King James had spent some time in Denmark with his new wife Anne, from which he had learned many new things which would change his thoughts of the supernatural world. After his return to Scotland, he attended the North Berwick witch trials, a major persecution of witches in Scotland. Several people, most notably Agnes Sampson, were convicted of using witchcraft to send storms against James's ship, as he had encountered some difficulties travelling back home. James became obsessed with the threat posed by witches and, inspired by his personal involvement, he later wrote the Daemonologie, a series of books which opposed the practice of witchcraft and which provided background material for Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
\During the second opening of Parliament by King James on the 5th of November a plot was made to explode the Parliament by explosion of gunpowder barrels in the cellar of the Parliament the main perpetrator was Guy Fawkes, he was caught before he could light the fuse and was executed for committing the highest form of crime/sin treason against the King. A verse in Macbeth ‘look like the innocent flower but be the serpent underneath’ said by Lady Macbeth is an allusion of what happened. At that time of England the King was regarded as Gods chosen representative on Earth, he was the retainer of law and order, if the King was murdered the perfect world order would be destroyed and chaos would ensue. King James was loved incredibly by his people, just as Elizabeth was, as he was regarded as a fair king and a king who loved his people.
Shakespeare had written Macbeth, both on the grounds of honoring the new king of England with a new play, and on what would have happened if Scottish King James had really died (King Duncan) and how England would have been put into a chaotic state of anarchy, the play was presented in King James’s court at Hampton Palace in 1606, and had mostly been based on fact such as that he had succeeded the Scottish throne through his ancestors Fleance and Banquo. Macbeth was also written as entertainment for the royal court though some of the story is changed to add a bit of drama and political correctness, and Macbeth is represented as similar to Guy Fawkes as to having committed the worst crime or sin possible and has disobeyed God so is rightfully punished by death. Shakespeare’s inclusion of Macbeth’s guilty conscience was a way in which he could both intrigue and compliment King James.
Many connections in Macbeth can be compared to King James such as-
The two-fold balls and treble sceptres are a reference to the double coronation of James, at Scone and Westminster, and this was supposed to pay homage to King James. The balls or globes were the royal insignia which King James bore in right of his double kingship of England and Scotland, and the three sceptres were those of his three kingdoms, England, Scotland and Ireland.
Another obvious tribute to James is Malcolm's reference to the evil, which James believed he could cure by his touch, a power he had inherited from an ancestor.
Macbeth also represents and shows a lot of Christian images throughout the play, and that King James passion was scripture. It is more so thought that Macbeth was mainly composed for the King purely on entertainment grounds and historical facts included into the play were for the Kings liking and approval.
