Macbeth

Scottish philosopher David Hume once said, “Corruption of the best things gives rise to the worst.” Throughout the tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth’s corruption was proven to be inevitable. We meet Macbeth after a battle, the result of which has him named Thane of Cawdor. From this position, he falls into being a paranoid man who’s willing to do anything to remain in power. We can see his deterioration start from the murders of Duncan and Banquo whom he kills in order to gain more. We also see more of Macbeth's downfall during his second meeting with the witches. Also his corruption is proven to get worse when he destroys Macduff's family. After he has done all of these terrible things we can see his bad mental condition just before he is murdered. Shakespeare uses the characterization of Macbeth to illustrate that corruption is inevitable to anyone.

In the beginning of Macbeth, Macbeth is a strong, brave and noble soldier. He is considered to be brave by all the people he was fighting around. When the captain is relaying the events of the battle, we find him saying to the king "For brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name" (1.2.16). As a result of Macbeth's actions on the battlefield, Duncan names him Thane of Cawdor, this proves that Macbeth is a good soldier. He had no intention of doing anything other than serving the king. Because of this small rise in power it leads Macbeth to wanting more, illustrating the reason this book is named a tragedy. Shakespeare uses the characterization of Macbeth to illustrate that corruption is inevitable to anyone.
Following a meeting with three witches, Macbeth begins to think about killing Duncan and taking the throne by force. The witches tell Macbeth that he will become king after Duncan, and Macbeth becomes concerned with these prophecies and wants to learn more, as we can see from what he says after they leave, "Would they have stayed!" (1.3.82). After this, he begins thinking about his uncontrollable, deep desire to be king. It is proven that he is thinking about murdering Duncan from his soliloquy, "Stars, hide your fires, /Let not light see my black and deep desires;" (1.5.50-51). Macbeth has begun his path to corruption.
Shakespeare uses the characterization of Macbeth to illustrate that corruption is inevitable to anyone. After murdering Duncan, Macbeth feels that he needs to kill Banquo as well because he is afraid that Banquo is going to be a problem for him. He is suspicious that Banquo believes Macbeth had something to do with Duncan's murder, "Our fears in Banquo/ Stick deep; and in his royalty of nature/ Reigns that which would be feared" (3.1.47-49). Macbeth plans to kill him, though Banquo has made no direct threat against him. He speaks of feeling inferior to Banquo, even though he is the king. "There is none but he/ Whose being I do fear; and under him/ My genius is rebuked" (3.1.53-55). Banquo is Macbeth's closest friend, but Macbeth is starting to lose trust in everyone around him.Shakespeare uses the characterization of Macbeth to illustrate that corruption is inevitable to anyone.

After Macbeth kills Banquo, he sees Banquo's ghost at the banquet. He is filled with feelings of regret and, as a result of his troubled mind, sees Banquo's ghost. He cannot tell the difference between this ghost and reality, "If I stand here, I saw him" (3.4.74). He is starting to lose his mind but despite this, he has not yet reached complete deterioration. He is going between a state of madness and back into the real world, as we can see from this quote, "I am a man again" (3.4.105). Macbeth may be deteriorating, but it is possible to lead people to believe that nothing is wrong. Lady Macbeth is able to fool all of the guests into believing that Macbeth has always been like that. However, the banquet is still cut short because of Macbeth's outburst. Shakespeare uses the characterization of Macbeth to illustrate that corruption is inevitable to anyone.

Macbeth meets with the witches again to hear what they have to say. He relies on their words, though he knows they are evil, because of what they have done for him before. We see him using their powers, "I conjure you" (4.1.50), this shows that he has sunk to their level of evil. He is at the point where he would prefer that the whole world fall into chaos, than not have his questions answered by the witches, "Howe'er you come to know it— answer me./ Though you untie the winds and let them fight/ Against the churches, though the yeasty waves/ Confound and swallow navigation up,/ Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down,/ Though castles topple on their warders' heads,/ Though palaces and pyramids do slope/ Their heads to their foundations, though the treasure/ Of nature's germens tumble all together,/ Even till destruction sicken, answer me/ To what I ask you." (4.1.51-61). We can see from this speech that Macbeth as a character is no longer part of this world. He is speaking as if he was one of the witches, he has been corrupted and is now evil. He also shows that he has lost all rationality as he thinks of their words as being more important than the world being destroyed. Shakespeare uses the characterization of Macbeth to illustrate that corruption is inevitable to anyone.

Macduff chooses to leave for England, as a result Macbeth decides that he is going to get revenge by attacking Macduff's family. He makes the decision to kill innocent people to get revenge, including Macduff's wife and young son. We can see here that he knows exactly what he is about to do: "The castle of Macduff I will surprise, /Seize upon Fife, give to th' edge o' th' sword/ His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls"(4.1.150-152). He knows that all people inside are completely innocent and yet still decides to kill them, this shows that Macbeth is no longer the noble man he was in the beginning of this tradgedy. Macbeth is also very suspicious of everyone, Macduff going to England is automatically seen as a sign to Macbeth that Macduff is a traitor and needs to be destroyed. He even says that from now on he will act of first impulse when he suspicious, "The very firstlings of my heart shall be/ The firstlings of my hand." (4.1.146-147). This shows that his corruption is increasing. Shakespeare uses the characterization of Macbeth to illustrate that corruption is inevitable to anyone.

Towards the end, Macbeth's kingdom has been destroyed. People think of him as a bad leader and believe he is causing problems for Scotland. After seeing what Macbeth is like, the doctor decides to leave Macbeth's castle and says he will never return, "Were I from Dunsinane away and clear,/ Profit again should hardly draw me here" (5.3.61-62). Caithness reports that many people do not like Macbeth and think he is a bad leader, "Some say he's mad; others, that lesser hate him,/ Do call it valiant fury; but, for certain,/ He cannot buckle his distempered cause/ Within the belt of rule" (5.2.14-17). At this point, we see Macbeth teasing a servant who is telling him that an army is coming towards his castle, "Go prick thy face, and over-red thy fear,/ Thou lily-livered boy. What soldiers, patch?/ Death of thy soul! those linen cheeks of thine/ Are counsellors to fear. What soldiers, whey-face?" (5.3.13-16). Shakespeare uses the characterization of Macbeth to illustrate that corruption is inevitable to anyone.

By the end, Macbeth is losing his mind and all rationality. He cannot think logically and begins to even worse decisions. An example of this is that he does not care about the death of his wife. He even says "She should have died hereafter" (5.5.17); this shows that he does not even give her death a second thought. He is now so used to his state of madness, that he talks of forgetting what it feels like to be afraid, his mind is full of all kinds of horrible thoughts, "I have almost forgot the taste of fears. /The time has been, my senses would have cooled/ To hear a night-shriek; and my fell of hair/ Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir, /As life were in't. I have supped full with horrors: /Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts, /Cannot once start me." (5.5.9-15). As we can see, Macbeth has turned into a very mentally troubled man. Shakespeare uses the characterization of Macbeth to illustrate that corruption is inevitable to anyone.

Macbeth is a character who falls a long way from his state of mind in the beginning. He is tempted by the witches, and from here he begins his evil reign of terror by murdering Duncan, after this he becomes more and more willing to murder. From this, we can see that Macbeth is no longer able to function as king by the end of the play. He has given up his noble state to become king, and by doing so loses his ability to do good. Shakespeare uses the characterization of Macbeth to illustrate that corruption is inevitable to anyone.