1. William Shakespeare and Macbeth

2. William Shakespeare Born @April 23, 1564 Died April 23, 1616 Born in Stratford upon Avon, England Married Anne Hathaway Had three children: Susanna, Judith and Hamnet

3. Stratford-upon-Avon

4. Life in London Moved to London and began to write plays In his life, he wrote 37 plays and over 150 sonnets (poems) Some of his most famous plays are Romeo & Juliet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet and King Lear.

5. The Globe Theatre Picture of the “new” Globe Theatre

6. Globe Theatre The Globe was an open Theatre Most plays were performed during daylight hours. Thousands of people would attend each performance Wealthy patrons sat in box seats, poor people stood on the floor

7. Inside the Globe

11. Groundlings The people who stood for performances were called “groundlings.” They were uneducated, but loved to be entertained. Shakespeare needed to grab their attention quickly or else they would get restless and throw things at the actors.

12. Capturing Interest Shakespeare would start with either something funny (Romeo & Juliet, Caesar) or something scary (Macbeth, Hamlet) in order to catch the attention of the groundlings.

13. Structure of the Play Think of Shakespeare’s plays as a triangle. Act I-Introductions Act II-Rising Action Act III-Turning Point Act IV-Falling Action Act V-Conclusions

14. Terms Soliloquy: a speech by a character who is alone on stage. Considered to be the character’s true thoughts and feelings. Aside: a short speech from an actor, meant for the audience to hear, but not the other actors on stage. A “Saved by the Bell” moment.

15. Macbeth Macbeth was written as a tribute to King James I of England. He was already King of Scotland when he inherited the English throne from Elizabeth I in 1603.

16. King James I He was fascinated with witches and the supernatural. He was very religious and translated the Bible from Latin into English (the King James version of the Bible).

17. Reasons Shakespeare wrote Macbeth Shakespeare wanted to retain King James’ patronage, so he wrote the play for the King. Since the king was from Scotland, he set the play in Scotland. James was fascinated with witches and the supernatural, so he included those in the play. James could trace his family back to Banquo, so he made Banquo a very noble character.

18. The “real” Macbeth Macbeth was a real person, a king in Scotland in the 1100’s. As opposed to his character in Shakespeare’s play, he was a good king and ruled for 17 years.

19. System of Rule During the time of Macbeth, Scotland had a monarchy (rule by a king). However, the king could be chosen (elected) from any member of the royal family. This system is known as tanistry. A monarchy where the oldest son inherits the throne is known as primogeniture.

20. Lady Macbeth Thought to be one of the most challenging roles for women in theatre. Her first name is Gruoch. Macbeth is her second husband. They have no children together, but she does have a son from her previous marriage.

21. Lady Macbeth

22. Witches People really believed in witches in Shakespeare’s time. Witches were thought to be very evil, and servants of the devil. They were thought to curse people, crops and animals. Most had “familiars”, an animal that served them. In the play, the witches have a cat (Graymalkin), a toad (Paddock) and an owl (Harpier).

23. Witches These are some artistic representations of the witches in Macbeth

24. Witches

26. The Curse of Macbeth Many actors believe the play is cursed. Many deaths have occurred during the production of the play. They will not say the name in a theatre, calling it instead “the Scottish play” or “that play.” If an actor does say the name inside the theatre, he/she must go outside, spin around 3 times, say the worst obscenity that he/she knows, spit and then wait to be let back in to the theatre.

27. Citations All pictures from Google images