Kaya RandallMs. DunbarHonors English 1013 March 2013Power and TacticsWilliam Shakespeare's classic tragedy, Macbeth, is driven by goals and ambition. When you work to achieve power you develop a different mentality, sometimes for the worse. Once Macbeth ignored his conscience, he could achieve his goal by any means necessary. Although Lady Macbeth also wanted to gain power, she took a different approach. Instead of physically removing people from the image, he implemented manipulation tactics. Although Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are working together towards a common goal, they do so in different ways. When Macbeth is trying to gain power, you will notice that he uses violence to get what he wants. Although he felt guilty for deciding to kill King Duncan, he managed to overcome his fear with a little encouragement from his greedy wife Lady Macbeth. From that moment on Macbeth understood what he was capable of and no longer needed his wife's guidance. He took power into his own hands and went further. The reader might see this as a prime example of when the influence of others (Lady Macbeth) and power changes Macbeth for the worse. “There is no peace in the show. Lurking behind every scene, every dialogue, every apparition or fantastic event, there is the specter of violence resulting in death." (Cohen 56). Cohen points out that William Shakespeare constantly mentions the theme of violence throughout the play, starting to be a recurring theme in almost every event and conversation. The reader begins to notice that the use of violence becomes a normal routine for Macbeth, however Cohen stated that violence was a part of most of the dialogue and events in... middle of paper... key component to the plan. The gender roles of Macbeth and his wife seem to go hand in hand, the operation would not succeed with just one of the individuals. This proves that a woman's psychological actions are just as powerful as a man's manual labor. Working towards a specific goal like power can easily ruin someone without the right mindset and morals. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had worked together to gain dominion, but for all the wrong reasons. Although they refused to play by the rules, both had their advantages that they would work together to achieve the main goal. The elements of violence and psychological warfare were combined to (temporarily) crown Macbeth and Lady Macbeth King and Queen of Scots. Even though the two characters started out as opposites, they still shared the same goal and melded their different tactics into one.