As a common definition, a tyrant is a cruel and oppressive ruler, while, in ancient Greece, a tyrant is referred to as a ruler who seized power unconstitutionally or inherited such power. In the mind of Shakespeare, it is clear he believes that anyone who is a tyrant is also inherently corrupt; these individuals, as demonstrated in Macbeth, obtain control in an unjust way, quickly adapt to their role in a self-destructive manner, and receive their comeuppance in the end.
Due to this, Shakespeare demonstrates the idea of how absolute power corrupts absolutely and all who exploit their power will be destroyed in the end through the use of motifs such as sleep and blood among the characters, his emphasis on Macbeth’s diminishing sense of morality, paired with his allusion to other figures of tragedy.
Shakespeare describes the idea of a lust for power leading towards corruption and the self-destruction these individuals experience through the recurring motifs of sleep among characters such as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth alongside the ideas of blood associated with them. Since the beginning, sleep is noted to be a vital event that is connected between all individuals; King Duncan dies in his sleep, Lady Macbeth walks in her sleep, Banquo has sleeping troubles, and, after Macbeth’s first murder, voices note that, he shall “Sleep no more!
Macbeth does murder sleep—the innocent sleep,” (2:2:47). Due to the fact that such contrasting characters experience the phenomenon of sleep-or rather the lack of it—Shakespeare implies sleep to represent an innocent, pure event; those who successfully can sleep are those who are not corrupted by evil and murder, which is why Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo have trouble fully sleeping. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s disruption of nature and murder of the king is synonymous with their “murdering of sleep” and the innocence that comes with it.
Banquo’s experience with the witches and relation to Macbeth also influence his ability to not sleep. Banquo himself notes that, “And yet I would not sleep. Merciful powers,/Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature/Gives way in repose,” (2:1:19). Through their lack of sleep and struggle to find respite in their troubled situation, Shakespeare clearly emphasizes these individuals as corrupt and impure due to their bid for power. Moreover, his description of blood punctuates the restlessness the characters experience due to their sinful nature.
Throughout the play, Macbeth sees both literal and figurative blood as a sign of the murder he will cause, or the murder he has caused. This is noticeable prior to his killing of his king, Duncan, of which he sees a bloody dagger seemingly leading him towards Duncan’s chambers, and after the death of his friend, Banquo, to which the murderer has Banquo’s blood on his face. Based off of this context, Shakespeare intends blood to represent something unnatural alongside indicating guilt and remorse.
Blood, which should be in the body, is seemingly everywhere thus demonstrating the disturbance in nature and, best seen when Lady Macbeth attempts to wash the blood off of her hands alongside when Macbeth notes that, “I am in blood/Stepped in so far… ” (3:4:168), it is clear that blood also describes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s willingness to repent on their murder of Duncan. Their guilt eventually lead to Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking tantrums and death, and Macbeth’s unwillingness to live.
Fundamentally, these motifs and disturbances of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth punctuate the guilt ruining them in the end, which Shakespeare further stresses by his description of Macbeth’s eventual depression. Macbeth’s regret, all of which is culminated through his many murders, his willingness to betray long-term friends to maintain his position, and his discontent among himself, accentuates Shakespeare’s theme of how power perfectly corrupts and those who are corrupt are also unhappy. For example,
Macbeth’s initial reluctance to kill King Duncan makes it clear he was a man who had a pure form of loyalty to his king that only cracked when Lady Macbeth played upon his ambition. After Macbeth’s first murder, he is still quite reluctant to his position, asking himself, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/ Clean from my hand? ” (2:2:78). Within a period of a few days, Macbeth willingly sends murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance, a dramatic shift to what he was previously averse to.
Considering the fact that Macbeth is so willing to simply off longtime friend Banquo—with Macbeth believing “Upon my head [the prophecy] placed a fruitless crown And put a barren scepter in my grip, Thence to be wrenched with an unlineal hand, No son of mine succeeding” (3:1:66), thus Banquo is necessary to murder to prevent this—and how Macbeth is now attempting to fight against a fate he himself has followed all impress upon the idea that Macbeth has already changed into the person he once despised to be in the beginning.
The body count, which he was willing to keep at Duncan, has now risen and will continue to rise with the murder of many others, such as Lady MacDuff’s wife and children. This dramatic change that appeared to occur over a few days emphasizes Shakespeare’s message regarding power leading to corruption: those who even receive a taste of power will wholesomely integrate themselves into their new rule, even if they obtained it by immoral means.
The simple fact that Macbeth does not even like himself anymore, as noted by Menteith when he states, “Who, then, shall blame/His pestered senses to recoil and start/When all that is within him does condemn/Itself for being there? ” (5:2:26), also displays the idea that these individuals will effectively receive their downfall in their own hands. Their attempt at power, even while successful, still leaves them broken and dissatisfied, which Shakespeare also punctuates through his allusion to other figures of history.
His final ideas regarding a connection between corruption and power, and the justice these individuals face in the end, are noted between Macbeth’s last words and an allusion to the “Roman fools” who had killed themselves. As said by Macbeth himself, “Why should I play the Roman fool and die/On mine own sword? Whiles I see lives, the gashes/Do better upon them” (5:8:1). Shakespeare, in this context, most likely references Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger, a Roman politician famous for assassinating a close friend of his, General Julius Caesar.
In his prior years, Caesar had a close relationship with Brutus, even demanding Brutus be captured alive when he joined Pompey the Great to fight against Caesar during Caesar’s Civil War. When Brutus finally surrendered, Caesar was quick to accept his apologies and even crowned him the Governor of Gaul when Caesar left for Africa. Brutus, in fear of Caesar’s absolute power due to Caesar appointing himself eternal dictator, was persuaded to plot against his eventual assassination.
With it being a common belief that Brutus’s wife was the only woman who knew about the plot, which interestingly parallels with Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s murder plot, Caesar would surrender to his fate when he realizes Brutus himself was a member of the murdering party. Based off of this context, it is clear Shakespeare wanted to contrast Brutus and Macbeth, comparing Macbeth to Caesar, a man who had stolen power unfairly and was completely corrupted by it. Brutus, on the other hand, is comparable to Macduff, a man close to Macbeth who would be vital in Macbeth’s eventual downfall.
Macbeth even resigns to his fate when he realizes Macduff was the man” from his mother’s womb/Untimely ripped” (5:8:19), and thus not “born” of woman, completely similar to Caesar resigning to his fate when he realizes his arrogance in power and trust of Brutus was also his collapse. When finally cornered by the armies of the vengeful Mark Antony, Brutus commits suicide by running into his sword; thus, to contrast Brutus, Shakespeare has Macbeth exclaim his unwillingness to take this suicidal route out, instead opting to end his life in a more valiant manner, even while still accepting his fate.
Shakespeare’s comparison to this ancient story of betrayal is used to parallel Macbeth’s taste power leading to complete corruption, and how this corruption is his eventual downfall. Fundamentally, Shakespeare describes the path of power to corruption to collapse by the use of blood and sleep motifs, his description on Macbeth’s progressive degradation throughout the play, and his depiction of Macbeth’s eventual end compared to other “Roman fools”“.
The motifs that are consistently portrayed throughout the play, Macbeth’s transformation from a friend to a foe, and Shakespeare’s allusion to other figures in history are all methods he uses to emphasize the corruption and ambition Macbeth experiences. In a chain of hierarchy, which are omnipresent on different levels throughout society, it is a struggle to maintain one’s position at the top. With rivals everywhere, sometimes, it is necessary to maintain one’s control in any way possible. This is why power and corruption are guaranteed synonyms: with power comes corruption, and those with absolute power corrupt absolutely.
