Macbeth – an Essay of Corruption

 Literacy Essay – Macbeth       To post your stories on the web go to this link http://www.triond.com/rw/152401

The play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare is a story of a kind man that wants to protect his country until greed and lust for the thrown corrupts him. Throughout the course of the play, the young Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth, is turned into a paranoid serial killer that will do anything to get the throne and keep it. Three witches and even the devil called “Hecate” tell Macbeth parts of his destiny, which shapes his future and the future of Scotland. With the three witches in the story, Macbeth started to become corrupt and covet the throne and power. The witches corrupted Macbeth by telling him his future of becoming king, revealing to him that his children would not be king but Banquo’s children would be, and giving him three predictions that lead him to believe he cannot be killed.

The witches corrupted Macbeth by telling him his future of becoming king. “All hail, Macbeth, who will be king later on! (33)”This is just the opening step into Macbeth’s journey of evil. When he found out that he could be king, ideas flashed through his head of him being king. He kept thinking of ways he could be king until eventually he killed the king and framed the guards. With this new power, he did many evil things that are all the cause of the witches.

They revealed to him that his children would not be kings but Banquo’s children would be. “You will be the father to kings, even though you won’t be king yourself”(33). This made a new threat to Macbeth. Macbeth wanted the throne to stay in his bloodline for generations. If Banquo’s children were going to be kings, Macbeth knew that to prevent this he would have to kill Banquo and his son. He hired trained murders to kill Banquo’s family. This was just the first step into Macbeth’s corruption. The witches told Macbeth and Banquo that prophesy, with it, it turned there good and happy lives into lives of sorrow and bad deeds.

The witches give him three predictions that lead him to believe he cannot be killed. “For no man born to a woman can harm Macbeth. (169)” This led Macbeth to believe that he could not be killed by anyone on earth for everyone is born of a woman. With this new-found confidence, he challenges people and thinks he cannot lose. Only in the end when it’s too late does he realize he isn’t unstoppable. He fights Macduff and is easily defeated by him. Before he is killed Macduff reveals to him that he was not born of a woman. “Macduff was prematurely ripped from his mother’s womb.”(249) Any normal person would run, but Macbeth has been twisted into evil and will not back down from this fight he cannot win.

The three witches in the story corrupt Macbeth and out him into the path of evil and madness. They gave him a prophecy that led him to believe it was his destiny to become king. They tell him that his kids will not be kings but Banquo’s will be causing him to kill his friends. The witches also gave Macbeth three predictions giving him false confidence, which leads to his death. With all these things and more, the witches corrupt Macbeth and are the reason for his death and the death of many good people.