Power and

Corruption Macbeth
By: Eric, Sam, Alec and Regan

It is true that power corrupts. The hope at the polling stations and the actions of the elected
representatives, unfortunately, often turn to be opposite. The power of ballot turns into the power of
wallet. Some law-makers become law-breakers. Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj

Introduction
Ambition: A strong desire to do or achieve something, typically requiring
determination and hard work.
Who in todays society is corrupt?
Theise: Power and ambition leads to corruption

Characters and Relationships

Symbolism and literary devices
Imagery and motifs
How themes develop overall

Characters and Relationships

Characters
Lady MacBeth

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou art promised. Yet do I fear
thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way.
Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without the illness should
attend it. (1.5.15-20)

Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why, then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is
murky!--Fie, my lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need wefear who knows it,
when none can call our power to account?(5.1.39-42)

Characters Cont
MacBeth

My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man.
That function is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is but what is not. (1.3.52-55)

Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo. Down! Thy crown does sear mine eyeballs.
And thy hair, Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first. A third is like the former.
Filthy hags! thy do you show me this?A fourth? Start, eyes!What, will the line
stretch out to th' crack of doom? Another yet? A seventh? I'll see no more. And yet
the eighth appears who bears a glass Which shows me many more, and some I see
that two-fold balls and treble scepters carry.Horrible sight! Now I see 'tis true,For the
blood-boltered Banquo smiles upon me, And points at them for his. (4.1.127-139)

Relationships

Power is blind
Corruption of friendships
Examples of quotes

Either thou, Macbeth,or else my sword, with an unbattered edge,I sheathe again undeeded. There
thou shouldst be;By this great clatter, one of greatest note seems bruited. Let me find him, Fortune,
and more I beg not. (5.6.19-2)4)

Examples

Lady Macduff
Banquo
Duncan

The rise and fall of the once mighty Macbeth

Symbolism and other literary devices

Blood
Retribution
Prophecy
Corruption
The weather
Death
Hallucinations
Tragedy
Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the
fear of a loss of power.
John Steinbeck

How Is This Reflected Throughout The Play?

Question of thought: How is the idea of power and corruption reflected through Macbeth actions?
Hallucinations:

Bloody daggers appear in front of Macbeth leading him toward King Duncans
chamber.

Banquos ghost in presents at Macbeths feast. He remains mute, taunting

Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth, once asleep is left in a trance like state. She constantly washes her
hands trying to scrub the non present blood from her hands. She also locks a
message away in a dark box while cradling a dim candle.

The Sleepwalking Lady Macbeth by

Johann Heinrich Fssli, late 18th
century. (Muse du Louvre)

The Weather / Unnatural Disturbances

Macbeths murder spree is accompanied by numerous unnatural disturbances...
Show throughout many other Shakespearean tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, weather plays apart on
the course of the play. This can be reflected by animals, natural disasters throughout the natural realm. This can be
shown through the thunder and lighting that accompany the witches to terrible storms such as both the earthquake
and eclipse that occur after Duncans death.

Thunder and lightning/fog - approachment of witches

Eclipse and Earthquake - Duncans murder
Owl screeches after murder - Macbeth/Lady Macbeth

Character shown through animals - Throughout the play Lady Macbeth wears the pant in both her and Macbeths
relationship. She can represent a croaking raven, banquo birds of prey. Witches a toad, and Macbeth a lion before becoming
a helpless bear.

First Literary Devices

Definition:The definition of literary device is a technique a writer uses to produce a special effect in their writing. An example of a literary
device is a flashback. An example of a literary device is an analogy.

Foil -A foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order

to highlight particular qualities of the other character.

Example (Macbeth and Banquo)

When the witches predict Banquos fate will be the father to a line of
kings he easily accepts the predictions and lets destiny take its path.
Macbeth however is unable to accept his prophecies, thus resulting in him
taking desperate measures to assure future will follow a certain path.
Banquo and Macbeth approach the witches about
to receive their prophecies

Second Literary Device

Dramatic Irony - a situation, or the irony arising from a situation, in which the audience has a fuller knowledge of
what is happening in a drama than a character does

Example (Lady Macbeth/Macbeth)

This is stated when Lady Macbeth states Hes thats coming must be
provided for. To Duncan, the guest, this is a warm welcome. However,
both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth mean to murder him

Irony

The expression of one's meaning by using language that normally

signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

Also Lady Macbeth considers herself a strong and Macbeth weak.

