Alexia Tzaneteas English 10 Honors Mrs. Joyce June 3rd, 2022 The Machiavellian Rule of Macbeth Should morality be separated from politics, or should both be examined when determining the recognition a ruler deserves? According to Machiavelli's treatise, The Prince, a ruler should be defined not by their morality but by their ability to achieve what they desire, no matter what cruelties are used to accomplish it. Therefore, he advises a prince to be more deceiving than truthful, more cunning than naive, and more wicked than righteous in order to ensure success against the fickle forces of fortune. Machiavelli uses examples of real leaders who follow in his advice, but perhaps the most perfect model is a leader from William Shakespeare’s tragedy, …show more content…
However, having a weak ruler invites into the throne the cruelty, treason, and deception that defines what a Machiavellian ruler is. The King of Scotland, Duncan, has a personality that is already what Machiavelli would deem weak, but because of Scotland’s decentralization, he is also politically weak. He is politically weak because the rule of a king is dependent on the cooperation and approval of the thanes, which lessens the absolute power of the king. It doesn't help that Duncan is very trusting towards them and requires them to go to battle for him, rather than leading them in battle himself. As a result, he relies on a form of a “spoils system” that grants them more power the more they do for the king. This rewards system only fuels ambition, as “those who see themselves as king makers or king keepers soon wonder why they should not be king themselves” (Zuckert 594). For example, Macbeth does a great deed in battle and is naturally expecting a large reward. He is named only Thane of Cawdor, but Malcolm, someone who …show more content…
After the witches give Macbeth his first prophecy that he will become king, he begins to have thoughts about murdering Duncan. He pushes it aside in disgust, but Lady Macbeth creates a plan to do it in their own home. Macbeth has doubts about it and believes that no stroke of luck will allow him fully get away with it, which he expresses to Lady Macbeth when he tells her “If we should fail-”(1.7.68). By even suggesting failure, he is revealing his uncertainty about the uncontrollable forces of luck. Macbeth is simply relying on the witches’ prophecy to be correct, with the only evidence being that their previous prediction was correct. When this prophecy does get proven right, Macbeth soon becomes overconfident in his battle with luck, which is a complete pivot from his feelings the night before murdering Duncan. He begins to believe that the prophecies truthfully dictate what will happen, and he is therefore invulnerable to the fickle Fortunata, the goddess of fortune. He also attempts to use the knowledge gained from the prophecies to prevent them from happening, which is where Macbeth’s hold on luck begins to
The natural drive and ambition in an individual can be a great strength. If it goes unchecked, however, it can cause people to do things they would never have originally done leading to bad consequences. In Wiliam Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, there was a successful kingdom in Scotland; it had lucious land and mostly good people. King Duncan was a gracious leader. He loved reward and praising his loyal subjects.
To begin, Macbeth demonstrates desperate and ruthless choices as he reaches for power which doesn’t belong to him. For example, when Macbeth is talking to himself about what he should do about the second part of the prophecy. Banquo, one of Macbeth's friends, also received a prophecy that his children would be their heirs to the king. Wanting to keep the power of the throne he says “Given to the common enemy of man/To make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings./Rather than so, come fate into the list,/And champion me to th’ utterance”(3.1.74-77). Macbeth is not willing to take any chances when it comes to keeping the power he has been handed.
Throughout the story, Macbeth is haunted by visions that symbolze his guilt and fear of punishment. these visions are a result of his own choices and actions, which lead him down a path of destruction. Although the witches prophecies do set Macbeth on a certain path, it is his own actions that lead him to murder and ignore the moral and ethical considerations that would have stopped from doing so. The prophecy may have played a role in his initial decision making, it was ultimately Macbeths own choices that determined his fate. The prophecy delivered by the 3 witches was the driving force behind his
In “Macbeth,” by Shakespeare, King Duncan of Scotland is a generous man, but has a horrible weakness that affects others. His weakness constantly puts his kingdom and his life in danger. His weakness happens to be that he gains the trusts of others so easily, and is too kind to those he barely knows. The Thane of Cawdor, who was appointed by the King, was disloyal and began a bloody battle. This angered the King, and the Thane of Cawdor was later executed.
