Comparing Power In Macbeth And Sophocles Antigone

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power”. Power is a significant concept that can be exemplified through someone having the courage to stand up to others, the influential aspects needed to control people, and the ability to maintain free will as an individual. Abraham Lincoln, in a position of power at the time, said that power can be used to “test a man’s character”. This may be true, however, his statement only referred to men and disregarded women altogether. Gender plays an important role in the development of power by creating opportunities or obstacles for those trying to obtain power. Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Sophocles’ Antigone exemplify this through men that are more often rewarded the qualities necessary for a character who wants to possess power. In these plays, courage is prioritized as a significant characteristic in the possession of power, but Shakespeare focuses on influencing others while Sophocles focuses on free will.

Courage is portrayed as facing challenges with strength and without fear, but in Antigone courage is used in defiance while Macbeth characters use courage to be accepted by others. In Macbeth, the character Macduff responds to the death of his family by going against the typical definition of a

Courage is defined throughout the plays as taking on issues with strength and no fear, however, in Antigone courage is used by the characters in defiance while Macbeth characters use courage in order to be accepted by others. Both plays exemplify influencing others as an important factor, but characters in Antigone focuses on benefiting themselves even if it means harming others while characters in Macbeth take other people into account more often. In addition, both