Themes

Themes

1. Power and Corruption

   • Characters used to represent power
     • Duncan
       • Respected
         • Macbeth uses a list to emphasise how much the king is respected- 'Our duties/ Are to your throne and state, children and servents'
         • Ross uses traditional expression of loyalty- "god save the king!"
     • Macbeth
       • uses his power to secure his position
         • kills banquo
         • kills Macduffs family
       • Power changes macbeth
         • Macbeth becomes a 'tyrant' rather than a king
         • starts to speak using royal plural pronouns: 'we' and 'our'
         • Macbeth's desire to maintain his power makes him paranoid about others. He starts to behave like a dictator. Malcolm uses metaphor 'fled the snares of a watchful tyranny' to describe peoples feelings towards macbeth
   • How power is presented as desirable
     • The witches tempt power, he describes his feeling in the metaphor: 'the swelling act/ of the imperial theme'
     • Lady Macbeth also tempts his with the prospect of 'solely sovereign sway and masterdom'. The sibilance suggests the sinister corruption of power

2. Religion and Supernatural

3. Temptation and Manipulation

4. Guilt and Madness

5. Duty and betrayal

6. Secrets and lies