- Both the literal & symbolic tone of the play is sinister and its central characters are evil
- When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in 1606, James I had been King of England for 3 years
- Symbolized the union of the Scottish & England crowns
- Fascinated by witchcraft
- The real Macbeth reigned in Scotland from 1040 to 1057.
- Ruled for 17 years
- The north & south of Scotland were united for the first time during his reign
Site 2
- Macbeth shows life at its most brutal & cynical, in order to ask life's toughest question.
- When we first hear of Macbeth, he has just cut an enemy open from belly button to throat.
- Lady Macbeth convinces him to commit murder.
- The Macbeth's murder a sleeping man, their benefactor & guest, in cold blood.
- Everybody knows Macbeth murdered Duncan, but they make him king anyway.
- Macbeth goes to a with to see his future, and his head ends up on a stick.
Site 3
- Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most intense plays & one of his most complex psychological studies.
- The story of this psychotic killer & his fiendlike wife was actually written as a tribute to Shakespeare's royal patron, King James I of England.
- Shakespeare changed history to simplify complexities & to kiss up to King James.
- The historical Macbeth had become king in the year 1040 when he killed the previous king, Duncan, in battle.
- This violent record was largely the result of how Scottish kings came to power.
- For most audiences the witches are the most spectacular element of the play.
- Over the years a very powerful superstition arose about Macbeth in the theater: strange things happened whenever you performed the play, so that in the English theater in particular you were forbidden to use the name of the play in the theater.
Site 4
- One of Shakespeare's favorite sources was Holinshed's Chronicles of the History of England & Scotland. He drew on this document for information to use in the writing of his histories, but also used party of the document as a source of some tragedies for Macbeth.
Site 5
- Minor sources that contributed to Macbeth include Reginald Scot's "Discovery of Witchcraft" and King James' "Daemonolgie."
- Changes to these serve 3 main purposed:
- The dramatic purpose of producing a more exciting story than is found in the sources.
- The thematic purpose of creating a more complex characterization of Macbeth.
- The political purpose of catering to the beliefs of the reigning monarch, King James I.
- In Holinshed's "Chronicles," Macbeth is introduced as a valiant gentleman, and as in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth is sent by King Duncan to crush the rebellion led by Mackdonwald.
- Our first impression of Macbeth is one of grandeur.
- Shakespeare deviates from Buchanan's depiction of Macbeth as a cruel, barbarous man, a notion also put forth by Holinshed.
- His inclusion of Macbeth's guilty conscience was a way in which he could both intrigue & compliment King James.
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