example of how Lady Macbeth was affected. Her too was affected by the guilt of their crime. This caused her to sleep walk and go insane. Because she was one of the main influences that caused Macbeth to kill so that she could be queen, she too felt the harsh consequences that changed the type of person that she was. The book uses these two characters to show the consequences of unjust actions. You may not potentially go insane, but you will not feel the full reward of your journey. It shows that no matter what it some way, what goes around comes around. So if you take the evil pathway, then your consequences will be harsh.
This lesson can be applied to our society today. Yes, there is nothing as jurassic as murdering people for royalty (although that could still potential exist), but it exist on the level of cheating things over. When you cheat on a test, you don't feel the success and accomplishment you feel when you actually study and do the test on your own. Same thing goes with Macbeth. Our greed for glory and power drives us to cheat and be unjust. "This greed goes deeper. It has a firmer root system than short lived lust. It has been the death of many of our kings." (Act 4, Scene 3, lines 85- 88) Macbeth greed was so great that it couldn't be broken. It became a part of him. It transformed him into a paranoid, power crazy being. And this is how power can change a person. Macbeth was only human, therefore i he is like anyone of us that means greed and power can change us also. " I've almost forgotten the taste of fear. There was a time when shrieking in the night would have turned me cold... they cant shock me anymore." (Act 5, scene 5, lines 9-15) This is another way how greed and power can change you. Power leads to corruption, and when a person has too much power, they believe in different things. Mostly everyone, every human feels fear. But as you can see, Macbeth's power and greed changed him to make him no longer human.
Aside from being a violent play, a life lesson is taught through every word written. It shows that power isn't always the best thing to want. It can drive us to do horrible things that aren't worth it. Power and greed can change us and make us go against our morals and intellects. It makes us inhumane. It drove Macbeth to kill many of his colleagues and close friends, and yet he died because his goal want achieved properly. He didn't just wait patiently for his turn at the throne. This is a lesson meant for people of every generation. It shows us that power isn't always the key to success. It shows us that it is best to take the righteous and truthful path if we do work towards some kind of power. Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a prime example of how power is a thing that can corrupt a man's intellects and virtues, and shows us that we must never allow this corruption to turn us toward evil.
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