Internal Conflict In Macbeth

Every child has grown up with dreams of being the president of the United States or a princess or a doctor which is encouraged by our parents. Even from a young age we are attracted to positions of power, but at what cost? Shakespeare demonstrates how one can not maintain upward mobility in the social hierarchy while keeping moral values through irony, metaphor, and dichotomy to warn society of the possible outcome when individuals thirst for unnatural power. In the play of Macbeth, the newly appointed thane of Cawdor, Macbeth, lusts after the crown after receiving an omen from the three supernatural Weird sisters and criticism from his wife about his masculinity. In hope of quickly achieving his goals, Macbeth kills the current king, Duncan, …show more content…
In attempt to gain power, people will lose their humanity as a side effect. But, if the individual tries to continue to have “soft” emotions such as compassion while retaining a stronghold over the empire, it will bring them the opposite effects of what was originally wanted, and the prince will end up with neither. Macbeth is the epitome of facing internal conflict when it comes to ruling as his “greatest sin would probably be not his inability to dissimulate but this initial reluctance to commit totally to the course of wrongdoing that his position as usurping prince has made essential… He goes on to warn against the greatest danger, the desire to have it all-the clean conscience of a private man and the power of a prince” (Riebling 280). Macbeth rejects Machiavelli’s formula for a perfect prince as he is unable to commit to being completely evil, becoming a dichotomy of choosing between his id and ego. Because of this action, he reveals his true nature to the …show more content…
By placing the private sphere as more important than the public sphere, Duncan has relied too heavily on the trust of his people. Blind faith in others is not foolproof and leaves holes in his rule allowing opposers to rise and defy him. Duncan is ironically harmful for not only himself but to the safety of his whole kingdom, “however admirable a man, is by Machiavellian standards a dangerous king- a ruler whose gentle and trusting character has invited treason, civil war, and foreign invasion. By being a perfect Christian, Duncan succeeds in being the perfect lamb- a sacrificial offering on the altar of real-world politics” (Riebling 276). The only reason Duncan was currently on the throne was because of his royal lineage, not because he was destined to be a successful ruler. By following prior king’s method to lead in the Medieval and Renaissance Ages, Duncan is signing his own death warrant as he is unable to properly protect himself or his kingdom. Seeing this weakness, the three Weird Sisters try to exploit this by hinting at Macbeth that he could possibly be king. This along with Lady Macbeth’s influence causes Macbeth to undermine Duncan, ending his reign. Trying to balance being a good person before the eyes of God while maintaining the kingdom is not possible, and those who try will lose it