Introduction toIntroduction to Shakespeare’s Shakespeare’s

MacbethMacbeth

English IV

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born the third of eight children on April 23, 1564, in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, England, to Mary Arden and John Shakespeare. His father, John, was a well-to-do shopkeeper and a man of some importance in Stratford and served for a time as mayor.

Shakespeare The man, the myth, the legend

Shakespeare’s Birthplace

…As it is today.

William attended school where he studied grammar, Latin and Greek literature, and rhetoric (the uses of language).

Education

King Edward VI Grammar School at Stratford-upon-Avon

In 1582, at the age of eighteen, Shakespeare fell in love with Anne Hathaway who was 26. They married and had three children. Susanna was the oldest, and Hamnet and Judith were twins.

Let There Be Love…

Aside from the birth of his children, little is known about Shakespeare between 1582 and 1592, except that he built a career as an actor and eventually became an established and popular member of the London theatre circuit.

What did he do. . .

Shakespeare’s first play was A Comedy of Errors, written in 1591. Shakespeare wrote a total of thirty seven plays. Macbeth was written probably about 1606, when Shakespeare had made enough money to buy a house in the country for his wife and children, to which he retired, probably about 1613.

Success as a playwright…

His Plays: The Comedies

His Plays: The Histories

His Plays: The Tragedies

His Plays: The Romances

Shakespeare also wrote 154 sonnets and two long poems.

Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, on his 52nd birthday. His only son Hamnet had died at the age of 11 and his wife died seven years after her son’s death. Although his two daughters married and had children, the line died out, so there aren’t any descendants of Shakespeare alive today. Shakespeare was buried at Trinity Church in Stratford as an honored citizen. His tombstone bears the following inscription:

R.I.P.

These are hardly the best of Shakespeare’s lines, but like his other lines, they seem to have worked. His

bones lie undisturbed to this day.

R.I.P.

Good Friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear

To dig the dust enclosed here.

Blest be the man that spares these stones,

And cursed be he who moves my bones.

The Globe Theater

Shakespeare performed his plays here Constructed in 1599

On the banks of the Thames River• Near London

Shape: Octagonal Play time: 2 hours in

the afternoonCost: One penny

TThe he GGlobelobe

TThe he GGlobe continuedlobe continued

Seating: Seating: Pit: General crowd Pit: General crowd Galleries: A small additional fee Galleries: A small additional fee

would get you these seats would get you these seats Box Seats: Royalty or noblemen onlyBox Seats: Royalty or noblemen only

The capacity for the play performance The capacity for the play performance was 3,000 was 3,000

Sound effects were made in the huts Sound effects were made in the huts Ghosts could appear on stage through Ghosts could appear on stage through

trap doorstrap doors

TThe he GGlobe continuedlobe continued

Flags, trumpets, and fliers told when there Flags, trumpets, and fliers told when there would be a play would be a play

The flags also told the audience what type The flags also told the audience what type of play they would be seeing:of play they would be seeing:Red flag = history playRed flag = history playWhite flag = comedy playWhite flag = comedy playBlack Flag = tragedy playBlack Flag = tragedy play

Inside Shakespeare’s Globe

This is a photograph of the newly restored Globe Theater in England. This picture shows what the stage looks like.

Elizabethan England

Queen Elizabeth I ruled England during the time that Shakespeare

wrote many of his plays.

Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I continued

During the 1600s, London was a busy, bustling, walled city. It was having a Renaissance (rebirth) of arts and sciences under two monarchs who loved the theater.

Queen Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was a liberal-minded monarch who enjoyed the theater and wrote plays for special performances. Shakespeare gave 32 performances at her court during her reign.

King James I(Elizabeth’s Successor)

King James I

King James I, the son of Mary Queen of Scots, reigned from 1603 to 1625. He also supported the theatre and wrote many poems and plays. At least half of the plays that he saw performed had been written by Shakespeare.

In 1606, following the death of Queen Elizabeth, William Shakespeare wrote a play for his new patron, James I (James VI of Scotland); and, being the smart playwright and businessman he was, he chose subjects he knew would interest the king.

King James & Macbeth

•James had published a treatise called Deamonology and was particularly concerned with the threat of witchcraft•The Stuarts, of which James was the ninth to assume the throne, had descended from Scotland. •Consequently, Shakespeare’s newest play, Macbeth, was full of witchcraft and Scottish genealogy.

