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Macbeth


            Macbeth, a human character, is plagued by the innate evil in all things. His tragic flaw as you could say is his ambition, which drives him to such lengths as murder, deceit, and dishonor. .
             We see upon our immediate introduction that Macbeth is an honorable man. His conquests of war are foretold by a battle stained sergeant even before his arrival. When he does arrive he is greeted with jubilance and praise. .
             As we watch Macbeth change internally we must also note the influences that help him towards this end. The witches prophecies most certainly fuel Macbeth's ambition. I think anyone who thought that supernatural forces were aiding them in their conquests would feel more confident. Also Macbeth's wife, power hungry herself, persuades him to partake in actions that go against his honorable nature. In my interpretation of the text I see a direct correlation between Lady Macbeths coercing and Macbeths ambition. .
             Now that we have seen some of the influences involved in his change we can be introduced to the entity most responsible for Macbeths down fall, power. The king speaking of the Thane of Cawdor says, " what he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won". Later we realize exactly how much power this simple statement wields. This makes Macbeth third in line for the throne. We also know that this power quickly makes Macbeth thirst for more because he makes statements such as " the Prince of Cumberland this is a step on which I must fall down, or else o"erleap for in my way it lies". During the murder of King Duncan he says " Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires". These statements show us that Macbeths honor has been compromised by his ambition. .
             Through out the play Shakespeare does a magnificent job of foreshadowing the character changes that are to come by providing us with the same moral dilemma that our main character must go through. Would we do anything different than Macbeth? Are we strong enough in our own moral character to stop ambition from clouding our view of the main picture? Some one was once quoted saying "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely".


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