Macbeth's Corruption

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,
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