Power is Power
Shakespeare agrees with this statement to a great extent. This is proven through his inclusion of the witches and their interaction with Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo. At the beginning of the play, the witches are prophesizing Macbeth and Banquo. The idea of power is mirrored in the societal structure happening in 1600s England which is what Shakespear mirrored this book on.
For Macbeth, he is given a prophecy that will give him ultimate power and control over Scottland via the deaths of the Thanes of both Glamis and Cawdor as well as the death of the current king of Scottland, King Duncan. "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis ... All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor... All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!" (1.3.51-53). This quote enlaced with rhyme and foreshadowing prophesizes that Macbeth will gain complete power that will eventually lead to his downfall by his own hand. Due to this prophecy, his fate was changed from being something of fantasy to something tangible and something for him to alter at his own free will. At first, he was going to allow the prophecy to play itself out without him intervening however once the amount of power that he could have had gone to his head he acted upon his fate. Therefore power corrupts and absolute power does indeed corrupt absolutely and through the above quote, Shakespeare agrees with this.
For Lady Macbeth the idea of being the "ultimate wife" in a way caused herself to become corrupted by her own accord. "My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white" (2.2.82-83). This quote examines Lady Macbeth's reaction to killing the king of Scottland through symbolism, in turn giving her power. She becomes comfortable with the idea of absolute power and this corrupts both her relationship with her husband and her relationship with herself. She starts off with feeling like she is the dominant head of the relationship with her husband and she uses this to her advantage. The most important being convincing her husband to make the final step to kill King Duncan so that they may gain complete power of Scottland. Due to her manipulation skills, she was able to gain the power associated with the death of Duncan without being the one to actually do the killing. This shows just how easy it is for the slightest bit of power to corrupt let alone the absolute power associated with being the queen of Scottland. Therefore, due to her characterization and the above quote, Shakespeare does, in fact, agree with the quote regarding power and corruption.
For Banquo, his corruption also comes from the prophecy given to him by the three Weird sister witches. "Hail! Hail! Hail! Lesser than Macbeth and greater. Not so happy yet much happier. Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail... Banquo" (1.3.65-71) Through this quote we can infer that Banquo will not be the one gaining the power however his bloodline would; his son with the help of the author's use of symbolism and foreshadowing. With his son in power that would ultimately give Banquo some if not an equal amount of power. With the prophecy told there was an amount of power already given to Banquo and this corrupted him as well as his relationship with Macbeth. For Macbeth and Banquo's son, Lennox are both supposed to be crowned king of Scottland. This tension caused division among the friends and continued to taint their friendship. In turn, Shakespeare writing this prophecy in a way demonstrated that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely and can ultimately be the downfall of the crown.
In conclusion, I believe that Shakespeare does agree with the quote by Lord Acton and demonstrates it in many aspects of the book Macbeth.
For Macbeth, he is given a prophecy that will give him ultimate power and control over Scottland via the deaths of the Thanes of both Glamis and Cawdor as well as the death of the current king of Scottland, King Duncan. "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis ... All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor... All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!" (1.3.51-53). This quote enlaced with rhyme and foreshadowing prophesizes that Macbeth will gain complete power that will eventually lead to his downfall by his own hand. Due to this prophecy, his fate was changed from being something of fantasy to something tangible and something for him to alter at his own free will. At first, he was going to allow the prophecy to play itself out without him intervening however once the amount of power that he could have had gone to his head he acted upon his fate. Therefore power corrupts and absolute power does indeed corrupt absolutely and through the above quote, Shakespeare agrees with this.
For Lady Macbeth the idea of being the "ultimate wife" in a way caused herself to become corrupted by her own accord. "My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white" (2.2.82-83). This quote examines Lady Macbeth's reaction to killing the king of Scottland through symbolism, in turn giving her power. She becomes comfortable with the idea of absolute power and this corrupts both her relationship with her husband and her relationship with herself. She starts off with feeling like she is the dominant head of the relationship with her husband and she uses this to her advantage. The most important being convincing her husband to make the final step to kill King Duncan so that they may gain complete power of Scottland. Due to her manipulation skills, she was able to gain the power associated with the death of Duncan without being the one to actually do the killing. This shows just how easy it is for the slightest bit of power to corrupt let alone the absolute power associated with being the queen of Scottland. Therefore, due to her characterization and the above quote, Shakespeare does, in fact, agree with the quote regarding power and corruption.
For Banquo, his corruption also comes from the prophecy given to him by the three Weird sister witches. "Hail! Hail! Hail! Lesser than Macbeth and greater. Not so happy yet much happier. Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail... Banquo" (1.3.65-71) Through this quote we can infer that Banquo will not be the one gaining the power however his bloodline would; his son with the help of the author's use of symbolism and foreshadowing. With his son in power that would ultimately give Banquo some if not an equal amount of power. With the prophecy told there was an amount of power already given to Banquo and this corrupted him as well as his relationship with Macbeth. For Macbeth and Banquo's son, Lennox are both supposed to be crowned king of Scottland. This tension caused division among the friends and continued to taint their friendship. In turn, Shakespeare writing this prophecy in a way demonstrated that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely and can ultimately be the downfall of the crown.
In conclusion, I believe that Shakespeare does agree with the quote by Lord Acton and demonstrates it in many aspects of the book Macbeth.
Hey! You did a really good job with this post, I enjoyed how you compared Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo in terms of the prompt. It provided a nice comparison between characters and showed that you understand the content of the book well. Good job.
ReplyDeleteHey Morrigan! I really liked how you organized this blog poist. It was also very well-written throughout and I totally undertsood the main points you were trying to get across. The comparison you portrayed between the characters was informative! Great job homie!
ReplyDeleteHey Morrigan , this blog really shows your extensive knowledge on Macbeth and the effects of the power seen with in the text. Very well structured in the comparison of the characters and how they apply to the quote. GOOD JOB! Bailey would be proud!
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