Persuasive essay

Gigi Papasavvas

Rebecca Sheinberg

Honors English 12 A

October 12, 2018

Does Power Corrupt Automatically?

The tragedy of Macbeth is a play written by Shakespeare and is believed to have been performed in around 1606. The play begins with the three witches giving prophecy to Macbeth that one day he was going to become the king of Scotland. Macbeth is consumed with the ambition of becoming a king, kills Duncan and takes the throne by himself. The author focuses on characters like Macbeth, and Duncan, Macduff, and King of Scotland to build his story. Yes. Power tends to corrupts automatically, and several characters in Macbeth have proved this.

Naturally, it is true that the quicker one obtains power, the faster he/she exhibits more corrupt behaviors. How do you know? Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are used by Shakespeare to support the fact that power corrupts (Campbell 11). The craving for power makes …..complete this thought. Macbeth gets involved in terrible actions that result to him being killed. This is a random statement and needs some analysis and link to your thesis statement. Shakespeare uses these two characters to demonstrate how power can make a kingdom corrupt and how harsh the corrupt kingdom can be (Johnson 3). It is the greed for power that motivates Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan for their benefits. Provide more analysis and add textual evidence to support your claims. Link to your thesis: Yes. Power tends to corrupts automatically, and several characters in Macbeth have proved this.

Personalize power, is one of the powerful concepts that, commas are not needed here makes one take advantage of using the power they have in the attempt of perusing self-centered goals for their gains. How do you know? Provide evidence from an expert source and link to your thesis. This is supported in Shakespeare’s work where Macbeth and Lady Macbeth use their power to murder Duncan with the aim of becoming king and a queen respectively. When the witches assure Macbeth that no one can hurt him, they fed his ego by making him think that he is untouchable (Campbell 12). For example, the three witches approached Macbeth and hailed at him as "Thane of Glamis," ‘Thane of Cowder” and also told him that he was going to be a king after that. The sense of power and immortality that the witches cultivated in Macbeth made him believe that he has the authority - to kill others without being – harmed. He orders the killing of Banquo and his sons when he comes to understand the real impacts of the predictions. The real impacts of predictions, in this case, meant that by killing Duncan, he was going to obtain kingship. Because of the sense of power that the witches made him develop, Macbeth acts careless and take part in such terrible behaviors believing that he is invincible. You have provided details from the play and now you need to link to your thesis. How do these details support your thesis? Thesis: Yes. Power tends to corrupts automatically, and several characters in Macbeth have proved this.

According to Campbell, most of the antisocial decisions are associated with those in power regardless of the personality of an individual (Campbell 22 In the normal circumstances, individuals with power succumb to the corruptive impacts of the authority that they possess in that, they tend to make decisions that can hurt the innocent (Johnson 5). For instance, in Shakespeare's work, Macbeth is planning to kill the innocent family of Macduff and those who will follow him to maintain the power and keep his throne. He is fighting to keep his throne in such a manner that, he thinks no any other individual deserves the position. For example, It is the love of power that makes him kill the innocent family of Duncan. What he cares about is the power and how to maintain it regardless of whether or not his actions could lead to the suffering of others. For example, when Banquo and his son visit, Macbeth ordered two men to murder them. Macbeth can only care for himself and is not concerned with others proving the fact that power leads to automatic corruption You have provided details from the play and now you need to link to your thesis. How do these details support your thesis? Thesis: Yes. Power tends to corrupts automatically, and several characters in Macbeth have proved this.

Leaders in society can end up thinking that their power gives them the authority to handle things the way they choose, regardless of the consequences. This is supported in the Shakespeare’s' work where Lady Macbeth thinks that Macbeth is not courageous enough to do what it takes a king to be king when he fails to kill Duncan (Campbell 22). Lady Macbeth is corrupt enough to insist on the killing of Duncan regardless of the consequences since she thinks that a king has an authority to do so. Meaning, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are so corrupt on the thought of gaining the power and ends up gaining the authority over the people more than the rule.

Power and authority make noble and innocent individuals end up as significant players in corruption regardless of what the society requires (Johnson 7). There is a substantial change in behavior that comes when one's mind is polluted with corruption and the urge for power. For instance, such leaders start to make decisions on their own and turn their back on the society. The consequence of this is usually hatred from the community. In Shakespeare’s' work, Macbeth is first presented as a high and honest solder protecting his kingdom. As soon as he thinks of gaining the power and overtaking Duncan, he starts to conduct corrupt activities that can only benefit him and his family (Campbell 56). In the end, this result in his defeat likes any other mortals because the greed weakens their ability to lead others.

Work Cited

Campbell, Stancil. "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare. 2004." (2017).

Johnson, Samuel. "From The Plays of William Shakespeare." Macbeth. Routledge, 2015. 3-3.