I am a firm believer that people take the first plunge into evil due to their inner desires. Shakespeare writes in Act 1 Scene 4 (Macbeth speaking), "Let not light see my black and deep desires." (Shakespeare 29). At this point, Macbeth has learned that he is the Prince of Cumberland (not to be confused with this Prince of Cumberland), or the heir to the throne, and speaks to himself saying he will not tempt fate in order to achieve King status. So, what in the world made Macbeth step into evil? He stated it himself, his "deep desires." As the story begins to unwind, Macbeth plays with his fate and commits the evil act of murder on Duncan. His mindset on the matter changed due to his inner desires and a little convincing from Lady Macbeth. The consequences from choosing evil can be endless or nonexistent. I feel that it depends on the internal moral values of the particular person.
I think that Shakespeare would half agree with the quote of "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" due to his display of power so far in Macbeth. The ideology of power has led to corruption in what I've read so far. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have been led to corruption on their quest for the throne and power overall. I do not think Shakespeare would agree with "absolute power corrupts absolutely," because I have yet to read anything about absolute power in Macbeth. Although this part of the quote seems like common sense, I see no evidence yet to lead me towards Shakespeare agreeing with the absolute power portion of the quote.
I do not believe my life has been guided by fate at all. I make conscious decisions all the time that either lead me to rewards or consequences. I base my next decisions off of my previous ones. I think Shakespeare has a very different attitude on the topic of fate than I do. As seen with the witches and the supernatural, (whenever Shakespeare chooses to rhyme!) fate plays a very large role in Macbeth. I think since fate has such a large role that Shakespeare believes that fate controls the lives of humans. I think that Macbeth's actions were predetermined by the witches. This can be proven in Act 3 Scene 5, where Hectate speaks to the witches regarding Macbeth's fate, "how did you dare/To trade and traffic with Macbeth/In riddles and affairs with death" (Shakespeare 111). Hectate is angered at the witches for playing with Macbeth and mentions the deaths that have occurred. This causes me to believe that the witches have control over Macbeth's fate. Later in this section Hectate says, "Thither he/will come to know his destiny" (Shakespeare 111). Here Hectate says that she will now take control over Macbeth's destiny, further providing evidence that the supernatural fully control Macbeth's fate.
I think the values of manhood have not changed much in modern times. As society is becoming more and more progressive, the idea of being a "man" is changing drastically. As Lady Macbeth tries to persuade Macbeth to perform the act of murder in Act 1 Scene 7, she uses mockery to show Macbeth that he needs to man up and kill Duncan. She says, "you would be so much more the man" (Shakespeare 43). By committing the manly act of murder, Lady Macbeth is saying that Macbeth would be more of a man. This shows the values of manhood in Shakespeare's time. Manhood valued strength and courage and men displayed no emotion. Nowadays I think our values of manhood are relatively similar. Strength and courage are still values of being a man. However, I think the values of being a woman has greatly changed from those times which can be reflected in the man's values. Women nowadays value similar characteristics of men. Courage and independence are often valued greatly by women which shows society's shift from Shakespeare's time. The values of man has not changed much however.
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