Context of Macbeth

Context of Macbeth

1. William Shakespeare

   • successful playwright
   • wrote 36 plays
   • wanted to impress James I and wrote Macbeth to please him

2. The Real Macbeth

   • King of Scots from 1040 until his death in 1057
   • Differed to the Macbeth portrayed in Shakespeare's play
   • defeated and mortally wounded by the future king, Malcolm II

3. James I of England

   • King of England and Scotland
   • in power during the Gunpowder Plot
   • wrote of Daemonology, which was all about witchcraft
     • victorians were very supersticious

4. Witchcraft

   • 17th century - people were very supersticious
     • believed that there were women who made a pact with the devil in exchange for supernatural powers
   • the Elizabethans blamed all of their problems on the witches
     • they were very supersticious, especially James I
       • Shakespeare included the supernatural and the location of Scotland to appeal to the king

5. The Gunpowder Plot

   • 5th November 1605, there was an attempted assassination of James I
     • one of the first acts of terrorism

6. The Great Chain of Being

   • hierarchical structure of all matter and life
   • thought to have been decreed by God
   • the King was a the top, and trees, animals and minerals were at the bottom
   • Macbeth committing regicide = unbalance

7. The Divine Right of Kings

   • puts Kings above anything else
   • states that they derive the right to rule straight from the will of God
   • Regicide would be seen as the ultimate offence as it represents going against God's will