1. William Shakespeare’s

2. Macbeth The play was written in 1605-1606 Written as a tribute to Shakespeare’s royal patron, King James I of England, who was also King of Scotland Macbeth is an openly political play, it is also one of the most intense and a complex psychological study

3. Macbeth It is sometimes considered a history play because it is based on the events in the life of a real historical figure It is most commonly classified as a tragedy The play is set in Scotland, 500 years prior to Shakespeare’s time- sometime around the year 1000

4. Macbeth Although the play is based on a real historical figure, Shakespeare did not consider accuracy to be a goal of story- telling Rather, Elizabethans believed that the purpose of history was to prove a moral point, therefore events were manipulated, changed or fabricated to support some political agenda

5. Macbeth Shakespeare’s principal source was Holinshed’s Chronicles of Scottish History, which was a collection of gossip and tales. The material that Shakespeare was using was seriously flawed

6. Macbeth Based on the historical Macbeth who became King in 1040, after killing King Duncan in battle This was quite common- there was no process of succession There was also great unrest between Scotland and England (think Braveheart)

7. Macbeth In Shakespeare’s time James was King James VI of Scotland, and in 1603 he was named King James I of England, becoming a dual monarch Whereas in previous plays Shakespeare wrote negatively of Scotland, in Macbeth he emphasized the commonality of the two kingdoms

8. Macbeth He also created the character Banquo to serve as an ancestor to King James, and portrayed him in a positive light His use of the witches was because James was said to be interested in the supernatural- they quickly became an audience favorite as well

9. Macbeth The play is the shortest of all the tragedies. The focus is on the psychological effect of the crimes upon Macbeth and the nature of the relationship between Macbeth and his wife

10. The Curse of Macbeth The production is said to be cursed and therefore it is bad luck to utter Macbeth inside a theater. If this happens, one must walk outside, spin around three time and ask to be let in

11. The Curse of Macbeth During the first performance Shakespeare played Lady Macbeth, when the boy performing her became sick and died In 1672, the actor playing Macbeth substituted a blunt stage dagger with a real one and killed his co star In 1937 the director was involved in a car accident, a patron had a heart attack, and the owner of the theater died

12. The Curse of Macbeth During a performance in 1849, 31 people were trampled to death in a riot that had broken out In 1942 three actors involved in the production died and the set designer committed suicide In 1953 Charlton Heston suffered severe burns when his tights for his costume were accidentally soaked in kerosene

13. The Curse of Macbeth Rumor has it, that Abraham Lincoln was reading aloud from Macbeth to friends a week before he was assassinated

14. The witches