Power is the root of all evil
According to Perry Besshye Shelley, "Power, like a disease, pollutes whatever it touches." In other words, many characters in literature become corrupted because of their quest for power. I fully agree with Shelley that power "pollutes everything that it touches" because having too much power concentrated in the hands of one person leads to dictatorship and its bad consequences. "Power is the root of all evil" is another interpretation of Shelley's statement. This idea is demonstrated in the plays Hamlet and Macbeth, both by William Shakespeare, where major characters lead themselves to their downfall by trying to become very powerful. In fact, in both plays many major characters die because of one person's ambition to become a powerful king. In Hamlet Claudius murders his brother, marries his former sister-in-law (the Queen), and ascends to the throne of Denmark. These three deeds are performed by a shrewd and self-serving man. The King will do almost anything to protect the throne, in spite of knowing that he did not rightfully earn it. He resorts to underhanded tactics such as spying, manipulation, and deceit in order to overcome whatever he perceives as a threat to his supreme position
Evil does no good to anyone, it just rotten a man's life by changing his personality from a positive way to a negative one. The power and position that he tried so hard to maintain is ultimately destroyed by the same evil methods that he used to acquire them. Claudius is an individual whose greed and selfishness are responsible for his rise and fall from the throne of Denmark. The witches disappear leaving Macbeth pleading for more information. By being ambitious, Macbeth kills his governor and takes away a great leader from Scotland. I have given suck, and know how tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me. "Power, like a disease, pollutes whatever it touches" is a true statement that demonstrates the cruel human nature and is displayed throughout many works of literature. Lady Macbeth persuades her husband by saying:What beast wasn't, then, that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you where, you would be so much more the man. In Macbeth, Macbeth is the central character of the play and a good person, but his personality gives a 180 degrees turn throughout the story. I would, while it was smiling in my face, he plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I sworn as you have done to this.
Common topics in this essay:
Hamlet Claudius,
Witches Shakespeare,
Act III,
Witches Banquo's,
Queen Ophelia's,
Thane Cawdor,
Macbeth Macbeth,
Lady Macbeth,
Shelley Power,
Macbeth Claudius,
hamlet claudius,
witch hail macbeth,
major characters,
thane cawdor,
witch hail,
hail macbeth,
throne denmark,
root evil,
death father,
power root,
power root evil,
spying manipulation deceit,
whatever perceives,
manipulation deceit overcome,
macbeth hail thee,
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