context macbeth

• The holinshed chronicles was a work that described a collaborative history of England, Scotland and Ireland that Shakespeare used as inspiration for Macbeth.
• The holinshed chronicles are now believe to be more legend then history
• what are the differences in the original to Shakespeare Macbeth

  1. Macbeth was a good king for 10 years
  2. weird sisters were called the goddess of destiny
  3. Banquo is a partner with Macbeth to kill Duncan
• Why did Banquo need to be good in Shakespeare's Macbeth?

  James believed he could trace his linage to Banquo
• The goddess of destinys names were changes to the wierd sisters because the jacobean audience were extremaly religious and it also limites there power in the play.
• Who funded Shakespeares performing group?

  King james
• king James book was called 'daemonologie' which meant the science of demons . he believed witchcraft was a act of Satan .
• The purpose of James book was to justify the death penalty for witches and was to inspire those participating in the witch hunts.
• King James life story is-

  • when he was 8 months old his father was assassinated by an explosion at their family home
  • his mother was imprisoned when he was 1
  • this made James become the king of Scotland
  • when James was 31 his mother was executed by queen Elizabeth
  • when James took the position of king of Scotland he made an alliance with Queen Elizabeth and secured his place as her successor
• King James was a patron of Shakespeare this meant Shakespeare was greatly influenced by him.
• what is the Devine right of kings?

  king’s right to rule comes directly from the will of God, and not from any earthly authority or consent of the governed.
• James believed that only woman can be witches as in his eyes they were the weaker sex . He used the bible to back this belief using the fact that eve was tricked by the serpent.
• What are some of the reasons witches are in Macbeth

  1. to act as a warning to the Jacobean people
  2. Hecate who is a Greek goddess being portrayed as evil- could suggest other religions are evil
  3. the play starts with the witches words and ends in bloodshed ad misery
• what is the great chain of being?

  believed that every living thing had its place in the universe, which had been set out by God. god towards the top and rocks towards the bottom
• Why was the belief of the great chain of being so important?

  shows why regicide is such a serious sin when M and LM conspired to kill Duncan they not only committed a cardinal sin they committed a sin against the universe and distorted the natural order which is why everything ended up in chaos.
• what was the gunpowder plot and who committed it ?

  A plot to kill king James attempted by some Catholics
• when guy forks tried to kill James he disobeyed the DROK so he was meant to be punished by eternal damnation . Macbeth acts as a warning for other against regicide and what can happen if attempted e.g the whole of Macbeths ending
• James strong beliefs shifted the mood of England in direct contrast to Elizabethan 'golden age' of Brittan because the witch trials and hunts resulted in thousands of deaths this marked a dark time in English history
• what were the 2 main religions in the Jacobean era and which was the one england was under?

  catholic

  (james was )protestant
• When James came to thrown the Catholics thought he would treat them better (as they were often killed for no following the main religion) as his mother was a catholic he did not which lead to the gunpowder plot.
• Macbeth was not a protistan as it it was set in the 11th century and would have been catholic.
• what are some religious debates that Shakespeare goes over in the play

  • predistaiton vs free will ( god has already decided weather your going to heaven or hell before your born vs we have a choice in everything to determinant heaven and hell )

  
  

  • forgiveness vs suffering (is suffering necessary for forgiveness to take place )

  
  

  • religious allusion of LM and M v and there similarity's to Adam and eve( as LM is able to persuade her husband to sin and LM for thirst and power like eve )
• Macbeth was written in 1606 but was set in 11th century