Macbeth vs. Pol Pot

Similarities

King Sihanouk allied with Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge at a time, so they were colleagues similar to the relationship between Duncan and Macbeth as they were fairly close

King Norodom Sihanouk is similar to King Duncan as they were both overthrown and had their power taken away from them

Sihanouk is similar to Malcolm as well as they both fled and let Pol Pot and Macbeth take power

After Pol Pot fled to the Thai border, the pro-Vietnamese Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party was elected but rejected by the people so King Sihanouk and Khmer Rouge were reinstated, similar to Malcolm as he took the throne after Macbeth was overthrown

Macbeth offered King Duncan sanctuary and a place to sleep for the night similarly King Sihanouk trusted Pol Pot to restore him to his throne once his forces were victorious of gaining back the throne, so both Duncan and Sihanouk were betrayed by those who they trusted

Differences

Duncan was related (cousins) to Macbeth whereas Sihanouk had no blood relations with Pol Pot

Duncan was killed while King Sihanouk was simply put on house arrest

Sihanouk was reinstated after Pol Pot and the Vietnamese were taken down compared to Duncan

Similarities

Fleance is Banquo’s child and foretold by the prophecies
he is meant to be King one day

Similarly leng Thirith is the wife of leng Sary, who
was the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Pol Pot’s Democratic Kampuchea and later on she became Minister of Social Affairs

Her husband was in the inner circle of the Khmer Rouge
and if he had overthrown Pol Pot she could have become
a higher member

Both Fleance and leng Thirith had connections with the government through

Similarly Fleance’s father was close to the monarch
and he could have been a higher status if his father
had exposed or usurped Macbeth

leng Thirith and her husband influenced Pol Pot and Khieu Ponnary and they came together and became a representation of the Gang of Four

Both Fleance and leng Thirith had influenced their leaders in some sort of way

Fleance was seen as threat to Macbeth's power which led Macbeth to take ext ordinary measures to keep his position on his throne and leng Thirith had close relations to Pol Pot and was a part of his daily life

Differences

Fleance was never to be seen again after his father’s death while leng Thirith was held in trial for crimes against humanity and genocide

leng Thirith was often known as the ‘first lady’ since she stood by Pol Pot’s side when her sisters mental health came in the way
Meanwhile in the play, barely anybody knew Fleance and Macbeth had only seen him as a threat to his throne

Pol Pot's cousin, Communist group he encountered in Paris

Similarities

The witches gave him the idea of Macbeth becoming king which led to Macbeth taking drastic measures in order to gain this power

Pol Pot's cousin allowed him to see the royal court and develop a negative view of the Cambodian monarchy which led to his communist views and to change the leadership style

The communist group that Pol Pot encountered they planted the idea of a fair and just country that would only be established under the rule of a strong group or leader in his head similarly, the witches tried to justify to Macbeth that he is meant to rule

In all cases, the witches and relative of Pol Pot influenced both leader in their own way to develop a certain perspective

Differences

The three witches are mythical creatures where as the communist group and cousin are morals

The cousin and communist group shared their biases and personal thought to Pol Pot compared to the witches who shared their overall knowledge in the form of a prophecy

Similarities

Both Macbeth and Pol Pot overthrew the King in order to accomplish the goal of obtaining power

Both Macbeth and Pol Pot broke their allies trust when arising in power

In the process of gaining power, both leaders took advantage of the Kings at their weakest point in order to manipulate and overthrow them (Macbeth showed respect and devotion to King Duncan by inviting him to his house and making King Duncan lower his guard making it easier for Macbeth to kill him and Pol Pot showed loyalty to King Sihanouk and made a false promise when the king was weak and had lost his power)

Differences

Macbeth killed King Duncan in order to rise in power where as Pol Pot had more civil means since he put King Sihanouk on house arrest

Pol Pot planned out his uprising as a leader thoroughly, as he gathered allies, supporters, etc. beforehand whereas Macbeth did not plan anything, but just fulfilled one step by killing the king in order to gain power

Similarities

Both of their actions that were taken were driven by their ambition

While in power both leaders were determined to obtain more power and keep their positions as Kings

Macbeth killed Banquo, Lady Macduff and her children and attempted to kill Fleance in order to secure his throne

Similarly, Pol Pot protected and preserved the power he had as he held an authoritarian position, he did this by wiping out absolutely all inequalities, destroying all foreign influences, emptying the cities and returning the entire population to the simple agrarian life of the villages, this ensured that he was the most superior.

Anyone who had any foreign ties or ties to the previous government, displayed any religious devotion (as one may see their god as their superior or ruler), was disabled was killed.


Families were abolished since words like “mother” and “father” were considered superior to children so everyone became “brother” and “sister”. Anyone who referred to their parents as such in any traditional form of address was killed.

