Power and authority are the two things that most people strive to have and be. More times than we notice, we are given opportunities to hold power and authority positions and because of that, it pushes us so much closer to guaranteed success. While doing so we can easily become blinded by our own selfishness, unknowingly commit wrong actions, and go to the extremes just to pay the price for success. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth finds out the prophecy of him becoming king and ends up doing all that he can to fulfill the prophecy faster than expected. He turns his himself into someone he had never sought out to be and loses his whole life in the process of trying to find the most promising life of success.
Macbeth’s road to power first began when he was on his way back from battle with Banquo, one of his friends and fellow nobleman. They were greeted by the Three Weird Sisters, also known as the three witches. When they greeted him, they said, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, Thane of Glamis!”, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, Thane of Cawdor!”, “All hail, Macbeth! You’ll be king one day!” (1.3.48-50) At first Macbeth was shocked and caught off guard at what they had greeted him with since he was not referred to as Thane of Cawdor but instead Thane of Glamis. Nonetheless, he was ecstatic and happy to hear the great news of his ‘promotion’ in the kingdom. His wife's first reaction was to kill King Duncan. By doing so, it would ensure Macbeth to be next in heir for king. In life, we receive blessings and even then, still look for what we can get next. As a little kid during Christmas, you open all of your presents and no matter how happy you are, you still look for more gifts under the tree just to see if there’s more. Lady Macbeth had the same mindset as a little kid during Christmas - wanting more than what they received. “He’ll never see tomorrow’s sun! Your face, my thane, is like a book. It can reveal strange things to its readers. Avoid suspicion by acting normally..” (1.5.60-62) She was hungry for more power and persuaded her husband to kill King Duncan. Macbeth ended up killing King Duncan that night because pressure and also selfishness of also wanting more power. From Act I, we see that success can make us selfish and also make us hungry for more than what we have and also that we should be grateful for what we already have instead of looking for more.
Banquo had an idea that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had killed King Duncan. Because of this, Macbeth felt threatened by his friend and decided that he too needed to be executed from the kingdom to ensure that no one would find out about the murder and so that Macbeth could get away with it while being king. Though, Macbeth did not forget about the prophecy from the three witches which stated in reference to Banquo, “You shall father kings, yet not be one yourself. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!” (1.3.67-68) Macbeth knew that it was prophesied for Banquo’s sons to be king and therefore, Macbeth ordered his murderers to kill Banquo as well as his son, Fleance. He knew that it wasn’t the right thing to do but for his sake and for his success, he knew it needed to be done. If Macbeth decided not to be king, he would live with constant fear that Banquo would slip and tell everyone that he killed the King and also in fear of Fleance taking over the kingdom as was supposed to happen according to the sisters. “It must be done tonight, away from the palace. Remember – I can’t be involved. And also, to make a clean job of it, I want his son Fleance, who’ll be with him, to share the same fate. His removal is just as important to me.” (3.1.130-135) When you become cruel and selfish just as Macbeth had become, it becomes almost impossible for you to have friends or relationships with anyone. It ruins you from the inside out. Because of Macbeth’s murder towards King Duncan, he started to feel threatened by basically everyone who he thought would blow his cover or take reign over him and felt the need to kill to guarantee no room for threat. He trusted no one and no one trusted him either. If you don’t learn how to take on authority and power while doing the right actions to get towards your success, you may put yourself in a situation where you destroy yourself, as Macbeth did.
Macbeth and his Wife had taken part in many inhumane acts and in no doubt faced the consequences. Some people believe in Karma and the saying of, "What goes around, comes around" and though others don't, it doesn't change the fact or the coincidence that when we do something wrong or bad, it feels as if we get the consequences of it in one way or another. His wife, Lady Macbeth, had encouraged him in the first place to start murdering and because of that he had gotten used to the crime that he was committing - shaping his morals into something it never was. Therefore, she too had issues that she faced. In Act five, we find that Lady Macbeth is being taken cared of by a doctor because of how abnormal she had been acting. "Not so much sick, my Lord, as troubled with numerous hallucinations that stop her from sleeping" (5.3.38-39) She began to sleep walk and also have hallucinations of the scenario when they had killed the King. The things that she had said during her hallucinations had revealed the truth that her and Macbeth were the ones who had killed him, in her hallucination she stated, "Control yourself, my lord! A soldier, and frightened? Why should we fear who knows it, when no one can challenge our authority? Yet who would have thought the old man had so much blood in him?" (5.1.32-35) The doctor and the nurse were shocked to hear that it was them who killed him. Moments later, an army of King Duncan's sons had come to Dunsinane to defeat Macbeth and end his life. They become successful in his killing and eventually one of them, Malcolm son of Duncan, becomes king of Scotland. With Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth dead, the kingdom lived on. Though they started off as blessed beings with fortunate prophecies, they abused what was given to them and lost all that they had - friends, relationships, trust, their dignity and their minds as well as their lives.
They had it all, they had all that someone could ever want and need in life though somehow it wasn't enough for them. It can be hard and difficult to be content with what's in front of you and not be greedy and want more but it is also more difficult to do the right thing when doing wrong is so much easier, in the midst of wanting more success. One of the greatest quotes, "You can gain the whole world but still lose your soul". Macbeth lost himself while gaining the world all in a short span of time. More times than we notice, we are given opportunities to hold power and authority positions and because of that, it pushes us so much closer to guaranteed success. While doing so we can easily become blinded by our own selfishness, unknowingly commit wrong actions, and go to the extremes just to pay the price for success.
They had it all, they had all that someone could ever want and need in life though somehow it wasn't enough for them. It can be hard and difficult to be content with what's in front of you and not be greedy and want more but it is also more difficult to do the right thing when doing wrong is so much easier, in the midst of wanting more success. One of the greatest quotes, "You can gain the whole world but still lose your soul". Macbeth lost himself while gaining the world all in a short span of time. More times than we notice, we are given opportunities to hold power and authority positions and because of that, it pushes us so much closer to guaranteed success. While doing so we can easily become blinded by our own selfishness, unknowingly commit wrong actions, and go to the extremes just to pay the price for success.
