The Theme in the Work
Power in the play has two faces: what one receives and what one takes. In scene 4 of Act I, Duncan names his son Malcolm Prince of Cumberland and establishes his state upon the firstborn's shoulders, and it is this line of succession that Macbeth reads as an obstacle. In scene 4 of Act II, after the murder, he is elected and sets out for Scone to be crowned.
In scene 1 of Act III, already king, Macbeth says that wearing the crown is nothing and that what matters is wearing it in safety, and the prophecy about the sons of Banquo gnaws at him. In scene 2 of Act III, Lady Macbeth says, alone, that nothing is gained when desire is satisfied without contentment.
Lady Macbeth:
Nought's had, all's spent, / Where our desire is got without content. / 'Tis safer to be that which we destroy / Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.
Power taken loses its substance. In scene 2 of Act V, Angus, among the nobles awaiting Malcolm's army, says that Macbeth feels his title hang loosely, like a giant's cloak on a dwarfish thief, and in scene 3 of Act V he himself says that what should accompany old age, respect, love, obedience, and many friends, is forbidden to him to desire. In scene 5 of Act V, on learning of the queen's death, he answers with the speech about tomorrow.
And that which should accompany old age, / As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have;(V.3)
In scene 3 of Act IV, the play sets the legitimate king beside the tyrant: Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty and a Doctor speaks of the healing gift of the English king Edward. And in scene 7 of Act V, Malcolm is hailed as king and gives the barons the first titles of Earl that Scotland names.
Act V sets the two kinds of power side by side in the same scene: on one side Macbeth, alone in Dunsinane, obeyed out of fear; on the other Malcolm, who rewards the barons and promises to call back the exiles. The speech about tomorrow is the logical end of power that is taken: it conquers everything and has nothing left to do with what it conquered.
Where It Appears
- Scene 4 of Act I: Duncan names his son Malcolm Prince of Cumberland and says he will establish his state upon the firstborn's shoulders.
- Scene 4 of Act II: Macduff tells Ross and the Old Man that Macbeth was elected after Duncan's murder and left for Scone to be crowned.
- Scene 1 of Act III: Already king, Macbeth admits alone that the prophecy about Banquo's sons gnaws at him, since he killed Duncan for their benefit, and he convinces two murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance.
- Scene 2 of Act III: The two admit that the crown has brought no peace: Lady Macbeth says nothing is gained when desire is satisfied without contentment, and Macbeth says he no longer sleeps without nightmares.
- Scene 3 of Act IV: In England, Malcolm pretends to be ruled by lust and avarice to test Macduff, and then the two agree on war with Siward's ten thousand men.
- Scene 2 of Act V: Menteith, Caithness, Angus, and Lennox wait for Malcolm's army and remark that Macbeth feels his title hang loosely, like a giant's cloak on a dwarfish thief.
- Scene 3 of Act V: In Dunsinane, Macbeth says that what should accompany old age is denied to him: respect, love, obedience, and many friends.
- Scene 7 of Act V: Macduff hails Malcolm as king, and Malcolm rewards the barons with titles of Earl and invites everyone to the coronation at Scone.
Passages
Lady Macbeth says what satisfied desire does not give:
Nought's had, all's spent, / Where our desire is got without content. / 'Tis safer to be that which we destroy / Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.
Angus describes Macbeth's title:
now does he feel his title / Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe / Upon a dwarfish thief(V.2)
Macbeth lists what the crown did not give him:
And that which should accompany old age, / As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have;(V.3)
The speech about tomorrow:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, / To the last syllable of recorded time; [...] Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing.