The Fall of Macbeth: A Psychological Inquiry into the Case of Corrupting Power

Abstract

The research paper investigates how authority, power, and position are the words that denote the god-like status of a person in the world and it has often been seen that when people come to power, they face the temptation of abusing their power for the achievement of unrestrained personal desires. This research is qualitative research carried out within the framework of Renaissance literature and its link with psychological reflections upon Renaissance fiction and history. It is premised upon an explanatory and interpretative analysis of the chosen text Macbeth. The present study aims to explore in-depth the socio-psychological factors that nurture such a mentality through the textual analysis of Macbeth, a play universally recognized for the study of the disastrous upshot of inordinate ambitions.The study is an exploration of the nature of evil in Macbeth, the evil of immoderate ambition planted in the mind of Macbeth, an army General in the kingdom of King Duncan, by his exceptional lyambitious wife, Lady Macbeth, who aspires her husband to become King of Scotland by hook or by crook even if he had to wreak havoc in the lives of all those who stand in the way of her ambition.