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Macbeth: context and themes
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Shakespeare wrote Macbeth for audiences with very different beliefs from ours. Context explains why the play shocked them.
King James and the play
Macbeth was written around 1606, early in the reign of James I, who was also King of Scotland.
James was interested in witchcraft and wrote a book about it, *Daemonologie* (1597).
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 tried to kill James, so killing a king was a very live fear.
James was interested in witchcraft and wrote a book about it, *Daemonologie* (1597).
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 tried to kill James, so killing a king was a very live fear.
The Divine Right of Kings
Many people believed kings were chosen by God.
Killing a king (regicide) was therefore a crime against God and the natural order.
After Duncan's murder, nature goes wrong: horses eat each other and day turns dark.
Killing a king (regicide) was therefore a crime against God and the natural order.
After Duncan's murder, nature goes wrong: horses eat each other and day turns dark.
Key themes
Ambition: unchecked ambition destroys.
Guilt: blood and sleeplessness show guilt.
Appearance and reality: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair."
The supernatural: the witches, the dagger and the ghost.
Guilt: blood and sleeplessness show guilt.
Appearance and reality: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair."
The supernatural: the witches, the dagger and the ghost.
Why would a 1606 audience be especially shocked by Duncan's murder?
- They believed kings were chosen by God (Divine Right).
- The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 had recently tried to kill King James.
- So regicide looked like a terrible crime against God and the country.
Answer: Killing a king was seen as an attack on God's order, and the Gunpowder Plot made it feel real.
Written around 1606 for James I. Belief in the Divine Right of Kings made regicide unnatural. Themes: ambition, guilt, appearance versus reality and the supernatural.
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