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Investigate the role/abuse of power through Richard IIs or Macbeth's actions- is power a
corrupting force or does it provide a cautionary tale of how to wield power for good or evil
through the current or usurping leader of the play? In Romeo and Juliet you could look at
the role of civic and familial power in the play.

Lois Lau

MA Acting – Context

East 15 Acting School

17th May 2023

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Investigate the role/abuse of power through Richard IIs or Macbeth's actions- is power a
corrupting force or does it provide a cautionary tale of how to wield power for good or evil
through the current or usurping leader of the play? In Romeo and Juliet you could look at
the role of civic and familial power in the play.

The different aspects of power have been greatly explored in Shakespeare’s plays. Today, we

are going to take a look at one of his significant work, Macbeth, on how the role of power is

portrayed, is it a corrupting force or does it lay out a cautionary tale of how to wield power for

good or evil, or is it both?

Macbeth was written in 1606. It was when the event gun powder plot, a plan to blow up the

house of parliament in London and the attempt assassination of King James 1 took place in

November 1605. It is suggested that Macbeth the play echoes this event which reflects too much

ambition for power will cause one’s downfall.

Shakespeare explored the role of power, which in this context is defined as the capacity or

ability to direct or to influence the behavior of others or the course of events. The role of power

is expressed through two major effects, which are, psychological and physical effect on Macbeth

in the play.

First, the psychological effect on Macbeth with a taste of the power is evidently stronger and

stronger each time he interacts between characters. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth had an

encounter with the three witches. They told Macbeth a prophecy of how he is going to be the

king of Glamis, then the thane of Cawdor and lastly the king.
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FIRST WITCH

All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis!

SECOND WITCH

50All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of

Cawdor!

THIRD WITCH

All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth, Bedford/St. Martins, 1999, Act 1 Scene 3

Macbeth was first skeptical of the prophecy as he said:

“A prosperous gentleman, and to be king. Stands not within the prospect of belief, No

more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence. You owe this strange intelligence, or why. Upon

this blasted heath you stop our way .With such prophetic greeting. Speak, I charge you.”

(Shakespeare, 1606, Act 1 Scene 3)

From the text, it is revealed that he does not believe in the witches as he did not know how he

could become the thane of Cawdor as he was still alive. The power of the positions hasn’t really

got to him yet because of that. However, it was until when Ross and Angus sent the message to

Macbeth of how he was gifted the title of thane of Cawdor upon the words of Duncan the king,

was the moment of how Macbeth believed the prophecy and wanted more.
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Macbeth’s ambition for power started to grow from this point onwards. As his first prophecy

came true, the idea of him becoming more and more powerful with the position started the

corrupt his mind.

Since his next prophecy was becoming the king, so his thought of killing Duncan was the

thing he needed to do next in order to become the king. At that point, Macbeth was not entirely

sure of such act as he thought it would be a “horrid image” to do that. He was actually struggling

psychologically with whether to kill Duncan or not. In the play, he said,

“He’s here in double trust: First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the

deed; then, as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself.

Besides, this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been So clear in his great office, that

his virtues Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued,” (Shakespeare, 1606, Act 1 Scene 7)

Here, we can depict Macbeth was having inner struggle of killing Duncan. He first thought

about the disadvantage of killing him as Duncan trusted him and how he is his host and should

be protecting him instead of murdering him. And he thought about how Duncan is a humble

leader who’s free from corruption. But then after the persuasion of Lady Macbeth, “And to be

more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man.” (Shakespeare, 1606, Act 1

Scene 7) he was reminded of his ambition of power and here, the thought of having more power

further corrupted him psychologically as he said, “I am settled, and bend up 90 Each corporal

agent to this terrible feat.” (Shakespeare, 1606, Act 1 Scene 7)

Because of his growing desire for power and how it corrupts him psychologically, it urged him

to bring on actions and at last killed Duncan. Here, we can see how his desire for power

corrupted him and urged him to perform physical act, which is murdering the king in order to be
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the king himself, as compared to when the first prophecy came, he was just having a desire and

did not really perform any violent task yet. This shows the progress of power slowly corrupting

him psychologically and physically.

Further into the play, Macbeth is reminded of how Banquo was with him when they met the

three witches and was told about the prophecy. Macbeth was thinking that Banquo would be

suspicious of him for killing Duncan because of that. What’s more, the three witches told him

that Banquo’s son would take the throne away from Macbeth. His fear of losing the power

started to emerge and at this point he would stop at nothing to retain the power and thus

convinced murderers to help him kill Banquo and his son.

