Friday, January 31, 2014

List Macbeth's flaws as a leader as they are exhibited in the play.

Macbeth was not very successful as a leader primarily because he had not attained power by natural means. He became king through an unnatural and malicious act. In doing so, he opened up a Pandora's box of personal rancor whereby he revealed a number of fatal flaws which quickly set him on the road to ruin.


Macbeth was gullible. He too easily believed the witches' prophecies and promises of greatness. When he and Banquo first encountered the weird sisters, he foolishly accepted that their predictions meant that it was his destiny to become great. Once he had been informed that he had attained the title Thane of Cawdor, Banquo commented that he was "rapt withal" and expressed concern that he had been so easily overwhelmed.


He was paranoid. This paranoia was informed by his own deceit. Because he was capable of misleading others, he realized that those around him could do the same, and he therefore believed that they could attempt to usurp him. It is for this reason that he got rid of all those he assumed were a threat. 


Macbeth lacked trust. This trait goes hand in hand with his paranoia. Because he was paranoid, practically everyone became a suspect. It is for this reason that he suspected Banquo and due to this lack of trust in his erstwhile friend, he had him murdered.


He was driven by bloodlust. Macbeth went on a murderous rampage around Scotland, employing criminals and others to do his dastardly deeds. He had become so steeped in blood that he admitted that there was no turning back. In the process, his rule was characterized by fear and tyranny. He lost the respect of his subjects, who did not follow his lead out of loyalty and honor, but because they dreaded him.


Macbeth was governed by superstition. Throughout the play, we are shown obvious signs of his superstitious nature. This added to his paranoia and ruled his thinking. For example, he saw visions such as that of the dagger before Duncan's murder, which he believed was leading him on to commit the deed. He heard voices, as in "Macbeth hath murdered sleep." He could not understand why he could not say "amen" after murdering Duncan. He believed he had seen Banquo's ghost occupying his seat at the banquet table. He went back to the witches for guidance, superstitiously believing that they could help him. All these are clear indications that he was losing all reason, which points to another flaw.


Macbeth was going mad. He was losing his sanity and he made irrational decisions. For example, he decided to kill Macduff's entire family. This act ties in with all the other aspects of his character. The tyrant lost his head because of all the malice he had set loose in Scotland. It became an overwhelming force and he could not possibly have been normal. 


Macbeth lacked empathy and compassion. This is best illustrated by his cold relationship with his wife. Since he was so busy, by virtue of his paranoia, getting rid of real and imagined threats, he neglected his wife, who was going through a painful period of great regret and remorse. He, however, seemed to have no time for her in her greatest time of need and she committed suicide, a lonely, tortured woman.


Macbeth believed that he was invincible. When the witches told him that "No man of woman born shall harm Macbeth" he believed that he would rule Scotland and live to see old age. This made him even more callous. He exercised his malevolence unchecked in the belief that he was unstoppable.


Finally, Macbeth was malevolent. Since his first contact with the witches, Macbeth seemed to be driven by an instinctive desire to maim, hurt, torture, and kill. It was as if the witches had triggered his instinctual malice. We had seen glimpses of this when his fight against the traitorous Macdonwald was described. Macbeth had "unseamed" him from "the nave to the chops." He was absolutely ruthless and relentless, fighting like a demon as if he relished shedding blood and taking lives. 


Ultimately, all these traits are what led Macbeth to his doom. Many of his troops eventually deserted him and he was surrounded only by those who feared his vengeance. No one was loyal to him. No one respected him. He had destroyed not only himself and those close to him, but almost destroyed a country. Macduff's triumph over him was sweet and just revenge on a maniacal ruler whose maleficence had gone completely out of control.

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