William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Double, double, toil and trouble, Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Witches: Double, double, toil and trouble, Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Macbeth Act 4, scene 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSEA18UsNXc&feature=related

Witches Prophecies Murderers Vengeance

Shakespeare knew his audience 1564 to 1615

Globe Theatre

Groundlings

The Groundlings Were the audience who watched from the floor (ground) would pay one penny (which was almost an entire day's wage) to stand in front of the stage They were tanners, butchers, iron-workers, millers, seamen from the ships docked in the Thames, glovers, servants, shopkeepers, wig-makers, bakers, and countless other tradesmen and their families.

The Audience Was boisterous "you will see such heaving and shoving, such itching and shouldering to sit by the women, such care for their garments that they be not trod on . . . such toying, such smiling, such winking, such manning them home ... that it is a right comedy to mark their behaviour" (Stephen Gosson, The School of Abuse, 1579). The nasty hecklers and gangs of riffraff would come from seedy parts in and around London like Tower-hill and Limehouse http://www.shakespeare-online.com/essays/shakespeareaudience.html

Nobility

"[There are] separate galleries and there one stands more comfortably and moreover can sit, but one pays more for it. Thus anyone who remains on the level standing pays only one English penny: but if he wants to sit, he is let in at a farther door, and there he gives another penny. If he desires to sit on a cushion in the most comfortable place of all, where he not only sees everything well, but can also be seen then he gives yet another English penny at another door. And in the pauses of the comedy food and drink are carried round amongst the people and one can thus refresh himself at his own cost." (Diary of Thomas Platter) http://www.shakespeare-online.com/essays/shakespeareaudience.html

Royalty Queen Elizabeth I King James 1 Reigned 1558 to 1603

King James I Previously James IV of Scotland Responsible for the King James translation of the Bible Believed treason was connected to the supernatural Executed “witches” Believed in the divine right of kings to rule

Shakespeare relied on the monarch for funding He changed his acting company name to The King’s Men Catered to the new Scottish king and to the influx of Scottish people who followed him to London

Censorship Shakespeare was careful not to offend the monarchy All his plays had to be reviewed by the Master of Revels before they could be performed Any criticism of Christianity or the monarchy would be removed

Historical background Macbeth: King of Scotland, 11th century Killed King Duncan and took the throne Ruled equitably for most of his reign Killed 1057

Scottish History in the 11th Century “In Scottish history of the eleventh century, Shakespeare found a spectacle of violence—the slaughter of whole armies and of innocent families, the assassination of kings, the ambush of nobles by murderers, the brutal execution of rebels. He also came upon stories of witches and wizards providing advice to traitors.” Folger Shakespeare Library

Shakespearean Tragedy: Plot Structure Act 3: Crisis Act 2: Complication Act 4: Falling Action Act 1: Exposition and Exciting Force Act 5: Catastrophe and Outcome

Themes Corrupting power of ambition Vulnerability to temptation Disruption of moral order Appearance vs. reality