The Corruption Of Lady Macbeth In William Shakespeare's Play

Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare in the early seventeenth century. Macbeth is a Scottish general who quickly becomes power hungry after hearing a prophecy saying he will become king. He ends up killing the king and many other people, finally meeting his death in the end. Surprisingly, Lady Macbeth, his wife, was even more power hungry than he was in the beginning. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth undergoes a dramatic change, as well as being one of the main contributors to the overall theme of Macbeth. When Lady Macbeth is first introduced, he makes quite the unruly impression on the reader. “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty” (I,
Her servant witnesses her sleepwalking. She is mumbling and trying to wash her hands of the blood shed she caused. She confesses that she just wants it all to stop; she did want all of this grief. Not long after this incident, she tragically kills herself. Here, the reader is shown the toll that corruption and power can cause. Throughout Macbeth, the theme of corruption and power is displayed in almost every aspect of the play. Perhaps one of the strongest examples are the actions of Lady Macbeth. In the beginning, she is obsessed with the idea of power. She will not stop until her husband gets the crown. Slowly, the repercussions of her and her husband’s action make her go crazy. She cannot handle the grief she has been burdened with. Ultimately, Lady Macbeth’s hunger for power causes her defeat. Lady Macbeth is a pivotal character in Shakespeare’s famous play, Macbeth. She idealizes the epitome of corruption and power. She got the crown and power she wanted, but she could not handle the guilt of what she had done. In the end, her thirst for power contributed to her demise. This play is yet another example of absolute power corrupting