Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely: Shakespeare's Macbeth and Pol Pot
Fiorella Navarro
Period 3B
Mr.Bailey
5/2/13
“Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.”
Macbeth and Pol Pot
Lord Acton’s quote, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” relates to Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Pol Pot. Having power drives certain individuals to to turn against the less powerful. Two such examples are Pol Pot and Macbeth.
The play Macbeth by Shakespeare is one of the best examples of how too much power can corrupt certain individuals. When Macbeth hears the witches’ prophecies in the first act of the play, he begins to develop ideas in his mind. Even though he already had a position of power as Thane of Cawdor, he still desired more. The Witches prophesized that he would eventually become “King hereafter.” This caused Macbeth to plan the murder of King Duncan in order to gain more power.
During the next two acts of the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth decide to kill the king as he sleeps. One dreadful act leads to another; Macbeth later decides to kill more of his closest colleagues. Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo, his closest friend. He sees Banquo as a threat because Banquo knew what Macbeth had done, and because the three witches prophesized that Banquo’s descendants would become kings. Macbeth wanted to keep Duncan’s murder “hidden.” In the last scenes of the play, Macbeth’s desire for ultimate power goes out of control. Macduff was very close to King Duncan which made Macbeth turn against him. Later, Macduff decides to leave for Scotland in order to go against Macbeth’s power. Since Macbeth realizes Macduff’s knowledge of his actions, he sees him as an enemy. At this point, Macbeth can’t take the risk of having a traitor with knowledge of what he did. Macbeth decides to kill Macduff’s wife and kids. This fired up a huge rage in Macduff , He comes back from Scotland to get revenge on Macbeth by defeating him and cutting his head off. Malcom rises to power as King short after Macduff ceasing Macbeth.
Pol Pot, like Macbeth, had a
Period 3B
Mr.Bailey
5/2/13
“Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.”
Macbeth and Pol Pot
Lord Acton’s quote, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” relates to Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Pol Pot. Having power drives certain individuals to to turn against the less powerful. Two such examples are Pol Pot and Macbeth.
The play Macbeth by Shakespeare is one of the best examples of how too much power can corrupt certain individuals. When Macbeth hears the witches’ prophecies in the first act of the play, he begins to develop ideas in his mind. Even though he already had a position of power as Thane of Cawdor, he still desired more. The Witches prophesized that he would eventually become “King hereafter.” This caused Macbeth to plan the murder of King Duncan in order to gain more power.
During the next two acts of the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth decide to kill the king as he sleeps. One dreadful act leads to another; Macbeth later decides to kill more of his closest colleagues. Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo, his closest friend. He sees Banquo as a threat because Banquo knew what Macbeth had done, and because the three witches prophesized that Banquo’s descendants would become kings. Macbeth wanted to keep Duncan’s murder “hidden.” In the last scenes of the play, Macbeth’s desire for ultimate power goes out of control. Macduff was very close to King Duncan which made Macbeth turn against him. Later, Macduff decides to leave for Scotland in order to go against Macbeth’s power. Since Macbeth realizes Macduff’s knowledge of his actions, he sees him as an enemy. At this point, Macbeth can’t take the risk of having a traitor with knowledge of what he did. Macbeth decides to kill Macduff’s wife and kids. This fired up a huge rage in Macduff , He comes back from Scotland to get revenge on Macbeth by defeating him and cutting his head off. Malcom rises to power as King short after Macduff ceasing Macbeth.
Pol Pot, like Macbeth, had a