Power, Authority and Corruption in Macbeth "Authority poisons everybody who takes authority on himself " [Leninthis, 271], this quotation applies to Shakespeare's Macbeth. In the play, Macbeth commits regicide; the most heinous of all crimes in Elizabethan times, in order to become king himself. However, during his rule, Macbeth demonstrates that he is incapable of mastering the power and qualities of being a king. His drive for power and maintaining his power is the source of his downfall. Macbeth's obsession with power fuels him to his mental deterioration. He is not meant to have authority beyond Than