The Tragedy of Macbeth tells a story about a thane named Macbeth who must overcome obstacles in order to acquire and maintain power to be king. He does this along with the pressure of his persuasive and ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth. The play is set in Scotland around the 1600, which is during the time of the Renaissance. The playwright, William Shakespeare uses the theme of lust for power to display at length what drives these characters to achieve what they want. Macbeth and his wife have certain ambitions, but they have different ways of portraying them. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses the theme of lust for power to intensify the plot and further enhance the characters. The theme of lust for power presents itself at the beginning of the play. It can be seen with Macbeth’s response to what the witches’ prophesize “stay you imperfect speakers, tell me…show more content… With the presentation of the prophecy, one can see how it consumes Macbeth with the idea of power. After seeing that much of the prophecy is coming true, he realizes that he must find a way to maintain it. Then, Lady Macbeth’s reaction to what Macbeth tells her begins to show how she obsesses with the idea of bringing about power. Lastly, Shakespeare shows how the two characters merge their ambitions together in order to carry out gaining total control of the throne. Having power already helps Macbeth as well as the ambition from Lady Macbeth to go through with what he needs to accomplish in order to obtain power. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses lust for power to show what first presents Macbeth with ambition, what drives Lady Macbeth into doing the treacherous deeds, and what later allows Macbeth to develop as a character. As one of the most influential writers of English literature, Shakespeare uses his writing to present thematic topics such as lust for power, to convey a message and show its influence on human
