The Politics-predating Anticipation of Coup d’état in Literature in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Macbeth’s desire for kingship and the throne, awakened by witches and thriving to tumultuous extremes through his wife’s words and actions, led to illusion, madness, and, eventually, loss. The Bard of Avon visualized the unlawful seizure of power two centuries before the political terminology of Coup d’état appeared in English texts in the 19th century. This paper is an attempt at investigating the nature and the elements of Coup d’état in Macbeth and appreciate the poetic prediction of this political concept through a contextual analysis of the main character’s tragic fate in the play. The alchemy of ambition and the thirst for power convert trust into treachery, fidelity into treason, and friendship into a feud, demolishing all hopes and horizons for the state in the fictitious and real-world alike. Shakespeare seems to be warning the prosperous Queen of the possible threat of infidelity by the long-trusted generals whose thoughts and heads were pregnant with evil ambition like that of Macbeth. Evil has coiled its way into him like a snake, running all through his being, leaving him no hope in life. Shakespeare portrays people in great power and healthy political relations, trust and loyalty in harmony with nature and their surroundings, but what yet resides inside is totally different. Backstabbing becomes very evident as the play moves on, but too late for King Duncan to prevent.