Macbeth Coursework

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Macbeth Coursework

In 'Macbeth' which is written by William Shakespeare he includes evil, witches and the supernatural.

Shakespeare wrote 'Macbeth' in 1605 for a Jacobean audience. In 1605 James I was the king and he was really interested in the supernatural. He also wrote his own book called 'On Demonology'.

Back in the early 17th century, basically everyone believed in witches and the supernatural. Nowadays in 2005, practically no one believes in witchcraft. In 1605, people didn't know why things like illness and drought happened, that's why they thought it was witches. In modern times, there are scientific reasons why things happen.

Shakespeare's main examples of evil in the play are the witches, the supernatural and the murder of the king.

In 1605, people believed in the divine right of kings. This is wgere a king is appointed by God. Committing regicide (killing the king) was seen as one of the worst sins in 1605 and that's why Shakespeare includes it in his play.
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The play starts at act 1, scene 1. It is set in an open place with "thunder and lightning". The first characters that are seen in the play are the 3 witches. This sets the tone for the play. It shows that the play is about evil and has a dark side to it. The witches talk about meeting Macbeth. They seek him out, they plan to meet him. So it isn't a coincidence when the witches meet Macbeth later in the play because witch 3 says "There to meet with Macbeth". In act 1, scene 3, Macbeth ...

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