In making use of historical figures from Henry VI to Richard III and painting his unforgettable portraits of failing leaders - a mad Lear, a treacherous Macbeth, a vengeful Coriolanus - William Shakespeare delved into the lust for absolute power and the darkest aspects of its execution. With uncanny insight, he shone a spotlight on the infantile psychology and unquenchable narcissistic appetites of demagogues and imagined how they might be stopped. Shakespeare's insight into bad (and often mad) rulers.