macbeth context Flashcards
what is macbeth the play
it is a dramatic tragedy which follows shakespeare’s classic 5 act structure. the tragedy surround the protagonist Macbeth and the witches act as catalysts for the plays events
hamartia in macbeth
hamartia means fatal flaw. in macbeth’s case it is his ambition and lust for power that led to his inevitable downfall and id the arc of the play
context of king james the first
king james I had a great interest in daemonlogie and he expressed it through his book. Macbeth has inferences of witchcraft this may have been used by shakespeare to delight king james I.
witches in the play what do they serve as
they serve as a warning against witchcraft evil and bloodshed.
divine right of kings/gunpowder plot
The fact that king james did not doe in the failed gunpowder plot can be seen as god specifically choosen king james as the rightful heir/king.
this belief system can be seen in Macbeth as when he was king he was then killed as he was not the rightful heir. they also sinned against god by committing regicide.
context on regicide
regicide is seen as a carnal and one of the most grave sins that someone could commit. because ot goes against the belief of divine right of kings meaning you are going against Gods will. so macbeth serves as a warning of what could happen if attempted like the gunpowder plot.
what do literacy critics think
in macbeth there is an explicit amount of bloodshed. macbeth enacted all the death to smother his conscience and kill his essentially moral nature. That macbeths nature is essentially moral evidenced by his guilt.
another is that Lady Macbeth is willing to forsake her femininity so that she is able to commit regicide. In act 1 scene 5 she says “unsex me here and fill me from crown to the toe full of direst cruelty.” this also portrays the grave sin (regicide) as so heinous that is why she asks for the “direst cruelty”
