Christopher asked:

Define power. Is it merely having ability to exercise control or is the meaning of power deeper? If
someone betrays himself and his/ her ethics in order to achieve "power" have they really gained any
power? Macbeth for example. He betrayed his ethics in order to achieve "power" and become King.
Yet, did he really gain this power that he seeked or did he lose it in the process of attempting to attain
it?

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Already Nietzsche said that all life is about expressing the will to power. I would define it as the ability
to express your own creativity without taking to much care of others. So in essence it must be seen
as a pure evolutional force, but often only the inherent 'negative' side is shown in the spotlight
(robbing others of THEIR freedom).

Sorry, the last time I read Macbethwas in high school, and since then I only saw it several times on
television. So no impressive quotations. But I think Macbeth wanted both sides of the cake. He
wanted power to rule, but he did not want blood on his hands. What he asked for was power. This he
got, but only by getting his hands dirty. So he was tricked by the dual shape of power. This is I think
what Shakespeare wanted to show.

Henk Tuten