Macbeth

Background to the Play

Origin of the Play

• Shakespeare was talented in creative dramatization of an existing story, not creating an original story

• often consulted Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland

• Idea was based off of a “real” Macbeth that became King of Scotland in 1040

“Real” vs. Play

• Macbeth kills a weak, youthful, inexperienced King Duncan

• Macbeth’s wife is hardly mentioned

• Macbeth reigns for 17 years and survived the battles that returned Malcom to the throne

• Macbeth murders on older, well-respected King Duncan

• Strong, ambitious Lady Macbeth

• Macbeth’s reign is short; he’s defeated and beheaded

Why the changes?

• Besides being more interesting of a story, the short answer is King James I

James I

• Was appointed King of England by Queen Elizabeth I (his distant cousin). He was King James VI of Scotland at the time, which made him the first monarch to join England and Scotland together peacefully

James I

• was a Stuart. – All monarchs were worried about

keeping power, and despite having the throne for 8 generations, the Stuarts worried their decent to the throne in Scotland would one day be disputed because they came from a commoner (a steward) that was the husband of a royal family member.

James I

• In the early 1500s, a Stuart king hired a historian/“PR” guy that invented a family connection to a fictional Banquo from the time of Macbeth. This made the Stuart claim to the throne sound legit.

• in this made up ancestor story, a goddess of Scottish destiny (supernatural) told Banquo that his descendents would one day become kings of Scotland

James I

• After James came to power in England, he quickly became the patron of Shakespeare’s theater company

• Macbeth was written to please Shakespeare’s patron

• Details of the story on purpose make Banquo look like a stellar guy…in Holinshed’s Chronicles, Banquo was involved in the conspiracy to murder King Duncan

Shakespearean Tragic Hero

• born of nobility

• makes an error in judgment

• falls from great height or esteem

• has a tragic flaw (hamartia)

More tragic hero characteristics

• realizes has made an irreversible mistake

• faces and accepts death with honor

• affects the audience with fear and pity

• meets a tragic death

Numerous universal themes can be found within Macbeth. Here are 4 biggies

Macbeth Theme #1

– Fate vs. Freewill – whether destiny or choice decides a man’s future

Macbeth Theme #2

– Ambition - corrupting force of unchecked ambition

Macbeth Theme #3

– Power –

a good ruler vs. a tyrant

Macbeth Theme #4

• Masculinity vs. Femininity –

look at Lady Macbeth