Geeks logo

Shakespeare's Power Complex

The revolution of his time.

By Constance VerityPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
Like

We all learnt about different Shakespeare plays throughout our school lives, there was no avoiding it, and for many it was a drag. The language seems so bizarre to us now, but on reflection, it's nothing more than Elizabethan slang.

The frustration most of my class faced was that of boredom, but I was angered by the single interpretation of these characters we were taught, and how we ignored how advanced some characters were for the time they were created. We were taught about these characters as though the view on them was fact, but that is not always so.

This is the scenario where the phrase "walk in another's shoes" becomes gospel. I know the characters are not real, but nonetheless, they have a lesson to teach us.

The two characters I'm focusing on are Lady Macbeth from Macbeth (1606) and Prospero from The Tempest (1611). Two very different characters, one who has already lost everything and another who will go to any lengths for everything.

I've never been a big fan of Macbeth, I must admit, however one character did attract my attention. Lady Macbeth. The power driving this play forwards, the embodiment of greed and the humanity of grief at different points. One thing that was never mentioned in my teachings of her was how advanced she really was; a woman leading a plot manipulatively and single handedly. Granted, she was always set to be a villain, but for a woman to be written with such courage and power in the 1600s was astounding. Don't mistake my use of the word courage for bravery though, she had her mind set on that power to be hers. An interpretation of Lady Macbeth I saw was that of pure greed. She had no intentions of sharing with her husband after he was done being her pawn. However, I never believed she acted out of pure evil. Imagine the system of power we have now, children are born into a family that can barely survive all over this world and occasionally that child will grow up to make something of themselves. It's never enough though, the ideology is to climb to the top. Lady Macbeth was half way there, she wanted that life and she was so close. Dreaming of something better can make you a victim of evil if you want it enough, and Lady Macbeth was the perfect victim. Impulse is a side effect, upon which she acted to get her reward, but as we see closer to the end of the play she shows remorse. As though the evil was erasing itself and she was left with it's consequences. There was illogical humanity between the lines she spoke as you will find with many villains, fictional and not. It is not to condone their actions, but to understand them. That's the lesson, and perhaps if more understood we could work towards correcting that ideology in reality.

Prospero was raised in power, once the Duke of Milan. He lived his life somewhat content, studying magic and finding comfort in his books. His brother, Antonio, the true villain, craves his brother's status. Though Antonio is never focused on as a main participant in this story, or at least not at my old school. To provide the basics, Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, were sent away on a boat with nothing but some food and a few books, thanks to the kindness of a guard. They found themselves astray on an island. This is where the power complex begins. I was always told that Prospero craved that power he once had, like it was vital to survival, but that is not what I was shown upon reading the play with an unbiased view. He had no love for power, he only had love for Miranda and he would provide for and protect her at all costs. He gave freedom to Caliban, until he threatened the safety of Miranda. He released Ariel and allowed Ariel to serve him, mainly as a spy. You can witness this when the ship wreck lands upon the island, he orders Ariel to spy on them and gathers the information in protection of Miranda, to keep them away. As we know, this didn't particularly work as Ferdinand came to meet the eyes of Miranda soon enough. He banished all evil from the island to protect his daughter, as any father would. The power he gained there was not in vain, it was for control, to be able to protect Miranda. He was never power hungry, just an overprotective father. I saw Prospero as the leading power of paternal love, more powerful than any status can provide. That's the lesson Prospero can teach us, love will always be more powerful than greed or hatred.

There are many different interpretations of Shakespeare's characters, but we are only often taught about one. Read or watch the plays yourself, as though you never had before, and find your own. There are many lessons they can teach us, and some of them are a nice laugh, if nothing else.

literature
Like

About the Creator

Constance Verity

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.