The educated class was wiped out, since they would be held as superior to the uneducated and even those wearing glasses would be killed as this was taken as a symbol of intellectualism.

Everyone was sent to work on the communal rice fields, this made sure of the fact that Pol Pot was the only being that held an important position

Differences

Macbeth did kill many during his time in power, but Pol Pot killed several more than Macbeth

Pol Pot's rule led to the death of one third of the entire population of his country, Cambodia

Pol Pot allied himself with others to build up an empire or stronger government whereas Macbeth was a single leader

Similarites

Both Pol Pot and Macbeth prompted the rivals to attack or invade their land

Both leaders were confident that they will hold their powerful position even after the war, even though at the end they both were overthrown

The trigger to the downfall of Macbeth and Pol Pot's rule was their mental stability (Macbeth's paranoia which led everyone to doubt his well-being and Pol Pot's paranoia which led him to attack the Vietnamese and others) and lack of intelligence in the decisions they made (Pol Pot forced everyone to work in rice fields and demolished currency and Macbeth killed Macduff's family after jumping to conclusions)

Differences

Macbeth was beheaded whereas Pol Pot managed to escape

Macbeth was destined to die or his death was predicted beforehand due to the prophecy whereas Pol Pot's future in power and downfall was not at all predicted

Similarities

The urge to obtain power increased as both leaders became greedy and feared of assassination

Pol Pot was an ordinary man who was influenced by his relatives and other rebellious groups similar to Macbeth as he was influenced by his close relatives

Both leaders were not interested in the well being of their country/ kingdom, but were more devoted to the idea of obtaining an authoritarian position

Macbeth who was very influenced by christian ethics at the time still broke the great chain of being, committing a sin by disobeying the monarch

Pol pot who learned Buddhism, a religion of purity and peace still became unethical and completely ignored his spiritual roots

Both ambitious leaders lost sight of their values and morals when gaining power

Pol Pot killed the members of the royal family in order to destroy the monarchy and the King's successors so no one can take the throne after King Sihanouk

Macbeth got rid of the successors as well as he raised the fear of being framed or accused of murder within King Duncan's sons to make them leave and abandon their duties of taking the throne

Both leaders became very paranoid and had many of their own allies, even lifelong supporters put to death as well due to the fear that they are after the throne, Banquo and members of Pol Pot's rebellion group, Khmer Rouge

Pol Pot killed several of his loved ones and also forced
them to work in vicious labour camps, many of his close
relatives did not know that he was the one brutally torturing them

Macbeth killed several people such as, Macduff's family, Banquo, etc. without doubt and regret similar to Pol Pot, Macbeth played no favourites

Pol Pot killed anyone who had any ties with the previous government similar to Macbeth as he killed the people in the prophecy as in both cases the people were a "threat" to the leaders losing their power

King Sihanouk and governments like the United States supported Pol Pot because they viewed him as the only thing stopping Cambodia from being dominated by the Vietnamese

Some of the people supported the decision of crowning Macbeth as King because King Duncan was murdered and his sons fled, in other words he was given the power as a last resort not because he deserved it or was the most suitable leader, similar to Pol Pot

Both leaders went to war without doubt with led to the loss of their power and the opposing party taking over, Pol Pot went to war with Vietnam carelessly and Macbeth went to war with the army of Macduff and Duncan's sons

Differences

Macbeth killed King Duncan and the royal family fled in fear in order to obtain the throne whereas, Pol Pot did the opposite and placed King Sihanouk under house arrest and had the royal family killed

Macbeth's power was taken away from him by a former colleague, but Pol Pot was overthrown by a political rivalry

Macbeth lost his authoritarian position because he was killed during war, but Pol Pot lost his power because he fled to the Thai border in fear of his opponents

Macbeth was still a part of the monarchy in sense that he is related to King Duncan compared to Pol Pot who had no ties to the royal family

Similarities

Lady Macbeth truly loved her husband and similarly Khieu Ponnary loved her husband
Khieu Ponnary was considered the most intellectual member of the Khmer Rouge her ambition led her to be the first female Cambodian to graduate high school

Similarly Lady Macbeth is smart and ambitious female who was already plotting to murder the King as soon as she heard the prophecies
Khieu Ponnary attitude was hard and stoic one whereas Lady Macbeth also had a cold and stern attitude when she was plotting to murder the king and and on accusing the servants afterwards

Outwardly Macbeth and Lady Macbeth played their part as hosts to the King but secretly they planned to overthrow the king by murdering him

Similarly Pol Pot and Ponnary continued their lives as teachers but secretly their, world centered around the murderous politics of the Cambodian Communist Party

Lady Macbeth influenced Macbeth to murder the king and take over, Lady Macbeth’s encouragement, devotion and support drove Macbeth to kill the King.

