The Theme Of Power In Macbeth

The play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a story of an honorable and loyal soldier, Macbeth, who plummets from grace and ultimately becomes a murderous tyrant. It is human nature that the more power someone desires, the more they will do to obtain it. Throughout the play we see Macbeth’s burning ambitions disclose his extensive desire for this power. In an age where the power of kings directly comes from God, Macbeth’s desire to become king threatens the values and morals of his society. Although Macbeth is manipulated and motivated by his questionably more ambitious wife, Macbeth never completely loses the capacity to make his own choices. In spite of his initial heroic qualities, Macbeth’s character is corrupted by power. This is this is sole cause of unrest throughout the

The central themes in play include guilt, order, disorder and bravery. In the murder scene, we see Macbeth tormented by guilt, believing his recent actions will never let him sleep peacefully again. Blood stained hands identify with guilt as Macbeth refers to his hands as “hangman’s hands”. He realises the impossibility of washing away his guilt when Lady Macbeth urges to wash his hands. Shakespeare uses this motif to show the audience that whenever Macbeth looks upon his hands, he is reminded that by accepting the invitation of evil, the cost paid is much higher than the reward.His crime is so sinful that the blood will “the multitudinous seas incarnadine”. (II, ii, 78). The second main theme in the play is order and disorder. The Elizabethans believed in “The Great Chain of Being”. The theory being that everyone was ordered by God into their allotted place, with the king at the head. By killing the king and taking his place, Macbeth subverting the natural order of the chain. In Act III we see Macbeth welcome his guests to the banquet, “You know your own particular degrees, sit down: at first” (III, iv, 1). This is ironic as he overlooked his own “degree” in society,