Contextual Information Flashcards
why is the perspective the audience is given in macbeth make it so interesting and controversial for the jacobean and modern audience
- for the first time we are watching the story unfold from the perspective of a murderer
- rather than simple portraying him as a villain because he killed people
- it allows us to see the internal tragedy of the situation
- a perspective that wouldve never been seen in the jacobean era and shunned in our times
what are the two things you need to consider when writing about context
- the time in which the play is set
- and the time in which the play was actually written
how does shakespeare usually contextually structure his dramas
- they are loosely based on real moments
- starring spin-offs of real people
- it is easy to see where his dramas are inspired from
who is macbeth in the play inspired from
- mac bethad macfindlaich
- the king of the scots from 1040 to 1057
why would mac bethads reign be considered to be impressive despite him only being on the throne for 17 years
- it was a very violent time in history
- with several battles and rulers constantly replacing each other
- so a reign that long was impressive
how did mac bethad rule scotland
- he made scotland become more stable and prosperous
- he was a good ruler
- not how maceth was portrayed in the play
what are the differences between how mac bethad and macbeth killed duncan, who was a real person
- mac bethad killed duncan in battle, an honourable way to die and conquer
- whereas macbeth killed him in his sleep which is cowardly
what is lady macbeths real name
- Gruoch
- she was a real hsitorical figure
why is macbeth actually given an negative portrayal in the play
- king james I is the patron of shakespeares acting troop
- and he is thought to have been a descendant of banquo who is killed by macbeth in the play
- so shakespeare is trying to resonate with the perspective king james would have on macbeth to prevent offending the king
why did shakespeare include witches in his play rather than another form of supernatural beings
- witches were taken very seriously in the 17th century and were thought to be real
- accusation from bad weather to an upset stomach could easily be used as evidence to accuse woman of being a witch
- king james I was very interested in witches and wrote the book daemonology - a full study on witch craft
- so shakespeare included them to catch the kings interest
what is the gunpowde plot
- it was a plot to blow up the house of parliament to assassinate the king
- oppressed catholics were behind it as henry the 8th converted the country to protestantism
- so they were rebelling
how does the gunpowder plot link to what happens in macbeth
- all the people who planned the plot were killed and guy fawkes was publicly executed
- they are linked as it shows the tragic and miserable downfall of anyone who conspires to commit regicide
- the gunpowder plot was found out on 5th november 1605 and macbeth was written in 1606 so they are very close events to each other
why should shakespeare create links between the gunpowder plot and the story line of macbeth
- to please king james I
- as he was the king and the morale of the story tells us that anyone who tries to commit regicide will be punished by death
- shakespeare is essentially submitting and sucking up to the king
what other link can you make between the gunpowder plot and macbeth other than the similar fates shown
- the symbol of the gunpowder plot conspirators was a dagger with a snake wrapped around it
- the dagger is what macbeth uses to kill duncan
- and the snake is what LM tells him to be
- so macbeth is the snake who wraps himself around the dagger to commit regicide
- like the gunpowder plot, macbeth is the living symbol of regicide
