It is in the human nature of every man alive to develop an eager, as well as an exorbitant desire for power and supremacy. From this greed, arises the need of the individual to prioritize his own requirements in order to find the right actions to make, to then be able to obtain what he desperately wants. By working hard to receive what he wishes for, the human being learns to make decisions and to define whether or not they involve doing immoral actions. In The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s mind spirals out of control as he is being commended by his own emotions more than his personal qualities as a resilient and courageous leader, which causes his behavior to change and makes him use his hardiness of which he is known for to strike to kill anyone who gets in the way of the throne. As a result of the prestige Macbeth has, as well as all the prophecies the witches gave him, he becomes greedy for power and he forces himself to commit many dishonest and depraved actions in order to be in control of his own destiny, which then causes his conscience to hunt him, which makes him commit countless more sins to cover his previous wrongdoings in the goal of protecting his reputation of a leader.
For starters, loyal subjects often get intoxicated by their power, which causes them to adopt a morally wrong mindset that makes them believe they can get away with anything. Consequently to their behavior changing, the leaders use their power to defeat others in the ambition to feed their eagerness for further qualifications. In The play Macbeth, after having a taste of prestige, Macbeth’s mentality drastically changes as he develops a strong desire for advancement, which leads to his selfishness that allows him to plan and commit several murders of innocent people without feeling remorse. For instance, Macbeth’s ruthless ambition to be king pressures him into succumbing to his overwhelming desire for more, although he is aware that in order to obtain what he is longing for, he has to hurt others. This being said, ensuing making sure that he is aware of all the moral consequences that come with the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth states: “I go, and it is done: the bell invites me. / Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell / That summons thee to heaven or to hell” (Act 2, Scene 1, Line 69-71). Even if Macbeth is not naturally disposed to effectuating hideous deeds, his devotion to gaining more power consumes his mind, and therefore, he rapidly plans to kill the King of Scotland with the goal of obtaining sovereignty. Nevertheless, as the idea of becoming king has grown in Macbeth, he develops the fiery ambition to get rid of everyone who stands in his way to the throne, which is why he commits this gruesome murder, despite the fact that Duncan is his friend, as well the important king of Scotland. Furthermore, after betraying Duncan by killing him, Macbeth enters into a state of fear which incites him to commit additional murders to please his disturbed mind. As such wise, following the assassination of the king, Macbeth strongly believes that the two guards who were monitoring Duncan on the night of his death will deny their involvement in the murder, which is why he commits their homicide and justifies it by declaring: “The expedition of my violent love / Outrun the pauser, reason” (Act 2, Scene 3, Line 121-122). This being said, it is obvious that despite his initial uncertainty over killing Duncan, Macbeth is no longer afraid to murder other harmless individuals, as well as having to contrast his public appearance to his personal beliefs and intimate actions to obtain what he truly wants. By any means, as a result of Macbeth’s desire to keep the credibility for which he is known, he pretends to be carried away by his anger towards the guards when he kills them in front of Lennox, although sincerely, he murders them to lead the suspicion away from himself in order to get away with the assassination of King Duncan. Thus, as Macbeth uses his heroism to subjugate others, it is quite evident that important and high-profile individuals commit offenses due to the fact that they believe they are too powerful to obey the rules.
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Secondly, famous heroes frequently get influenced by what others say about their abilities, which causes them to lose their sanity, along with badly deteriorating as human beings. In the goal of reaching their full potential, the conquerors’ attitude changes, as they do many dishonest actions to benefit their own selves. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, following Macbeth’s notice that multiple forecasts of the witches have come true, he realizes that many other individuals could threaten his supremacy and therefore, with the goal of being able to ensure his future as the king of Scotland, he decides to commit unfaithful deeds. For example, due to the three enchanters’ prediction that Banquo’s descendants would govern as monarchs of Scotland, Macbeth’s madness for dominance deteriorates as he plans the death of his former friend and son, simply to make sure that no one else has access to the throne. Hence, subsequently comprehending that Banquo knows too much and that he must suspect him of foul play, Macbeth remembers that the witches made a prophecy about Banquo’s sons eventually becoming kings, which means that both Banquo and Fleance are a threat to him and the sovereignty. Thus, in order to keep away the suspicions of the friends he has in common with Banquo, Macbeth persuades the two murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance by making them believe that Banquo is responsible for their misfortunes and to ensure that they do not let him get away with what he’s done to them, they have to stand up for themselves by ending the two villains life, which will result to their pain ending. Despite the fact that the murderers only succeeded in assassinating Banquo, those murders arranged by Macbeth confirm that his mindset is tremendously affected by his desire for power, which is created by the witch's prophecies, as they make him fear his former friend and comrade. Moreover, after being told another prognostication by the wizards, Macbeth fears that Macduff is threatening his throne and thus, in the ambition of convincing Macduff to quit the attack he is planning with Malcolm in England, Macbeth decides to hire the murderers once again in the goal of executing Lady Macduff and her son. Thereupon, Macbeth lets the witches’ prophecy which consists of fearing Macduff control his behavior, as he declares: “To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done: / The castle of Macduff I will surprise, / Seize upon Fife, give to the edge oath sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line” (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 162-166). In consideration of the foregoing, it is evident that Macbeth is losing his sanity due to his dependence on the forecasts the enchanters provide him, which worsens his desire to have the throne of Scotland for himself. In summation, as the witches are able to turn their prophecies into ideas in Macbeth’s mind, it is indisputable that social influencers easily let others control their actions, due to the fact that they let their words grow on them.
In conclusion, in The tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth’s taste for prominence, along with all the predictions the wizards provide him, are the two key elements that make him develop his desire for power, which then causes him to become selfish for the throne, as he executes and plans multiple illegal actions in the goal of being able to command his future, whichever leads his moral sense to make him paranoid and anxious, which encourages him to continue his murderous campaign, in order to assure that the held opinion that others have of his character is still the one of a brave officer. As Macbeth
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