‘A great man brought down by his own yearning for power and control.’ Is this how you see Macbeth.

In many ways I agree with this statement. Macbeth was a great man, in terms of power, prominence and importance, and he did eventually suffer because of his strong desire for power and control.
Macbeth portrays elements of inhumane action throughout the play and suggests to the audience that he is a evil man of injustice, driven by his strong ambition for power and control with no regard to the well being of society. However, the reason and motive behind Macbeth's evil actions did not all originate from himself. In fact, initially Macbeth was quite afraid at the thought of Murdering Duncan and becoming king. He was greatly influenced by the three witches and Lady Macbeth in order to bring himself to the position and reputation that he portrayed throughout his role in the play.

So why does Macbeth strive for power and control?

The prospect of Murdering Duncan would largely conflict with his reputation of being a fair and loyal soldier to the king. This is shown upon meeting the w...