Shmoop Blog: Much Ado About Shmooping

Macbeth is a story about power struggles among the elite. What makes Macbeth great is its incredible insights into what the lure of power can do, and how blind it can make a person to moral reason and common sense. By studying men (and one woman) of great power, we get a glimpse into their minds. As it turns out, they’re not as infallible as we sometimes think they are. They suffer the same feelings that all regular people suffer.

It isn’t just power politics, but human emotion that Macbeth focuses on. These things still influence the world. For example, Angelina Jolie has the power inspire you to listen up about genocide or human rights. Macbeth is no less subject to sticky human emotions, especially as they apply to the realm of attraction – just check out Macbeth’s interaction with his wife as she inspires, or shames, him to action. Lady Macbeth constantly references his manhood, which is tied to his emotional state, but also plays out in his physical courage. Many critics contend that the seat of Lady Macbeth’s power is not only her sharp mind, but her sexual appeal. Just imagine Lady Macbeth as Angelina Jolie. She’s giving the speech about how she’d dash out her child’s brains while it suckled at her breast. You kind of see why Macbeth is so messed up, right?

Power is attractive, and you can’t deal with Macbeth without getting into the individual psyche (mind) of a man. Macbeth is at first determined to not murder Duncan (the King), is convinced by his wife to kill the King, and then is so destroyed by the consequences that he seems to be numb when Lady Macbeth dies. Let’s not beat around the bush – the man is whipped, but he’s also just a man.

So read Macbeth. Once you crack the tough language, you’ll get a glimpse into the raunchy, grotesque, beautiful human emotions that are timeless and universal.
http://www.shmoop.com/intro/literature/william-shakespeare/macbeth.html