A tragedy By William Shakespeare Macbeth A tragedy By William Shakespeare

The Scottish Play is based loosely on an episode from history: the death of King Duncan at the hands of his kinsman, Macbeth, in the year 1040. Full title: The Tragedy of Macbeth Genre: Tragedy Setting 11th century Setting Scotland, and briefly, England

Historical Connection Scotland at the time was a violent and troubled country The castle was the center of each rival aristocrat’s (Thane’s) power Political murder and revenge were not unusual ways to gain power

Shakespeare’s Writing Written between 1604-1606. The shortest of Shakespeare's tragedies. It chronicles Macbeth's seizing of power and subsequent destruction. It is considered Shakespeare’s darkest work.

Shakespeare’s Writing -Queen Elizabeth died in 1603. -James was the next blood relative and was the King of Scotland. He became God’s appointed heir on the thrown (Divine Right) -When writing, Shakespeare would have wanted to impress his new King.

Shakespeare also incorporated James’ interest in Witchcraft. Shakespeare’s Inspiration for Macbeth The play's focus on regicide, a supreme crime in Shakespeare's day, tied into the November 1605 Gunpowder Plot where English Roman Catholic conspirators plotted against King James. Shakespeare also incorporated James’ interest in Witchcraft.

Some images from recent productions

Macbeth From This… To This…

Lady Macbeth From This… To This…

The Representation of Witches

Modern Perception of Witches

In Shakespeare's day it was believed that witches could : - fly, talk to the dead, see the future - make people ill - conjure visions - make themselves invisible - conjure storms - cause shipwrecks - cause crops to fail

It was believed that witches were women who sold their souls to the devil in exchange for doing evil deeds and also murdered children.

Throughout Europe in the late 1500s/early 1600s, hundreds of thousands of women were accused of witchcraft, tortured or even killed.

King James I Very interested in witchcraft before coming to England He believed black magic was used on him- this increased his concern Believed in Christian Witch Theory (that witches worked in groups and made pacts with the devil)

V Good King James was a Christian who believed firmly that he was God's representative on earth. Evil He argued that if God was represented on earth in human form, then so was the Devil. The Devil's representatives were witches.

King James I -Wrote Daemonologie in 1597 -80 page book - 3 sections: magic, sorcery/witchcraft, and spirits/ghosts

Getting back to the play… Let’s look at the criteria that marks a tragedy….. The hero is of high birth and position He has many good qualities but one fatal flaw This brings about his downfall. Innocent people suffer in the process. -Macbeth is our hero who ultimately falls