But if that flow’r with base infection meet,
The basest weed out braves his dignity:
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
William Shakespeare, Sonnet 94, Lines 11-14
In this sonnet we see that power is often disguised so that the common people can not tell who is really pulling the strings. In this section of the poem, we find that power can corrupt even the nicest person and that most people would rather deal with the enemy they know then the unknown enemy. The question is, does corruption of power come from within a person who holds a higher position or from those that surround them? We get a similar question about power in that of Macbeth and Edward II who also struggle with their power and the source of their corruption both inside them and from outside forces.
