How does Shakespeare influence the audience’s opinion of the character and the actions of Macbeth in the play?
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most terrifying tragedies. It centres around two main characters Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth. It tell us of Macbeth rise to power as King of Scotland, by murdering the current King Duncan I, after three witches forewarn him of his coming of power. He then seeks to secure his position; by killing anyone who threatens him, for instance Banquo, because the three witches, also told Macbeth that Banquo’s children will be kings. Duncan’s son Malcolm, who fled to England, after his father death, returns with the English army, including the noble Macduff, who later slays Macbeth.
Macbeth at the beginning of the play starts off as a great general returning home after a victorious battle, but after his encounter with the witches, evil and ambition slowly starts to take its grip, even though, throughout the play we see the struggle Macbeth has with his conscience.
Macbeth was first performed in 1606. It reflects many of the beliefs of the time. The King on the throne at the time was James I of Scotland and England. He inherited the English throne of his cousin Queen Elizabeth I, after her death in 1603. James I, it has been suggested, was not a good King. He drank too much, had a temper, and had a debauched lifestyle, and he loved hunting. However, he was intelligent, and took part in debates, and published books on political theory. The presence of the supernatural in Macbeth maybe due to the fact that James I, who the play was written for, also had an interest in the supernatural, and the hunting of witches.
Witches have been around from the beginning of human drama, and have fascinated Europe for over a thousand years. Witchcraft and the fear of new ideas, started during the Renaissance. Once Christianity had started, people put witches in league with the Devil, believing they were his servants on earth. People started to become more scared by witches, and when Elizabeth Sawyer, was put on trial for witchcraft, in 1621 it was a common thing. In Shakespeare’s day, the threat of the Black Death was sweeping across Europe, and Puritan influences, led more people to believe in witches. The puritans wished to purify the English church of its pomp and ritual. They lived their lives according to the bible, and dressed in simple clothes. They were responsible for the closing down of many theatres. People, including James I went on witch-hunts to perform “social-cleansing.”
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, and baptized on the 26 April 1564. We do not know when Shakespeare was born, though many people believe it was the 23 April 1564, but we are not sure. His mother was called Mary Arden, and his father was John Shakespeare, they married in about 1556. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, on the 28 November 1582, by the Bishop of Worcester, when Shakespeare was 18, and Anne was 26. Their first child was born on the 26 May 1583, a girl named Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith were born on the 2 February 1585. From this time to about 1592, there is no record of were he went, these are often called the lost years. In this time, he wrote The Comedy of errors, Titus Andronicus, The taming of the Shrew, Henry VI, (1,2,3) and Richard III. Next in 1593 came Venus and Adonis, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Love’s Labour Lost. The theatres were then closed for a brief time, in 1593-4 because of the plague, but reopened shortly. In 1954 he founded “The Lord Chamberlains Men” a theatrical company, who went around theatre in London. They were the Queens favourites, and often performed plays for her. In the period, 1594-1596, he was recognised as one of London’s leading playwrights, but in 1596 tragedy came, when Hamnet Shakespeare died at the age of 11. During this time he wrote Midsummer’s night dream, Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, and The Merchant of Venice. In 1599 the Globe theatre was built, and Shakespeare got about 10% of the profits. In this period he wrote Henry IV,(1,2), The merry wives of Windsor, As you like I, Much ado about nothing, Henry V and Julius Caesar. The period of the Great tragedies and problems plays, 1600-1608, was a busy time for Shakespeare. His father died in 1601. The Lord’s Chamberlains Men changed their name to “The King’s men,” in 1603, when King James I came to power. In 1607, His eldest daughter Susanna Shakespeare married well, to Dr John Hall. And in 1608, Shakespeare’s mother died. During this time, he wrote Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Troilus and Cressida, Alls well that ends well, Measure for Measure, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, and Timon of Athens. In 1609-1611, came the period of the romances, and in 1909 he published the Sonnets. He wrote, Pericles Prince of Tyre, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest. In the last 4 years he wrote Henry VIII, The two noble Kinsmen, and Cardenio. After this, it is thought that Shakespeare retired back to Stratford. In 1616, his favourite daughter, Judith Shakespeare, married Thomas Quiney. In March 1616, Shakespeare revises his will, apparently ill. He leaves £300 to Judith, his property to Susanna, and his wife, the famous second best bed. Shakespeare died on the 26 April 1616, and was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church, on the 28 April 1616.
