Context of production and of reception ‘Macbeth’ Context of production and of reception

Background Written in 1606 King James I came to the throne in 1603 He elected Shakespeare’s company (the Lord Chamberlain’s Men) as his favoured one – Sh. correspondingly flattered him Gunpowder Plot of 1605 – classic! His father and mother were murdered Elizabethan audiences enjoyed violence and the supernatural – bear-baiting, public hangings. The audience was sophisticated in part, as this was one of the few sources of narrative of the age After the Armada, patriotism led to greater knowledge of history through plays as well as law

Jacobean Theatre The Globe was a decadent arena Crowd participation was important and to be expected Theatre troupes would not do repeat performances over months/years – plays would usually differ from day to day The history play (‘Richard III’, ‘Henry V’), tragedy (‘Hamlet’, ‘King Lear’) and comedy (‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’) were all popular genres of the time

James I Divine right to rule James 1 superstition, power and supernatural – wrote a book on witchcraft Divine right to rule Had been James VI of Scotland; set in land of ancestors A descendent of Banquo, who is clearly shown in a role of ‘good’ as opposed to Macbeth’s ‘evil’, an (inaccurate) stylisation of history

The ‘Real’ Macbeth Actually had quite a solid rule of 14 years with many children Macbeth was a king of the Scots whose rule was marked by efficient government and the promotion of Christianity Kills Duncan (actually a weak ruler) in 1040 and is killed by Malcolm (III) in 1057. He was also a brave leader and made successful forays over the border into Northumbria, England This illustrates the great écart between him and the Macbeth of ‘Macbeth’

Modern Reception Often read today rather than watched The importance of text over image is illustrated in the (filmed) adaptation which places the action in Communist Russia (using Scottish place-names..) which still makes sense More help on the vocabulary although parts of the audience may have also had some trouble understanding Sh’s style We have emerged out of the superstition of the past so look back on it as something less pertinent to ourselves, unlike ‘R and J’

 Thanks for Cheers