A common theme between the plays we have read is Power. Power intoxicates some of the characters we have read about to go so far as to intimidate, cheat, or even murder others in order to obtain authority or maintain the control they already have. In Macbeth, the theme of power presents itself in two distinct forms: the earthly and the supernatural. Characters such as Macbeth embody the earthly form of power by using murder and deception as tools, whereas the witches are more involved with the supernatural and merely foretell the future to utilize their power. Although both groups are in positions of power, each of the different forms of power has its advantages and disadvantages; however, ultimately the prowess of the supernatural rules over Macbeth’s tangible form of power lead the witches, in the long run, achieve what they desire.
…So what do you guys think about power in Macbeth or in the other plays we read?
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I think a major play that deals with power is Othello. Othello’s ever continuing struggle is to convince not only everyone around, but himself as well, that he is a noble and worthy man in his society - noble and worthy enough to gain the hand of Desdemona. Othello succeeds in presenting himself as an exhilarating breath of fresh air, an exhilarating person. As readers we can feel that Othello is proud of him¬self and his achievements, especially from the historical difficulties his race has overcome, and how he is furthermore proud of the honorable appearance he presents in his Christian Moor or army general positions he possesses. Immediately, he wants to appear consistently powerful and amazingly accomplished at every possible instance. When this power and accomplishment is almost denied to him, his wounded pride becomes especially powerful. Personally I’m really interested in the Elizabethan culture and how it was the era of new ideas and new thoughts. Othello, in a sense, is the essence of those new ideas and new thoughts because he is a shift in cultural ideology. Shakespeare uses the cultural assumptions; connotations and a discourse of power in his play Othello, and manipulates it as a didactic tool by challenging Elizabethan ideological structure. He does so through the characters of Othello, Desdemona and Iago. In the context of the Elizabethan period, power was of extreme social and cultural significance as it was in direct association to the status and structure of society. I strongly believe the Elizabethan world view played an important part in Shakespeare's text, and the Elizabethan people credited its involvement in his plays, which sparks my idea for a blog topic…
I agree that power plays a key role in many of Shakespeare’s plays. Have there really been any major changes from then to the society we live in today? We even have the most powerful people (i.e. Bush), comparable to the Kings in Shakespeare’s plays, going around waging wars for (allegedly) personal motives. Alright, that isn’t my point, just a side note. Anyway, yes, I agree power is a huge theme in the plays, notably Othello. While Caroline emphasized Othello’s power suit, I would also like to point out Iago’s play for power. Manifested through his jealous rage, Iago sought out the most devious and conniving way possible to gain power. The type of power he wanted, though, was not fame or to have anyone necessarily acknowledge his power (although he was bitter about Cassio becoming Othello’s lieutenant instead of him). Iago had some kind of sick self satisfaction in poisoning the ears of others through rumors and deceit, in an effort to guide the downfall of his supposed good friend, Othello. It almost seemed like a game to him, he did it because he could? Perhaps he was just a jealous, 2-faced, selfish man.
Power can be easily found as an interesting topic in Shakespeare's plays. It connects a lot of his plays and the struggle with power is incorporated into many of them as well. The thing I wonder, however, is why is it "power" and why couldn't it be something else like "charm." After thinking about this I started thinking on how these plays have affected me or what i have taken out of them. I found that these plays really stick with me and the outcomes are very vivid and easy to remember. I think this is because of this "power' and I think Shakespeare knew this and used it to his advantage. Shakespeare knew what he was doing and the use of "power" was probably one of the best choices of words and/or topics that could be used and Shakespeare exploited that.
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