King James & Macbeth cont…

Interestingly, Banquo is James’s ancestor.

Shakespeare’s scene where the witches prophesy to Banquo: “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none,” was a reference to James.

And more King James & Macbeth…

There are many other instances throughout the play that mention Banquo’s descendants assuming the throne. The Witch/Apparition sequence where eight descendants of Banquo are shown with crowns was a direct reference to the ninth descendant, James, who was watching the play. All of these were for the sake of James’s patronage

And more King James & Macbeth…

Macbeth: A History Probable Main Source: Shakespeare based Macbeth

primarily on accounts in The Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (Holinshed’s Chronicles), by Raphael Holinshed. Shakespeare may also have used Declaration of Egregious Popishe Impostures by Samuel Harsnett; Rerum Scoticarum Historia by George Buchanan; and published reports of witch trials in Scotland.

Date Written: Probably by 1605 but no later than 1607. First Performance of Play: Probably between 1605 and

1607 at the Globe Theatre. It was printed in 1623 as part of the First Folio.

Number of Words in Complete Public-Domain Text: 18,301. Macbeth is the shortest of Shakespeare's tragedies. It has no subplots.

Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland

Like many of Shakespeare's plays, he combined the events of two different stories to create the character Macbeth.

Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland

In Holinshed’s history a figure named Donwald murdered King Duff while the king was safely sleeping in Donwald’s castle, “though he abhorred the act greatly in heart, yet through instigation of his wife he cut his throat while he lay sleeping.”

Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland

Shakespeare combined this tale with the story of Makbeth, a valiant and courageous general. The witches, their prophecies, the death of a King Duncan brought with the urging of a power-hungry wife, Banquo’s friendship and his death, even the climatic ending with Birnam Wood marching on the castle and Macduff proclaiming that he “was never born of my mother, but ripped out of her womb,” are all contained within the Holinshed history.

The Real Macbeth Macbeth was an 11th Century Scot who took

the throne in 1040 after killing King Duncan I, his cousin, in a battle near Elgin in the Moray district of Scotland. History tells us that “Macbeth appears, contrary to popular belief, to have been a wise monarch and to have ruled Scotland successfully and well for seventeen prosperous years.”

In 1057, Duncan's oldest son, Malcolm, ended Macbeth's reign by killing him in battle and later assuming the throne as Malcolm III.

The Real Banquo

Because James I, the King of England, was a descendant

of Banquo. It would not do to suggest that His Royal

Majesty's ancestor was a murderer. 

In Holinshed's Chronicles, the real Banquo is depicted as a conniver who took part in the plot to assassinate King Duncan.

Why did Shakespeare portray Banquo as one of Macbeth's innocent victims?

Influence of Seneca The Roman dramatist Seneca (4-65 A.D.), a

tutor to Emperor Nero, wrote plays that described in elaborate detail the grisly horror of murder and revenge. After Elizabethans began translating Seneca's works in 1559, writers read and relished them, then wrote plays imitating them. Shakespeare appears to have seasoned Macbeth and an earlier play, Titus Andronicus, with some of Seneca's ghoulish condiments. 

Witchcraft in Shakespeare's Time

In Shakespeare's time, many people believed in the power of witches. One was King James I. In 1591, when he was King of Scotland, a group of witches and sorcerers attempted to murder him. Their trial and testimony convinced him that they were agents of evil. Thereafter, he studied the occult and wrote a book called Daemonologie (Demonology), published in 1597. This book–and an earlier one called Malleus Maleficarum (The Witches' Hammer, 1486), describing the demonic rites of witches–helped inflame people against practitioners of sorcery. 

Everyone loves to be scared Shakespeare, good businessman that he was,

well knew that a play featuring witches would attract theatergoers and put a jingle in his pocket. When Macbeth was first performed, it probably frightened audiences in the same way that The Exorcist, the 1973 film about diabolical possession, scared American audiences. Magically, Shakespeare's bank account and reputation grew. In a manner of speaking, Macbeth was The Blair Witch Project of the 17th Century.

Mix it all together…

Shakespeare combined these historical and cultural events with poetry and philosophy, immortalizing the tragic tale of Macbeth.

