Does absolute power corrupt power absolutely? Yes, it absolutely does and shows the tragic flaws within. But why believe that on its own, take a look at some rulers in the past that have shown this is true. Julius Caesar by Shakespeare and Oedipus the King by Sophocles are just 2 examples that come to mind and show how power corrupts.
Caesar has been corrupted by absolute power and has thus revealed a tragic flaw… hubris. He refers to himself in the third person when he says “Caesar is turn’d to hear”(Julius Caesar, 1.2.20). This shows him having so much hubris and believing he is so grand and unique that even he himself has to say his god like name. This is later taken advantage of by his closest friends to ultimately isolate and murder Caesar. This tragic flaw, shown through corrupted power, also appears in another great tale, Oedipus the King. …show more content…
He believes he is so right that he will kill to prove it as he did to his father, unbenounced to him at the time, when their chariots crossed paths. Oedipus said “Woe, woe is me! so seems it I have plunged all blindly into curses terrible.”(Oedipus the King, L770-771) As he learns from Jocasta of just how coincidental it was to him when king Laius died and the curse is shown true. When he killed him it showed an unimaginable amount of hubris, so much so that he killed a king over it! Only a person who is immensely corrupted by power, and thus hubris, could commit such a heinous act out of nowhere about a situation that is easily resolved even without
Caesar has been corrupted by absolute power and has thus revealed a tragic flaw… hubris. He refers to himself in the third person when he says “Caesar is turn’d to hear”(Julius Caesar, 1.2.20). This shows him having so much hubris and believing he is so grand and unique that even he himself has to say his god like name. This is later taken advantage of by his closest friends to ultimately isolate and murder Caesar. This tragic flaw, shown through corrupted power, also appears in another great tale, Oedipus the King. …show more content…
He believes he is so right that he will kill to prove it as he did to his father, unbenounced to him at the time, when their chariots crossed paths. Oedipus said “Woe, woe is me! so seems it I have plunged all blindly into curses terrible.”(Oedipus the King, L770-771) As he learns from Jocasta of just how coincidental it was to him when king Laius died and the curse is shown true. When he killed him it showed an unimaginable amount of hubris, so much so that he killed a king over it! Only a person who is immensely corrupted by power, and thus hubris, could commit such a heinous act out of nowhere about a situation that is easily resolved even without