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Shakespeare would agree with the statement,"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely " - Lord Acton very much. People like power and that is a fact for most. Power means you have control of what is going on around you. During the time of Shakespeare the people with the most power were the King and his family. Today that idea of power and control can be applied to big companies like Disney, Apple, Amazon, etc. In Shakespeare's time the King and Royals were also the ones who had the most enemies. People like power and it corrupts them. Once they have power they just want more power. Typically the powerful don't have a certain power goal. They just keep wanting more until they are absolutely corrupt.
James I was King only because he was the closest living heir to Elizabeth I. He was a Catholic and believed that there were many treasonous plots on his life. This view lead him to stray from burning one or two alleged witches to thinking that the English people were against him. He could no longer trust anyone. This is portrayed in Macbeth unwillingly killing Duncan. He did not want to kill Duncan because he fought in the war with him. Macbeth feels really guilty and does like the option but by Act 3, he is plotting to kill his BFF Banquo. At that point we see the absolute corruption of Macbeth.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have now completely swapped personalities. Macbeth has let power and the fear of being overthrown take over his life. This replicates the mindset of King James I. Macbeth was terrified that someone was going to take power from him, even though the the witches showed him apparitions that said he had nothing to fear. Therefore he fears nothing until he hears of Macduff fleeing to England. At this point Macbeth has been corrupted absolutely by absolute corruption.
Throughout life I have seen many companies rise in power and in many ways act like Macbeth when they have power. One is Disney. They own so many characters and have a successful theme park. Though as time went on they bought more and more. They started to buy other studios and companies, and even some tv stations. They were never happy with what they had so they kept expanding. The business in the past used to be corrupt in the accusations about their treatment towards their workers and how they ran their monopoly. Though in the present Disney is closer to the side of absolute corruption instead of just corruption.
Shakespeare wanted to criticize James I's rule and show through Macbeth the steps of becoming a corrupt king. James I did not jump straight to absolute corruption but went first to just being corrupt. He and Macbeth had to have experiences and in a way work to become absolutely corrupt. Shakespeare lays out the path to absolute corruption through his portrayal of Macbeth.
Throughout life I have seen many companies rise in power and in many ways act like Macbeth when they have power. One is Disney. They own so many characters and have a successful theme park. Though as time went on they bought more and more. They started to buy other studios and companies, and even some tv stations. They were never happy with what they had so they kept expanding. The business in the past used to be corrupt in the accusations about their treatment towards their workers and how they ran their monopoly. Though in the present Disney is closer to the side of absolute corruption instead of just corruption.
Shakespeare wanted to criticize James I's rule and show through Macbeth the steps of becoming a corrupt king. James I did not jump straight to absolute corruption but went first to just being corrupt. He and Macbeth had to have experiences and in a way work to become absolutely corrupt. Shakespeare lays out the path to absolute corruption through his portrayal of Macbeth.
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