If you value humility and being altruistic, you will be sincerely disappointed in the outcome of Macbeth along with modern day rulers’ real life decisions. Shakespeare’s character Macbeth was a powerful ruler who became extremely egotistical when he was given power that wasn’t his. Along with being egotistical, he is very selfish when it comes to making decisions that only benefit him. This is shown in modern day scenarios; for example, Hitler and Nayib Bukele. All three narcissistic men do things to benefit themselves to endure power.
It is human nature to want power, to be at the top of the pyramid, to be king/queen, but that comes at a price as shown in Macbeth. In the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth will do anything to have absolute power and nothing stands in their way. From killing to going completely mad, they will become the next king and queen at all costs. The ambition and the want for power is so high that they kill many, they do whatever they can to be one step closer, and they go completely insane, all because they want that absolute power.
Macbeth, Macbeth. Both of these leaders have shown us that the need for absolute power comes with selfishness, paranoia, and a deranged moral compass that ultimately leads to their downfall. These leaders’ obsession
but Lady Macbeth kept insisting on him not being crowned king but instead taking the throne. He could have just accepted his prophecy and waited his turn but chose to make certain he would be king even if it wasn't his time he killed to make his prophecy true it wasn’t gifted to him he took it. Lady Macbeth also said,”"Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem / To have thee crown'd withal". Lady Macbeth thinks that fate won't make him king; she believes the only way he could be king is to murder Duncan
“Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.” (Shakespeare 6) Upon hearing this, Macbeth begins to spiral, transforming from a brave and well-respected Scottish nobleman to an aggressive and hostile tyrant. The witches’ prophecies
Greed is oftentimes a powerful force. It can control one’s thought process and drive them to do things they never would have before. Macbeth is a stand up guy at first, and King Duncan thinks very highly of him. He awards him with the title of Thane of Cawdor after his bravery in battle. Macbeth seemed to be the ideal warrior that was submissive to the authority of the king.
In society it is implicate that the more power a man has, the more he’ll be validated and accepted. Even the men whom are considered the best and most loyal, can drown in ocean of pride. Shakespeare uses Macbeth as a example that pride can be destructive, and can corrupt the mind. All this displays how many of the men in power, or rising to power in the real world, are just looking for a hope of validation. Macbeth originally didn't want to go through with his plans to kill King Duncan, he wasn’t willing to take that risk, but Lady Macbeth pressured him to do otherwise.
At the start of the play, Macbeth visits the witches with Banquo at the closing of the battle. The witches speak to Macbeth and Banquo and get the idea of a prophecy in Macbeth’s mind. “All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis./ All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor./ All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (1.3.46-48). When the witches get the prophecy in Macbeth’s mind, he believes it will come true and misunderstands the prophecy of the witches. Although the witches make Macbeth believe in the prophecy of becoming the King, Macbeth is responsible for his downfall because they do not recommend Macbeth to kill Duncan.
In the small excerpt we have studied, he shows the effects of the misfortunes of good or bad prophecies. It is this that shows that fate has turned its back on Macbeth when previously it favored him. It is like a dream that has become a nightmare, the visions that showed him the future splendor of being a king have turned against him and given him a horrible fate over which he is completely powerless. This is a very popular "be careful what you wish for" trope. The premise is this: a character, in pursuit of an impossible wish made by a supernatural creature or knowledge that will harm him, suffers unforeseen and devastating consequences. It's like putting Wonder Woman's lasso of truth on a few "friends" and asking them how they really feel,
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth the witches informs Macbeth of his fate that he will become the king in the future. Macbeth believes the witches words and Lady Macbeth persuade him to become the king and murder all the people that get in the way. Shakespeare shows us that fate is complicated by our actions, Macbeth will do anything to meet his fate that in the end lead him to his death because of his greediness.
He feels that because the witches said it that it must be true no matter what the consequences in the future are. This is a leading factor that causes Macbeth to decide to murder King Duncan. Macbeth consciously makes the decision to commit treason and knows that it will have consequences. He even ponders the fact that although he will have a prosperous life on