The Problem of Power in Macbeth"Power poisons every man who craves it for himself" (Chute 126). In Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, the character, Macbeth, kills the respected King Duncan in his quest for power. However, throughout his reign, Macbeth demonstrates that he is unable to master the power and responsibilities of being a king. His drive for power and maintaining his power is the source of his downfall. Macbeth is not destined to have authority beyond the Thane of Cawdor. When Macbeth is king, he does not use his authority judiciously. Macbeth's final demise is due to his obsession with power and maintaining his power. Before he desired the power of being king, Macbeth was a respected nobleman. He was labeled "brave Macbeth" (Act I, scene, ii, line 16) for his actions in battle. During a conversation between Duncan and the Captain, the Captain describes how Macbeth brutally killed the rebel Macdonwald: Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, smoking with bloody execution,...till he unstitched him from the nave to the ribs, and stared the head on our battlements (act I, scene, ii, lines 17-23). ​​In his speech, the Captain describes Macbeth's violence to indicate what a good warrior he is thus showing that he respects Macbeth. Once Macbeth became king, he was overwhelmed with maintaining his authority. Macbeth realized that he was only being used so that Banquo's sons could inherit the throne: they hailed him as the father of a line of kings. Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, and placed a barren scepter in my hand, from which to be plucked. a non-linear hand, No Son of Mine Shall Succeed (Act III, Scene 1, Lines 60-64).Macbeth feeling this way convinces a pair of men to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. By having Banquo and Fleance murdered, Macbeth believes that this will prevent Banquo's sons from becoming kings. Macbeth also hires assassins to kill Macduff's family. This demonstrates Macbeth's obsession because it indicates that Macbeth values ​​his power over his friends. His obsession with power causes Macbeth to feel guilty and lose his sanity. Macbeth's guilt and loss of sanity are indicated in the hallucinations he experiences. His first hallucination occurs shortly before killing King Duncan. Macbeth sees "A dagger of the mind, a false creation" (Act II, Scene I, verse 38).