Macbeth and Malcolm as Leaders
Comparison of Macbeth and Malcolm as Kings and Leaders of men Shakespeare's Macbeth is a politically centered play, it dramatizes the contrasted effects of power and authority upon a land. It is a play of political figures and ambition, of power and authority, of order and disorder, and of the restoration of peace. The central concern of the play is the issue of legitimate and illegitimate kingship; Shakespeare concentrates upon succession, regicide, usurpation, and the abuse of power, or tyranny. The leadership and thereby kingship of Macbeth and Malcolm are evaluated through all of the characters presented on stage. All of the characters, including witches, serve the play in acting to make, support, or destroy a king. This evaluation of kingship extends to all three Kings within the play, a victim in Duncan, an ambitious tyrant in Macbeth and a steady-handed heroine in Malcolm. Shakespeare holds the play to this focus through the simplicity of the plot. The dramatized struggle between the dictatorial regime of Macbeth and the more heroic movement led by Malcolm to perform what is seen today as a political shift to the left from right wing is a timeless focal point that allows for comparisons between Shakespeare's Ma
Macbeth's mind traps him into performing acts void of morality, but the manner in which he is forced to undertake them allows him to be considered a victim of his own ambition. For the weak-minded Macbeth, the only method of mental rationality is to balance ambition with his conscious fear. Macbeth's weakness of character is the ambition which clouds his rational thoughts. Macbeth kills Banquo because his unquenchable fear alters Banquo into the "grown serpent" which he wrongly perceives as dangerous (III. The refusal to acknowledge the balance within reason is the destruction of Macbeth. When describing the heroics of Macbeth and Banquo, Duncan states that "They smack of honour both"(I,ii,45); how unfortunate it is that Macbeth is forced through external power to bow to his fatal flaw, ambition. cbeth and regional conflicts throughout history. The play reaches conclusion with a popular revolutionary movement retaking Scotland with Macduff as the revenge seeking general and champion of the true King of Scotland, Malcolm. By starting the play with two recognized heroes, Shakespeare is able to demonstrate the real character of the protagonist through the differences between Banquo and Macbeth. There is none but he Whose being I do fear; and under him My genius is rebuk'd. "Art not without ambition, but withoutThe illness should attend it;" -Lady Macbeth(I,v,18-19)When Macbeth reasoned himself using fear to balance his ambitions for the crown in (I,vii,31), he came to his own conclusion after much deliberation that they would ". Clearly, dramatic imagery presented throughout the play demonstrates that Macbeth was not the true and just leader of the land; Macbeth was an imposter who had to be removed and Shakespeare presented his characters so as to demonstrate that the new King should not have been placed on the throne. Shakespeare ensures that Macbeth is not considered a satanical leader just because of his momentary lust for power during the murder of Duncan, the tyranny of Macbeth is shown throughout the play and then only as a tragedy; Macbeth is a man fallen from greatness who has alienated himself through his own paranioa and ambition.
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