Whereas Khieu Ponnary shared the same beliefs as Pol Pot. They both believed that a radical communist revolution would resolve Cambodia's political problems

Khieu Ponnary assisted him and they both campaigned for the Democratic Party and worked to radicalize its policies
Similarly Lady Macbeth helped Macbeth cover up his tracks

Khieu Ponnary also had a deep hatred for the monarchy which helped fuel Pol Pot’s hatred as well

Lady Macbeth believed Macbeth was doing the right thing by killing the King and was with him throughout the whole journey

Khieu Ponnary endured hardships with her husband and aided him in dangerous circumstances
Lady Macbeth and Khieu Ponnary helped their husbands and gave them the strength to keep going

Lady Macbeth was the real mastermind of the plot to murder the King she voiced her opinions and led Macbeth through the whole murder

Khieu Ponnary was seen as the ‘mother of the revolution’. Similar to Lady Macbeth, she worked behind the scenes in the revolution and helped her husband takeover

Lady Macbeth was driven mad from the guilt of
her crimes. Her grief and guilt led her to commit
suicide.

Khieu Ponnary was started to show signs of paranoia
that the Vietnamese was out to kill her and her
husband.

She was going mad in the service of her husband’s
revolution. Her mental Health continued to slip until
she was placed into a Mental hospital.

Differences

Lady Macbeth was guilty of her crimes
and committed suicide

Whereas Khieu Ponnary had a growing
mental illness and died a peaceful death in
the mental hospital

No one really knew of Lady Macbeth’s role
in the murder of the king

However, most people know about Khieu
Ponnary’s influence on Pol Pot and the
revolution

Lady Macbeth originally ignited the idea to
Macbeth that he should kill the King while

Khieu Ponnary supported and assisted the
already formed and rising revolution

Lady Macbeth implies that she wishes she
was a man so she could commit the murder,

However Khieu Ponnary did not have any
problem with being female, she was even
appointed president of the Democratic
Kampuchea Women’s Association

Similarities

Macduff and the government of Vietnam led a rebellion against the leaders, Pol Pot and Macbeth

Both Macduff and the leaders of Vietnam were victims of Pol Pot and Macbeth's rule as they prompted them to start the rebellion

Macduff didn't get along with Macbeth due to his assumptions that Macbeth was in charge of the murder of King Duncan similarly, Vietnam did not have a good relationship with Pol Pot, but both Macduff and Vietnam had to deal with the leaders

Macduff allied with the princes (Duncan's sons) in order to overthrow Macbeth as he was an unfit leader due to his mental state and the crimes he was suspected to commit similarly, Vietnam overthrew Pol Pot as he was a unjust leader

Differences

Macduff was a noble man that killed Macbeth whereas Vietnam was a whole country that used their power to overrule Pol Pot

Vietnam did not succeed in killing Pol Pot, unlike Macduff

Vietnam had a whole army which was well equipped while Macduff had a small rebellion group ready to fight Macbeth

Macduff allied with the princes of the previous king whereas Vietnam allied with other nations and governments, but not with anyone who had a relation to the previous Cambodian government

Similarities

Banquo and Nuon Chea were both married
with children. Both of them knew what it felt
like to have children

Banquo was once Macbeth’s closest friend, similarly
Nuon Chea is Pol Pot’s second hand man
Nuon Chea was known as brother number two since
he was second in command

Nuon Chea was ambitious and clever, he earned
the favor of the North Vietnamese army since they
trusted him more than they trusted Pol Pot

Nuon Chea had the support of North Vietnamese
and could have easily overthrown Pol Pot, however
even with all the potential to rule he never decided
to act on it

Similarly to Banquo who knew the prophecies as well
as Macbeth did
Banquo also had suspicions that Macbeth murdered
the king, yet he did not use that knowledge to usurp
or threaten Macbeth

Differences

Banquo did not support Macbeth’s way of gaining
power whereas
Nuon Chea supported Pol Pot and helped in many ways

Banquo was simply a soldier in an army while
Nuon Chea was second in command to Pol Pot

Banquo’s haunting memory was the start of Macbeth’s downfall, since Macbeth starts to go insane once he starts to see Banquo’s ghost
People started to question if Macbeth was the right person to rule

However, Nuon Chea helped Pol Pot gain his power and played a major role in negotiating with the North Vietnamese
He made sure Pol Pot had a secure position and when Pol Pot had to resign for a month Nuon Chea stepped in for him

Banquo was brutally murdered while Nuon Chea is
still alive up to this day
However Nuon Chea is imprisoned and charged for war crimes and other offences

Banquo is a brave and noble man, whereas Nuon Chea
is believed to have committed crimes against humanity
such as murder, torture and enslavement