“For Our final question,” Ms. Randall started, “I will ask what seems to be the most confusing part of the play: Why do you think Macbeth took more power even though he knew it would inevitably destroy him?”

People looked around the table to see who would talk first.

“I think that power corrupts. Macbeth didn’t really seem to be that evil at the start, but as time went on, he seemed to involuntarily crave power. Human nature maintains that humans want to rule, to be the leader - Maybe Macbeth was seduced by his power, maybe he had never felt so important and in the lead.

“Actually, I think it’s something slightly different than that; I think that Macbeth was well aware of what he was doing. Even if Lady Macbeth gave the idea of his dictatorship, he still voluntarily conceived it. He made the decision to murder the king, murder innocents, murder political enemies…”

Everyone was confused.

“Maybe power is like a drug.”

Everyone listened.

“Maybe both of you are right. Drug addicts make the conscious decision to take a drug, but then they may be out of control, depending on the drug. I think that Macbeth just wanted to be king, not dictator; but when he killed the king and took over he got addicted to power, and just couldn’t stop.”