Macbeth: The PlayMacbeth: The Play

Type of PlayType of Play

MacbethMacbeth is a tragedy in five acts. It is is a tragedy in five acts. It is an atypical tragedy in that the an atypical tragedy in that the protagonist of the play, Macbeth, is a protagonist of the play, Macbeth, is a villain. In most other Shakespeare villain. In most other Shakespeare tragedies the protagonists–though tragedies the protagonists–though flawed in many ways–are not flawed in many ways–are not villainous.  villainous. 

SettingSettingMacbethMacbeth takes place in northern Scotland and takes place in northern Scotland and

in England. The scenes in Scotland are set:in England. The scenes in Scotland are set: at or near King Duncan’s castle at Forres,at or near King Duncan’s castle at Forres, at Macbeth’s castle at Inverness, at Macduff’s at Macbeth’s castle at Inverness, at Macduff’s

castle at Fife, castle at Fife, in Birnham Wood and Dunsinane Hill in the in Birnham Wood and Dunsinane Hill in the

countryside (where Macbeth fights Macduff), countryside (where Macbeth fights Macduff), in countryside locales where the witches in countryside locales where the witches

meet (a desert place, a heath, and a cavern).meet (a desert place, a heath, and a cavern). A scene is also set at a castle in England.A scene is also set at a castle in England.

.......Forres is in northeastern Scotland. After William I became King of Scotland in 1165, the castle at Forres served as a sort of hunting lodge for royalty. The real-life Macbeth and Duncan were among those said to have used the castle. Nearby is a curious tourist attraction, the Witches’ Stone, where accused witches were burned.

The Real Forres CastleThe Real Forres Castle

Forres is in northeastern Scotland. After Forres is in northeastern Scotland. After William I became King of Scotland in 1165, William I became King of Scotland in 1165, the castle at Forres served as a sort of the castle at Forres served as a sort of hunting lodge for royalty. The real-life hunting lodge for royalty. The real-life Macbeth and Duncan were among those Macbeth and Duncan were among those said to have used the castle. Nearby is a said to have used the castle. Nearby is a curious tourist attraction, the Witches’ Stone, curious tourist attraction, the Witches’ Stone, where accused witches were burned. where accused witches were burned.

Two Climaxes? Two Climaxes? The climax of a play can be defined as (1) The climax of a play can be defined as (1)

the turning point at which the conflict the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final and most exciting event in or as (2) the final and most exciting event in a series of events. The climax of a series of events. The climax of MacbethMacbeth occurs, according to the first definition, occurs, according to the first definition, when Macbeth murders Duncan and when Macbeth murders Duncan and becomes king. According to the second becomes king. According to the second definition, the climax occurs in the final act definition, the climax occurs in the final act when Macduff corners and kills Macbeth. when Macduff corners and kills Macbeth.

Imagery & SymbolismImagery & Symbolism

There are many prevalent images There are many prevalent images and symbols in and symbols in Macbeth Macbeth including:including:

Darkness / NightDarkness / NightBloodBloodAdam & EveAdam & EveAmbitionAmbition

Fascinating FactFascinating Fact

The words The words bloodblood and and nightnight (or forms (or forms of them, such as of them, such as bloodybloody and and tonighttonight) ) occur more than 40 times each in occur more than 40 times each in MacbethMacbeth. Other commonly occurring . Other commonly occurring words that help maintain the mood of words that help maintain the mood of the play are the play are terribleterrible, , horriblehorrible, , blackblack, , devildevil, and , and evilevil. .

ThemesThemes

Great ambition, or inordinate lust for Great ambition, or inordinate lust for power, ultimately brings ruinpower, ultimately brings ruin

Evil wears a pretty cloakEvil wears a pretty cloakTemptation can defeat even the strongest Temptation can defeat even the strongest

human beingshuman beingsGuilt haunts the evildoerGuilt haunts the evildoer

Which Witch?Which Witch?

Four named witches appear in Four named witches appear in MacbethMacbeth––the three hags who open the play and later the three hags who open the play and later Hecate, the goddess of sorcery. Hecate, the goddess of sorcery.

But is there a fifth witch, Lady Macbeth? But is there a fifth witch, Lady Macbeth?

In Act I, Scene V, she invokes spirits to “unsex” her and bids “thick night” to dress “in the

dunnest smoke of hell” so that she may assist her husband in the murder of King Duncan.

Any Question

s?