POWER
IN SHAKESPEARE
I N T RO D U C T I O N
Definition of Power: ability to do or act; capability of doing or
accomplishing something.
 Power helps people accomplish things.
 People with power want more power.
 Too much power can cause serious damage on a person and
have serious consequences.
 Everything in the play happens because of power.
 All characters think that power brings happiness.
MESSAGE OF MACBETH…
 Power can overtake someone’s life and take control of everything they
do
 Just because you get what you want doesn’t mean it is good for you
 When we want something but can’t have it right then.. If we wait it will
come to us when the time is right
 Being patient is better than taking situations into your own hands
 Tempatation to want more than we should have or deserve
 Immoral and illegal things to get them
POWER IN ACT 1
 Duncan announces Macbeth will be given the title Thane of Cawdor for his bravery in the battle
 Macbeth and Banquo meet the Three Witches and they tell Macbeth that he will be Thane of
Cawdor and King, and that Banquo will be father to a line of kings, but not one himself.
 Macbeth is announced official Thane of Cawdor
 Although Banquo warns him that the witches try to lure people to evil, Macbeth is excited by
their prophecies.
 Macbeth’s excited for power gets him thinking about killing King Duncan but he hides his
thoughts
 Lady Macbeth receives a letter from her husband telling her about his meeting with the witches.
She fears he is too good-natured to kill Duncan and decides to persuade him
 King Duncan arrives at the castle and Macbeth is told by his wife to look innocent
 Lady Macbeth reassures Macbeth of her plan to kill King Duncan
POWER IN ACT 2
 Macbeth tests Banquo’s loyalty to him
 Macbeth has a vision of a bloodstained dagger
 Macbeth goes to kill Duncan
 Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are haunted with bloodstained hands
POWER IN ACT 3
 Macbeth is planning to kill Banquo and his son Fleance
 Banquo is murdered and Macbeth starts to see the Ghost of
Banquo
 Macduff and Malcolm plan to defeat Macbeth with their army
after they are suspicious of Macbeth’s guilt
POWER IN ACT 4
 Macbeth goes to the witches and convinces himself he cannot be
killed by a man born of woman
 Macbeth gets Lady Macduff and her children murdered
 Malcolm and Macduff plan to get revenge from Macbeth with the
help from England
POWER IN ACT 5
 Lady Macbeth is seen sleepwalking
 Scottish lords join forces with Malcolm and his English Army
 Macbeth decides to fight the soldiers until the end
UNIVERSAL IDEAS…
 Humans thrive on power and control
 Temptation of being the best/highest in something eg career
 Stereotypes, what it means to be a real man
 Judging others and being deceived
 Power struggles within a marriage
 Devastating effects guilt has on our psychological state of mind
and the way we act towards others
W H Y D O W E S T U DY
SHAKESPEARIAN TEXTS & WHY
IS ARE THEY CLASSICS?
 They are timeless stories
 Deals with universal themes
 Teaches us where the modern language has come from
 Shakespeare has good representations
LANGUAGE USED IN
MACBETH…
 The languages techniques in Macbeth help set the feelings in scenes and have
different effects on events
 Irony
 Paradox
 Metaphor
 Imagery
 Light/ Dark
 Good/Evil
 Dramatic
T H A N K YO U F O R L I S T E N I N G