Apart from the desire of getting rid of Banquo and his son, he became more gruesome when he

sought further from the witches. The three witches told him to be aware of Macduff. In Act 4

Scene 1, Macbeth was certain nothing should come to his way and thus he stated,

“From this moment The very firstlings of my heart shall be The firstlings of my hand. And even

now, 165 To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done: The castle of Macduff I will

surprise, seize upon Fife, give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate

souls 170 That trace him in his line” (Shakespeare, 1606, Act 4 Scene 1)

He was more than determined as compared to when he was first struggling whether to kill

Duncan or not. The idea of power has now absolutely corrupted him in the sense that it was so

delusional to keep his power that he was willing to kill even innocent family to preserve his

throne and power. This action highlights how power has entirely corrupted Macbeth both

psychologically and physically, making him to act without second guessing.

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To summarize, the hunger of power grew on Macbeth slowly at first and later, significantly,

causing him to become more and more obsessed with the power he holds and wants to hold

which affect him psychologically and physically to carry different actions in order to gain the

power he desires.

Apart from being a corruptive force, the role of power also demonstrates a cautionary tale of

how to wield power for good or evil through the different leaders in the play.

The villainy in the play is not a cookie cutter role of a typical villain. What makes Macbeth so

interesting is the fact that Shakespeare delves into the truth of humanity that echo through every

generation, and such is the case with his exploration of villainy. (Miller, 2015, p.3)

Macbeth was not portrayed as a villain as first, in fact, he was written as a brave warrior who

fought well against the rebel force led by MacDonald and such act was appreciated by Duncan.”

For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name— Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,

which smoked with bloody execution, Like valor’s minion carved out his passage Till he faced

the slave; Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, Till he unseamed him from the

nave to th' chops, And fixed his head upon our battlements.” (Shakespeare, 1606, Act 1 Scene 2)

It was his own mind, not his enemy, of wanting more power lures him to evil ways, such as,

murdering Banquo and Duncan as mentioned above. It is therefore the abuse of power which

caused him to become evil and a usurping leader. Not only he killed innocent people, but he also

even ignored the death of his wife, Lady Macbeth, in pursue of power. Since the play ends with

Macbeth being defeated by Macduff, it acts as a cautionary tale and a warning to those who

might be tempted to abuse their own power in pursuit of their goal and also how if one wields

power in an evil way, it will cause a downfall.

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Interestingly, Macbeth is not the only one in pursuit of power in the play. For example,

Malcom, the heir of being the king also sought power in order to restore order and justice to the

country by asking the English king to help him raise an army to return to Scotland and overthrow

Macbeth.

The only difference is that he was using the power to do good deed. This tells us power can

also be used for good. The play used Macbeth as an example and caution of how the abuse of

power can be a dangerous force. But it all depends on the individual of how they use the power,

whether it is for good or for evil. Such comparison between Macbeth and Malcom further

reinforces the role of power and how one wields it could make a difference. By showing the two

different scenarios, it provides a cautionary tale for readers on the role and abuse of power.

In conclusion, the abuse and role of power in Macbeth the play has been greatly illustrated as

a corruption force through Macbeth’s action. Such desire of power affected Macbeth both

psychologically and physically, making him to perform evil action in order to gain more power.

His hunger of power began to grow substantially after one event and others, from killing Duncan

in order to fulfil the prophecy of becoming the king, killing Banquo and an attempted murder of

Banquo’s son to avoid any disturbance of his gained power to killing the innocent families of

Macduff. All the actions suggested how his desire of power slowly yet significantly corrupted his

mind.

What’s more, the role and abuse of power also pose as a cautionary tale of how to wield

power for good and evil through the current and usurping leaders. The cautionary tale is

demonstrated through Macbeth as a warning of wielding power for evil will cause a downfall.

His abuse of power to become king himself is an example of him being a usurping leader. While

Malcom, on the other hand, is a contrasting example of how the correct use of power can
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actually be used for good. In short, Shakespeare not only has greatly used the role of power to

illustrate how the abuse of power can corrupt one’s mind, but also has used this as a cautionary

tale of how to wield power for good and evil and the subsequent consequences of each choice.

References:

Miller, Erin K. (2015) The Battle of Good and Evil in Shakespeare

https://scholarship.rollins.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1073&context=mls

Shakespeare, William (1999) Macbeth, Bedford/ St. Martins

https://myshakespeare.com/macbeth/act-1-scene-3

Shakespeare, William (1606) Macbeth

https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/macbeth/read/

The Importance of Power in Macbeth

https://www.ipl.org/essay/The-Importance-Of-Power-In-Macbeth-P3MVG8HESJF6