This can be seen during the scene she convinces Macbeth to murder
Duncan.. This is considered dramatic as she couldn't handle the idea of
having blood on her hand , thus resulting in her death/suicide later in
the play

By the pricking of my thumbs,

Something wicked this way comes.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth

Imagery & Motifs

The Use of Imagery In Literature

FALL
The chilly weather settles into your bones.
Those once green leaves turn
Red, yellow, orange, and brown.
CRUNCH! go the leaves,
Beneath your feet.
The birds fly in a victory V formation,
To where the sun rules the skies.
The days of winter are lurking around
Waiting to be free falling.

Blood & Hands

Hands smeared with tainted blood is used

throughout the whole play of Macbeth, as a
symbol of guilt due to ones actions

Out, damned spot! out, I say! One;

two: why, then tis time to dot Heres
the smell of blood still: all the perfumes
of Arabia will not sweeten this little
hand. Oh, oh, oh! (V, i, 32 - 33, 46 48)
At the end of the play, Macduff enters hold
Macbeths severed head. The blood dripping
down his face - a gruesome image for one to
witness - represents how even dead (at
peace), the tainted blood you make stains
your name forever.

What hands are here? Ha! they pluck

out mine eyes! Will all great Neptunes
ocean wash this blood Clean from my
hand? (II, ii, 76 - 78)

Nature In Disorder

Shakespeare uses intense pathetic fallacy

throughout Macbeth in order for the audience
to understand the inner emotions of many
characters and the disorder that has
developed during the play

The night has been unruly: where we

lay, Our chimneys were blown down,
and, as they say, Lamentings heard i
the air, strange screams of death, And
prophesying with accents terrible Of
dire combustion and confused events
New hatchd to the woeful time; the
obscure bird Clamourd the live-long
night: some say the earth Was
feverous and did shake. (II, iii, 58 65)
We are able to imagine the chaos forming
outside and therefore we are able to grasp
the disorder developing inside of Macbeths

Motifs
PROPHECY

The beginning to Macbeths growing ambition

HALLUCINATIONS

Macbeths Heat-Oppressed Brain uses hallucinations as a side effect of ambition

VIOLENCE

Macbeth becomes more and more violent towards others while he becomes corrupt

How the theme develops

overall throughout the play.

Overall theme of the play

Throughout
the play an overall
theme that can be
seen is -ambition
that goes without
morals brings
destruction to
oneself.
We see this
as macbeth and
lady macbeth
continue to destroy
themselves
because of their
ambition.

Lady Macbeth

-This quote is from lady macbeth

-This soliloquy shows the start of lady macbeths
downfall.

The raven himself is hoarse

That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood,
Stop up th access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
Th effect and it. Come to my womans breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murdring ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on natures mischief. Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,
To cry Hold, hold!

Out, damned spot; out, I say. One,

two,why, then tis time to dot.
Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a
soldier and afeard? What need we
fear who knows it when none can
call our power to account? Yet who
would have thought the old man to
have had so much blood in him?

-This quote is showing that lady macbeth

has let her ambition destroy her
-like her husband she cannot sleep
properly as she sleepwalks

I chose to focus on Lady Macbeth because in the

beginning she was the main character to let her ambitions
destroy herself and Macbeth, we saw this when she
pushes Macbeth to kill King Duncan even when he
decided against it, Again and again throughout out the
play all in her own pursuit to make her husband king but
we know all she really wanted was to become Queen
herself.

Conclusion

Characters and Relationships

Symbolism and literary devices
Imagery and motifs
How themes develop overall

Thesis: Power and ambition leads to corruption

Bibliography (MLA) Eric

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Perry, Margaret. ""Something Wicked This Way Comes..." A Feminist Perspective On Shakespeare's MACBETH - Margaret
Perry". Margaret Perry. N.p., 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
Wyver, John. "Macbeth With Sir Patrick Stewart: The Scottish Play From Stage To TV". TV blog. N.p., 2010. Web. 26 Apr.
2016.

Bibliography (MLA) - Alec Martin

"Stephen Reid - Stephen Reid Macbeth Painting." Stephen Reid Macbeth Painting Anysize 50% off. Web. 26 Apr. 2016. <http://www.
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Works Cited: Regan

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Work cited (MLA): Sam