Macbeth Theme Essay

            Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth has many themes to choose from. They all develop throughout the course of the play, and all show to have a much larger role in the fates of the characters than one may have originally thought. Two such themes are the alluring, destructive capabilities of power and the relationship between gender and violence. Shakespeare has developed both of these powerful themes to play a massive role within the course of his play.

            One of the first themes to appear within the play is the draw of power. Ever since he was first shown his future by the three witches, Macbeth becomes obsessed with power and the emotions that it provides for him. At first, it seems harmless enough; Macbeth is just a man with ambition. Within days, however, his ambition begins to spiral out of control when his wife convinces him to kill King Duncan and become King himself. After this, Macbeth becomes convinced that Banquo will be his downfall, and kills his best friend out of sheer terror that his ill-gotten throne will be usurped. After this deed is done, Macbeth still isn’t content. He then kills Lord Macduff’s wife and children for no reason at all. Perhaps he has begun to enjoy killing, or he is simply so insane that he has no regard for human life anymore. One thing is now for certain: any hesitation that Macbeth might have shown when killing King Duncan is now replaced by a veil of insanity that can not be penetrated. Eventually, Macbeth’s obsession with power became his downfall by the end of the play. He believed himself to be immortal because he was so powerful, but overlooked the witches’ cleverly worded warning that told the King that he would eventually die: no matter how powerful he was.

            The second most important theme in Macbeth was an odd one: the relationship between manliness and violence. Many instances in the play showed a direct associated between gender and the ability to commit foul deeds. For example, Lady Macbeth managed to convince her husband to kill King Duncan by calling his “manliness” into question. When Macbeth’s courage was called into question, he immediately disregarded any of his fears and defended his manhood. It has also been said, however, that Lady Macbeth could have killed King Duncan just as easily. In that time, however, she could not have committed murder because she was a woman. Back in her day in age, women were not considered equal to men, and were never considered able to commit crimes such as murder. Another instance where this appeared was when Macduff first heard about the murder of his family. His response was that he absolutely fell apart, but Malcolm convinced him to turn his grief into anger and to take the situation from a more “manly” point of view. It would be his responsibility to take revenge on the man that killed his family. A woman would not have been offered the same opportunity. Instead, she probably would have to turn to her father or brothers to take action against a murderer.

             All through the course of Macbeth, many themes come to light. Some end up playing much more of a role that others, depended both on careful analysis and the interpereter. In the long run, the alluring qualities of power and the link between gender and violence are some of the most important themes.