Context of Macbeth

William Shakespeare
1. successful playwright
2. wrote 36 plays
3. wanted to impress James I and wrote Macbeth to please him
The Real Macbeth
1. King of Scots from 1040 until his death in 1057
2. Differed to the Macbeth portrayed in Shakespeare's play
3. defeated and mortally wounded by the future king, Malcolm II
James I of England
1. King of England and Scotland
2. in power during the Gunpowder Plot
3. wrote of Daemonology, which was all about witchcraft
  1. victorians were very supersticious
Witchcraft
1. 17th century - people were very supersticious
  1. believed that there were women who made a pact with the devil in exchange for supernatural powers
2. the Elizabethans blamed all of their problems on the witches
  1. they were very supersticious, especially James I
    1. Shakespeare included the supernatural and the location of Scotland to appeal to the king
The Gunpowder Plot
1. 5th November 1605, there was an attempted assassination of James I
  1. one of the first acts of terrorism
The Great Chain of Being
1. hierarchical structure of all matter and life
2. thought to have been decreed by God
3. the King was a the top, and trees, animals and minerals were at the bottom
4. Macbeth committing regicide = unbalance
The Divine Right of Kings
1. puts Kings above anything else
2. states that they derive the right to rule straight from the will of God
3. Regicide would be seen as the ultimate offence as it represents going against God's will

Resource summary

	Created by Sasha Podell over 5 years ago