Shakespeare’s Macbeth

A little bit of history

James I: The beginning of the Stuarts

Becomes King of England after Elizabeth I

takes throne in 1604 Was formerly James VI of Scotland

England had become a superpower under Elizabeth I, also a Protestant nation

As King, James became rich, powerful

Believed in witches, demons; wrote books on the subject; saw a connection between witchcraft and treason

King head of the church; witchcraft in violation of religious teachings, thus an act against the state

The Tudor-Stuart Family Tree

Henry VII

Arthur marries Margaret marries Henry VIII Mary marries

Katherine of Aragon James IV of Scotland

Marries 6 wives:Katherine of Aragon

Anne BoleynJane SeymourAnne of Cleves

Katherine HowardCatherine Parr

Louis XII of France

Edward IVMary

Elizabeth I

ProducesJames V of Scotland

Mary StuartQueen of Scotland

James VI of ScotlandI of England

The Gunpowder Plot

The role of faith James I inherited a nation pulled apart by

faith Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII broke with the

Catholic Church over his divorce with Katherine of Aragon, a Spanish princess

Elizabeth, James are Protestant but Mary, who was queen before Elizabeth (Henry’s daughter by Katherine) is Catholic.

The plan: Gunpowder Plot devised by Papists

(Catholic) to destroy Parliament, King (Protestant)

Comes after years of persecution of Catholics by Protestant rulers

Catholics see James I as a failure as continues Protestant reforms in England

The Conspirators: Plot devised from May, 1604 through to

execution on November 5, 1605 10 men part of the plot, including Guy

Fawkes, a munitions expert who had learned his skills fighting with the Spanish (Catholic) against the Dutch (Protestant)

Plot Uncovered Plotters put gunpowder under the Houses of

Parliament, with the intent to blow up the building Plot uncovered by an anonymous letter; an

investigation was launched and Fawkes was discovered leaving the cellars of Parliament on the evening of November 5

Fawkes is taken to the Tower of London and interrogated under torture (the rack)

Fawkes and several other conspirators are hanged, drawn and quartered on January 31 for their acts of treason

James I and Macbeth Shakespeare wrote plays for Elizabeth,

now takes on role for James Players become the King’s Men

Is one of Shakespeare’s most topical plays About a Scottish king dealing with treason,

reflects the issues of the times

James is a descendant of Banquo

New developments in the play Combines the stories of the murder of King

Duncan and the reign of Macbeth Macbeth was a warrior king of Scotland (1040-

1057)

Introduces the idea of the villain as the hero Beginning of the anti-hero

Strong female role in Lady Macbeth

Important questions in Macbeth

Why do people do evil, knowing it is evil? Does Macbeth do evil because he is

tempted by fate/because he is pushed/because of his personal ambition?

What is guilt? Why does Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s

success fall apart so quickly?