William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Introduction to the Play Written by William Shakespeare in 1605 Macbeth is a man who overthrows the rightful King of Scotland

Will the real Macbeth please stand up! Macbeth was a real king of Scotland He did kill King Duncan Reigned from 1040-1057 Unlike the Macbeth in Shakespeare’s play The real Macbeth had a legitimate claim to the throne The real Macbeth was a strong leader The real Macbeth’s reign was successful The real Macbeth was killed at Lumphanan , as opposed to Dunsinane

Connections to British Society In November, 1605: Guy Fawkes and his followers (Roman Catholics) planned to blow up Parliament They wanted to bring down the British government and put a Catholic ruler on the throne The plot was discovered and the men involved were tried and killed as traitors Shakespeare sided with the king and believed that a play about treason and death would connect with audiences

So, this is a comedy… right? Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies (it is also his shortest) Aside from the violent nature of the plot, Shakespeare uses several literary devices to enhance the feeling of evil He creates a serious and sinister mood by having most of the play take place at night There is a heavy emphasis on the supernatural (witches, dreams, spells, and ghosts)

Historical Connections Scotland at the time was violent and troubled The castle was the center of each rival aristocrat’s (thane) power Political murder and revenge were not unusual means to gain power Vikings and Norsemen attacked Scotland constantly

All Hail the King Macbeth focuses on issues of kinship and loyalty, important ideals to King James, who had survived an assassination attempt early in his life. His father had been murdered. His mother, Mary Queen of Scots, had been executed.

Bewitched Belief in witchcraft was widespread In 1604, the practice of witchcraft became punishable by death because it was believed that it attempted to change God’s “natural order.”

The Historical Macbeth No historical evidence of Lady Macbeth’s influence on her husband No historical evidence of Macbeth’s attention to witchcraft Duncan, an ineffective king, was 38 when he was killed by Macbeth Macbeth ruled for 17 years as High King of Scotland Led Scotland into a long period of peace and stability Strong supporter of the Church

Inside the Theatre Actors often consider the play to be unlucky, and usually refer to it as “the Scottish play,” rather than by name. To say the name of the play inside a theatre is considered to doom the production to failure.

Recurring Motifs (patterns) Blood Clothing Natural Order (nature) Insomnia

What to watch for… what Macbeth is thinking and feeling why he acts the way he does what consequences his evil brings upon himself

Themes in Macbeth: Ambition The notion of wanting to attain more in one’s life A character’s desire to achieve absolute power Giving into one’s feelings for the things one desires Wanting too much of anything Belief that one can control one’s destiny

Appearance vs. Reality What seems to be good is not always so Consider: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, the witches, the setting, and King Duncan’s view of Macbeth

Good versus Evil Traces of evil exist through the characters, setting and plot The idea that one violent act spirals into more violent acts Evil knows no boundaries There are characters in the play that exhibit goodness

Chaos & Disorder Anything that goes against the natural order of things Consider the weather, prophesies, social/political order Look carefully at the unnatural behaviour of characters Consider the way characters talk about nature in the play Chaos, not K-os

Betrayal To be unfaithful or deceitful to a person who trusts you Consider the number of people Macbeth betrays in order to attain power Betrayal not only exists between characters, but also within some of the characters

Act I, Scene i Three witches gather and say that they’ll meet with Macbeth before sunset, after a terrible battle that has been fought nearby. The witches are later called “the three weird sisters.” Remember: “Fair is foul and foul is fair.”

Enjoy the play!