Power: Macbeth

Power Essay
Even though Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator are portrayed in completely different worlds, they both share the theme of power. Macbeth, a story written in 1606 for King James, follows the path of Macbeth as he seeks to gain power through the hamartia of regicide. Similarly, Commodus, Gladiator’s vicious antagonist, kills his own father in his quest for immoral power. This act of regicide and gain of immoral power consequently throughs the order of all things out the window. Both Macbeth and Commodus perish from their hubristic natures, which is juxtaposed by the altruistic characters of Macduff and Maximus who prevail through humbleness and morality. Even though the two texts are different, they show that power gained immorally will be punished and power gained morally will be rewarded.
The audience is first introduced to Macbeth as “brave Macbeth” who is a brave and valiant warrior. Blood and violence is introduced and the betrayal of King Duncan by Macbeth his continuously foreshadowed as he states “I am Thane of Cawdor”. Macbeth has acquired a traitor’s title and a traitor’s ambition. “So far and foul a day I have not seen” this is a paradox, and is used to foreshadow the misfortune that will befall Macbeth after he achieves after his victory. In the first Act Macbeth is introduced to three horrid, hag-like witches, who invoke in him his sleeping ambition, “tell me more”. The witches poison Macbeth’s mental state, tempting Macbeth’s ambition for power “full of scorpions is my mind”. The witches are a literal representation of the garden of Adam and Eve. The snake is the witches and the apple is their prophecy. Macbeth, just like Eve, bit into the prophecy and it drove him to killing King Duncan.
Lady Macbeth was a driving force behind Macbeth’s ambition, whose soliloquy set’s up her complex and Machiavellian character, resembling the three witches. “Unsex me here… direst cruelty” Lady Macbeth, upon hearing news of the prophecy, casts off here emotion and her humanity, so that she is only filled with evil. Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth to achieve kinghood and to have a duplicitous nature, “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t”. It is a metaphor for Macbeth to act like a charming and gracious toward to Duncan’s face, but behind the façade he will plot regicide. Lady Macbeth’s power over Macbeth is the catalyst for the destruction of the Great Chain of Being. Social order is thrown out once the hamartia of regicide is carried out.
With the death of King Duncan Macbeth has the gained the immoral power that he wanted but by doing this he also brings about his downfall. Both Macbeth and his lady experience hallucinations of blood and of the people they killed. This motif of blood is carried throughout and eventually leads to Lady Macbeth’s suicide. Macbeth’s increasing paranoia initiates countless tragic deaths to maintain his power and false sense of security. His transformation from “brace Macbeth” to “tyrant” is apparent in his actions. After hearing the second prophecy his arrogance lulls him into thinking he cannot be killed.
For every villain, there is a hero; in Macbeth that saviour is Macduff, who is everything Macbeth is not. His heroic qualities are juxtaposed with Macbeth, in his actions as they are about justice and are moral. Macduff’s destruction of Macbeth ends his repulsive tyranny on Scotland. Macbeth’s ambition and power through bloodlust in the final battle is checked with Macduff’s virtue and the natural order is restored. Only the rightful heir, Malcolm’s, victory and acceptance of the crown can save Scotland and the play itself from the chaos endangered by Macbeth. With Macbeth, Shakespeare shows power’s importance and how power gained immorally shall be punished.
Tyranny is also evident in Ridley Scott’s film, Gladiator, with the character of Commodus who is similar to Macbeth’s characterisation. Both Commodus and Macbeth share the same tragic flaw of ambition, except Commodus gained power through killing his father, Marcus Aurelius, the current Emperor. The destruction of the natural order is challenged by the hero Maximus, a humble general, who, although commanding the respect of the Roman army, simply wishes to “go home”. He juxtaposes Commodus who is “not a moral man” whose desire to be loved converges into a selfish ambition, which mirror’s Macbeth’s characterisation. Commodus slays Maximus’ family forcing him to become a gladiator, reflecting the tyrannous Macbeth who puts Macduff’s family, “to th’ edge o’ the sword”. Unlike Macbeth, Commodus is cowardly and his ambition comes from his need to be loved. Power to him means the love of the people of Rome; it is an irony because his arrogance stands in the way of his goal. Like Macbeth his ambition is his downfall because he puts himself before his country.
Maximus is a moral man who values “Strength and honour” and is the opposite of ambition which is represented in his modest nature and family pride. The motif of his hand brushing a field of wheat stalks symbolises his connection to his home and family. Following the brutal murder of his wife and child the scene becomes morbid and ominous, which foreshadows his fate in the afterlife. Maximus reflects Macduff in his “noble, wise” character, and is respected by many; this is highlighted by the trust of Marcus Aurelius in entrusting him to empower the Senate until he is assassinated by his son, Commodus. Commodus’ deceptive nature is confirmed through his “incessant scheming” and the shadow effect of his half covered face. Commodus acknowledges his “other virtue – ambition” which came about because of his craving for love and is achieved through the Colosseum, which gained him the people’s favour. Commodus’ ambition is the same as Macbeth’s who, rules with “fear and wonder” which traps many in a metaphorical “prison of fear”.
The Colosseum is a symbol of power and dominance that is reflected by the people of Rome and what they want. As the dramatic, non-diegetic music, crescendos, Commodus dons white robes, promoting his insincere purity, representing his guilty ambition, and yet they become bloodied, paralleling Macbeth’s blood motif. Just like Macbeth and Macduff, Commodus and Maximus, duel it out and end with Commodus losing his power, while Maximus restores order. The scene ends with an aerial view of Maximus being carried on the shoulders of the other gladiators after defeating Commodus, who is left lying in the dark Colosseum, representing his terminated ambition.
As shown in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, power gained through corruption and immorality is punished as seen in both protagonists. Their selfish ambition and want for power led their inevitable demise. Both pieces, though starkly different in the context, promote heroic qualities such as humility and honour, while demote selfish traits and power gained through immoral acts.