Shakespeare’s World

and Macbeth

Facts about Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Written 1604-07

First performed: 1611

First published: in Folio, 1623

The last of Shakespeare’s four tragedies

The darkest and shortest of his tragedies

Shakespeare’s Source:

Holinshed’s Chronicles

(1587)

How much of Shakespeare’s play is taken from Holinshed?

A LOT--including... Banquo & Macbeth defeat Macdonwald; Macbeth

treats Macdonwald cruelly (head on a spike, etc.) The witches’ crucial role and their prophecies Macbeth has Banquo killed because of the witches’

prophecies; Fleance escapes After Macbeth kills Banquo, his kingdom falls apart Malcolm’s test of Macduff (Shakespeare “borrows”

whole lines of dialogue) Macduff’s final showdown with Macbeth, in which

he tells Macbeth he was “neuer borne of my mother, but ripped out of her wombe”

The Real Macbeth(According to Holinshed)

Reigned for 17 years (1040-1057)A just king: “Macbeth punished and tamed in such sort, that manie years after all theft and reiffings [robberies] were little heard of, the people inioieng the blissefull benefit of good peace and tranquillitie”Brought peace to Scotland: “such were the woorthie dooings and princelie acts of this Mackbeth in the administration of the realme, that if he had atteined therevnto by rightfull means, and continued in vprightnesse of iustice as he began, till the end of his reigne, he might well haue béene numbred amongest the most noble princes that anie where had reigned. He made manie holesome laws and statutes for the publike weale of his subiects.”

Holinshed’s Witches

Other Depictions of Witches

Macbeth Meets The Witches (Act 1, Scene 2)

The BIG Differences: Holinshed’s version

In Holinshed, Macbeth rules fairly and well for many years after killing Duncan

Duncan was younger than Macbeth and a weak ruler Macbeth AND Banquo kill Duncan (James I related to

Banquo; Bard changes this to please him) Details of Duncan’s murder taken from story of murder

of King Duffe (80 years earlier) Macbeth’s wife named "Gruoch" or "Grauch”; she had

legitimate claim to throne through her family

The James I Connection Became king in 1603 upon Elizabeth I’s death James saw the play (maybe saw its premier) James I was a Stuart—Banquo was legendary ancestor of

Stuarts James I (was also James VI of Scotland) firmly

established the doctrine of the divine right of kings Bard refers to the English king’s supposed ability to cure

“the evil” (scrofula) Gunpowder Plot (November 1605):

Roman Catholics plot to kill king, wife, and son and blow up Parliament; want greater rights for Catholics (oppressed by James I)

One plotter was Guy Fawkes (Guy Fawkes Day Nov. 5--bonfires, fireworks, and effigies of “Guys”)

Shakespeare reflects fear of disorder and regicide

The James I-Witchcraft Link Witches mentioned in Bible (Books of Leviticus and

Samuel) King James highly religious (King James Bible) Lifelong interest in witch hunting (considered a moral

pursuit) Participated in trials of witches Wrote a treatise on witches: The Daemonologie

(1597) His book described various types of witches and how

to recognize them Shakespeare likely read Daemonologie, but evidently

also read Reginald Scot’s Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), which argued against existence of witches

The Curse of the “Scottish Play”

Legend: opening night, boy playing Lady Macbeth became ill (later died); Shakespeare had to take his place!

1672 in Amsterdam: Actor playing MB used real dagger (by accident?) and stabbed Duncan to death on stage during performance

1937: Laurence Olivier’s sword snapped during performance; tip flew into audience, hit man who died of heart attack

1948: Diana Wynward as Lady Macbeth fell 20 feet off stage during sleepwalking scene

More spooky stage events… 1953: Charlton Heston playing Macbeth

suffered burns when tights (soaked in kerosene!) caught fire

“Voodoo Macbeth” (directed by Orson Welles): Haitians in cast supposedly put curse on critic who panned show; he died of pneumonia

1800s: Henry Irving (famous actor of time) giving dagger speech; dog ran on stage. “Is this a puppy I see before me?”

The Death of Lady Macbeth