Vernon Campbell Comparative Essay Ambition is a typical demise for those who pursue and gain power. Shakespeare Macbeth and Shelly’s Ozymandias covey the characteristics of over ambitious kings with presumptuous natures resulting in their down fall. A distinctive flaw of ambition is that now and again people can be exceedingly ambitious, or lack ambition. As a person becomes too ambitious it can become too overwhelming and get the better of a them. In the different time periods that they ruled, Macbeth and Ozymandias were very commanding kings.
Corruption Corruption is often fueled by many factors. Many factors lead to corruption in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Macbeth, written by Mordecai Richler and William Shakespeare, respectively. The importance of money and social prowess leads to corruption in both novels. Furthermore, both works prove how one will often be willing to sacrifice everything they have in order to get what they want. In the end, however, it is seen in both novels that when you let yourself succumb to poor moral judgement, you will certainly be doomed.
The universal truth displayed in Macbeth was absolute power and greed can corrupt anyone. This is conveyed through the character of Macbeth when he committed the murder of Duncan because he wanted to be the king, however, greed and corruption ended with his death, as he corrupted himself to the point where he did not care about anything but power. Due to his greed of power everyone in the community disliked him, which influenced people to develop conspiracies to assassinate him. Macbeth is the recipient of Shakespeare’s great message through the course of the book, as he is portrayed, as the bad guy through his will of power, as his soul got corrupted very
He will find a person who is deemed a hero in the eyes of society and destroy every part of it. As we see in Shakespeare’s Othello, the sociopathic nature of the anti-hero, Iago, and the essential nature of the protagonist, Othello, create the perfect storm for a classic dramatic tragedy. Othello’s role as an outsider makes him an easy target for jealous, sociopathic Iago, which results in his fateful fall from grace and ultimately seals his destiny as a tragic hero. Iago embodies an accurate portrayal of a sociopathic personality in this tale of undercover treachery. He displays all the tell tale signs which embody such a character.
iii 106 - 140] then meddling and subversive, as he sets spies on his own son, and finally irredeemably and ultimately fatally corrupt and subversive, as he schemes and plots around Hamlet. His death - physical corruption - is a precursor, signifying to the audience the ultimate fate of all those characters exhibiting signs of corruption. Polonius seems to be the most obviously corrupt character, but the centre of evil of the play's plot and of the kingdom is Claudius, as he kills King Hamlet. When Marcellus states, 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.' [Act I, Sc.
In every human being there is good and there is evil. It is hard to be good, but with so many factors that influence the human mind, it is even harder to stay good. One of the many influential factors of a person’s nature is the need for power. Power has the ability to turn even the noblest of soldiers into traitors. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the noble soldier Macbeth strays to evil when given the opportunity to be king.
Duncan is primarily a force of goodness in the play even considering his certain flaws. Duncan’s murder was an act of unnatural events, against moral order and even Macbeth sees the wrong in this vicious act. Duncan was seen as the perfect king and was called “Gracious Duncan” by the tyrant Macbeth. Duncan’s holiness is reinforced by Macbeth being shown as an unholy king which is a compete contrast to Duncan. The king should be patient, have justice, mercy and lowliness.
Iago from Shakespeare’s play Othello is also a power hungry villain who enjoys having people under his control, he is driven by extreme jealousy and the motivation, revenge. In order to accomplish these goals he manipulates his subjects in deceiving ways by utilizing their weaknesses against them. This differs from the Duke in “My last Duchess” by Robert Browning as the duke does not manipulate people in any way. Both Iago and the duke are driven by extreme jealousy to the villainous actions that they take. All three villains may differ in many ways, yet it seems they share a common urge for power, control and a use of sadistic measures.
Duncan tries to praise the people around him and honor them for the good that they instill. The two characters are symbols of lightness and darkness. Scotland is like Heaven (lightness), when Duncan is ruling and Hell (darkness), when Macbeth is trying to be the ruler. As the play opens Duncan, the former king of Scotland, is being told of the good men that conquered a battle, Macbeth and Banquo. Duncan is dismayed by their deed.
We may go round our history books either lambasting or extolling powerful leaders, but we will always come to the conclusion that power does corrupt a man. The thirst for power is unbounded and the lamentable consequences often quash a man. Getting power is just the onset of melancholy, disaster, lugubriousness and sorrow. All the leaders throughout history were undoubtedly very strong and were feared but we often learn that they were sordid, uncouth, perpetrators, lascivious, perplexed and unscrupulous. They often committed a myriad of staggering sins and believed they were masters of perpetuity.