2005, Form B. One of the strongest human drives seems to be a desire for power. Write an essay in which you discuss how a character in a novel or a drama struggles to free himself or herself from the power of others or seeks to gain power over others. Be sure to demonstrate in your essay how the author uses this power struggle to enhance the meaning of the work.
Most humans strive for power; whether it is over a spouse or an entire country. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the title character spends the entire play forcing his way to power, to the throne. In Macbeth, the ascension to power corrupts only those who thirst for it, as shown by Macbeth as opposed to Malcolm.
Shakespeare portrays Macbeth negatively as he thirsts for power. The first passage Macbeth is mentioned in, he is a war hero. The language is elegant and Macbeth is god-like. But when Macbeth begins his quest for power, he loses his heroic qualities. His sanity is questioned. Although the audience does not witness the murders, they must see the mess he creates both figuratively and literally. Seeing blood impresses on the audience Macbeth’s corruption.
Malcolm isn’t a main character; although he plays a large role in the plot, he rarely appears on stage. Malcolm tests Macduff’s intentions to assure that his country will be safe while Malcolm is exiled. Malcolm is forced into the throne, although he may have desired it, he did not actively seek the throne. He is displayed positively next to Macbeth, who did everything to become King and no longer answer to any authority.
Malcolm and Macbeth are not complete opposites, but in their ascension to power, Shakespeare makes it clear that Macbeth’s thirst for power lead to his ultimate demise, where Malcolm remained successful.
Ironically, i think wrote about Macbeth on the same prompt.
ReplyDeleteI think you could have generalized yourself just a bit more to say that it was Macbeth's need to gain power and neglect having Malcolm come in in the thesis. He does play a major role and i think you were looking for the word "foil" when describing him against Macbeth. However, Macbeth wasn't *just* opposing him, he was opposing fate and lady Macbeth and the witches and etc. By stating Macbeth's intentions in the thesis, it leaves you a whole lot more room to write about Macbeth's need for power, which would be good because it's the entire story that revolves around him and makes it all the more meaningful.