Compare and Contrast Brutus and Macbeth

Brutus vs. Macbeth through Power, Ambition, and Honor “Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” unless one knows how to use it, it shall not corrupt. Everyone has ambitions, a strong desire of achieving great things, and some will do whatever it takes to achieve their goal. Honor is a title one receives through their noble acts; but some honorable and strongly ambitious people may go as far as to give up their noble title to accomplish their purpose. William Shakespeare is a well-known English poet and playwright, a big participant in creating the English language. Among his twelve tragedies, two has very similar plot and tragic heroes. The play Julius Caesar is about a noble, honorable, and trusted man named Brutus, who killed his friend and soon to be emperor, Julius Caesar. Macbeth is also a play about a noble and trusted man named Macbeth, who through his strong ambition for power led him to murder his king and dear friend, Duncan. These characters have many similar traits and yet an equal amount of differences. Shakespeare carefully carves the idea of desire for power, strong ambition, and erratic honor into the heroes, Brutus and Macbeth, adding to their ultimate tragic ending. The first idea and comparison between Brutus and Macbeth is the desire for power. Brutus was a noble Roman figure and famous for being selfless, therefore it is unreasonable to say that he had any desire for power. Nonetheless, Brutus somewhat gained temporary power from the conspirator. Such as the time when Cassius suggested that Mark Anthony should be killed, Brutus disagreed and Cassius did not dare to argue back. Macbeth, on the other hand, had always believed and was confident that he would be named the next king of Scotland. “If chance will have me King, why,/chance may crown me,/without my stir” (Macbeth, I.iii.165-167). The quote proposed that Macbeth has had the idea of being the next king set in his mind, and that the three Witches were there to confirm his thought. As the

Cited: Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Hauppauge, NY: Barron 's, 1985. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 1997.