Leadership In Macbeth

Positions of power or leadership can be accessed by many, but aren’t always used to help the people under them. There are two main forms of power, constructive power, in which the leader helps and protects the people, and destructive power, in which the leader only helps themself and disregards the needs of others. Both constructive and destructive leadership can be found throughout William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a play about a man’s ruthless journey to power. Constructive leadership can also be found in Martin Luther King Jr’s speech, I Have A Dream, which challenges segregation issues of the time. In both writings, the effects of power are seen through the author’s choices throughout his writing. The use of literary devices, syntax, and diction in Macbeth and I Have A Dream help to show the effects of constructive and destructive power. Constructive leadership is less common throughout Macbeth but is still found through the use of

Lady Macbeth uses words such as “unsex”, “cruelty”, and “battlements” to show how she wants to be less emotional and more ruthless in order to kill the king. She is willing to do anything it takes to get what she wants, being selfish and only focusing on her wants and needs. However, she doesn’t want to take the blame for the crime as shown when she says how she wants the crime to be covered in a “blanket of the dark” so no one, not even herself, can witness it. The effects of her destructive power are shown through her intentional harm of others, her unwillingness to admit her guilt, and her pressuring of her husband to kill Duncan, an act that destroys his mental health. The use of diction throughout this passage to display Lady Macbeth’s destructive power allows the readers to easily see what Lady Macbeth is willing to risk for the throne, including the lives of