3 Key intentions

• Shakespeare utilises ambition as a central them to underpin the play, revealing its morally corrosive and blinding influence on individuals driven by self- fulfilling and egocentric aspirations.
• As King James I was a patron to his plays, Shakespeare uses the play as a veiled allegory. He intertwines the act of regicide with tormenting guilt, a potent reminder of the potential consequences for those who disrupt the divinely ordained order.
• Shakespeare cautions the audience about the perilous (dangerous) consequences of succumbing the irresistible allure of supernatural powers, emphasising that such engagement with this dark force inevitably results in a quick and catastrophic tragic demise.