Shakespeare set Macbeth in the distant past
and in a part of Britain that few of his
audience would have been familiar with.
Scotland is shown as a wild and savage place
ruled over by a weak king (Duncan) who relies
on his warrior thanes to keep control.
However, through the character of Macbeth,
Shakespeare goes on to show that having too
much ambition and total control of power is
just as bad. By the end of the play Malcolm
has become King and it seems likely that he
will be much fairer and treat his people justly.
Evil and Supernateral
In Shakespeare's time, the powers of evil were
thought to be absolutely real; to most people Hell
was an actual place and the Devil a constant
threat to their souls. In particular there was a
fascination with witches and witchcraft. Hundreds
of innocent people (mostly women) were
executed as suspected witches. The interest
came from the very top, led by King James I
himself who published a book on the subject
called Demonology. When Shakespeare came to
write his play, he knew that his audience would
find the theme of evil and the supernatural very
interesting indeed.