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Home>Summary
The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare is about Macbeth and King Duncan. Macbeth has been trying to take the Kings thrown but hasn't really been successful. Macbeth is always contemplating the prediction of him being king and his wife agrees right along with him. His wife comes up with the idea to kill the king when he comes to stay the night at her castle but Macbeth didn't want to, but she talks him into by telling him that they would frame the guards for the crime. But after all that's went down Macbeth then finds out that his wife has died and that Birnam wood is "moving" toward the castle. Macbeth then gathers his army and fight. During the battle he kills young Siward after that he moves on to fight Macduff. At the end of the battle Macduff kills Macbeth and then crowns Malcolm the new King of Scotland.
The Background of Macbeth
Macbeth takes place in Scotland in the 11th century. This play of the witchcraft, ambition, murder and guilt was probably written to please Queen Elizabeth’s successor, King James I. The new King from Scotland was also an author, having written a book on witchcraft and demons, in addition
Friday, May 4, 2007
ng James edition. The King’s ancestor Banquo appears as a major character
Friday, May 4, 2007
Friday, May 4, 2007
Friday, May 4, 2007
own heir, the kingship did not automatically fall upon the eldest son. Any noble relative could be chosen by the King or the old King died and the heir was under twenty-one, the heir’s appointment was canceled and the election thrown open to any nobleman related to the royal characters-Malcolm, Donalbain, Macbeth. Banquo, Macduff-were eligible to be appointed heir with the title of Prince of Cumberland, rank similar to that of England’s heir, the Prince of Wales.
Next in importance in a belief that Shakespeare often used, that the King is the sunlight of his own kingdom; his golden crown is spiked with the sun’s own rays. Under a good King-to Shakespeare, the best all governments– the land is sunny and bright, for the King obtains his power from God when he is anointed with holy oil during his coronation. anointed with holy oil during his coronation. Essentially a King is semi-divine. But under a weak or wicked King– as Duncan, too weak to fight his own battles, or Macbeth, a murderous tyrant– the land lies under shadows, and the forces evil come forth: violence, storms, errors, insanity, witches, who help the Devil, to name a few.
This theme seems based upon the beliefs that, since God created the earth from chaos or nothing, the world still has much of a chaotic nature, which only good leadership can keep in check. In Macbeth, because of flawed Kings, chaos appears throughout, especially in the form of false appearances: “Fair is foul and foul is fair,” “Nothing is but what is not,” “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it,” etc. The play is filled with double meanings, lies, tricks, ironies and contradictions on almost every page. In the end, to Macbeth at least, the world is wholly chaotic: “A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing!” Yet Shakespeare was too much the realistic observer of life to believe that chaos was its only element. He concludes this tragedy with the rightful heir restored to the throne, looking forward to a happy and healthy future for Scotland.
As to witches and witchcraft, these were considered real in the Shakespeare’s day. The new translations of the Bible contained mention of witches—the Witch of Endor, for instance—so they were accounted part of religious beliefs. During this period and the following century, in both England, suspected witches were severely punished. They were the original types now pictured in the popular folk-festival of Halloween. Witches traditionally were accompanied by cats, toads, and other familiar animals which acted as messengers to and from the Devil. Rare and horrible objects were used in magic brews, but the power of the witches was usually limited to foretelling the future, causing storms and sickness, and disturbing crops or livestock.
But now let us turn back into time, to ancient Scotland, where an aged King is sorely challenged by a civil war and also an invasion by the Viking King of Norway. To save Scotland, a mighty warrior-poet, Macbeth, strides forth with dark eyes flashing, ready to be his country’s hero. But in the fog and storm of the countryside, three witches have other plans for Macbeth.
