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Namrah Yousaf

Review

Classical Drama

Dr. Waseem Anwar

This paper reviews the Machiavellian undertones in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Macbeth

can be termed as Shakespeare’s politically instructive and metaphysically ambitious play where

characters may not be profoundly philosophical, and act as impulsive butchers at first report, but

within that blood and broody violence lies philosophically ambitious play which suffices to

address the metaphysical and political.

Considering the politically instructive nature of the play, Shakespeare introduces

Macbeth; a story of a man who would make himself king by his own arms and virtues.

Shakespeare uses the profitable brew of storytelling, exploiting human nature of danger,

violence, crime, power and depicts Macbeth as the casebook illustration of how not to succeed as

a king. While he acts tyrannically in killing Duncan to fulfill the witches’ prophecy, he fails to

extinguish the rest of the line which threatens his power. He unwittingly commits himself to a

course of actions which exemplify Machiavellian dictum of “cruelty badly used” and fails to

reason out of committing further tyranny. The injuries he inflicts on his people increase over

time such that his subjects grow increasingly desperate of him, making him a ruler profoundly

hated. According to Machiavelli, this is one characteristic that a king must avoid at all costs.
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Macbeth fails to exercise cruelty judiciously. A wise ruler should make sure he is feared

and he should at the same time make sure he is not hated by his masses. Shakespeare weaves the

interlink of judicious tyranny and hatred within Macbeth’s limited rule. His political innocence

serves as a locus of incompetence at maintaining a balanced approach of cruelty and virtue.