[what_the_heck013]

I know this was discussed lightly in the Into the Woods forum, but I was listening to Into the Woods when I discovered a few similarities to Shakespeare's plays, particularly "Macbeth". For example, The Bakers Wife from Into the Woods and Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd both remind me of Lady Macbeth for their forcefulness. The song "Maybe They're Magic" from Into the Woods really reminds me of the scene in "Macbeth" in which Lady Macbeth taunts her husband for not being manly enough. Then, of course, there are the woods, in which the characters must face the conflict and chaos erupts (like in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"). I'm sure there are millions of more similarities. Can anyone else think of any?

[SimplyElymas]

Well, Sweeney Todd is practically a Shakespearean tragedy. Think of Macbeth, for example. Macbeth is on a quest for power, Sweeney is on a quest for revenge. They are both eventually struck down when they lose their minds and become so caught up in bloodshed that they lose sight of what matters. (A good parallel here are the deaths of Lady M. and the death of Lucy.)