Macbeth
- Macbeth is a tragedy written by William
Shakespeare Macbeth is set during the 11th century in Scotland
Macbeth was a king of the Scots whose rule was marked by efficient government and the promotion of Christianity but is best known in William Shakespeare's tragedy.
- Macbeth was born around 1005, his father was Finlay, Mormaer of Moray, and his mother may have been Donada, second daughter of Malcolm II.
- In August 1040, Macbeth killed King Duncan I, in a battle, and therefore became king. Macbeth's marriage to Kenneth III's granddaughter grouch strengthened his claim for the throne. In 1045, Macbeth killed Duncan I's father.
- For 14 years, Macbeth ruled equably, imposing laws and order. He was a brave leader and made successful forays over the border into Northumbria, England.
- In 1054, Macbeth was challenged by Siward, Earl of Northumbria, who was attempting to return Duncan I's son Malcolm Canmore to the throne. In August 1057, Macbeth was killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by Malcolm Canmore (later Malcolm III)
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and
actor.
He was born in 1564 and died in 1616.
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, he wrote 3 different types of plays:
- Histories --> about the lives of kings and famous figures in
history - Comedies --> which end up with marriage
- Tragedies --> which end up with the death of the main
character
Shakespeare also wrote plenty of poetry, and in 1609 he published a book of 154 sonnets.
He was married to Anne Hathaway and they had three children, Anna, and the twins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died at the age of 11.
There are 7 years of Shakespeare's life where no record exist. These years were called the 'lost years' and it happened right after the twins' birth.
By the early 1590s, documents show that Shakespeare was a managing partner in the Lord Chamberlain's Men, an acting company in London. The company changed name to the King's men following the coronation of King James I. The company was very popular, Shakespeare had works published and sold as popular literature.
By 1599, Shakespeare and his business partner built their own theatre on the south bank of the Thames River, which they called the Globe Theatre.
Shakespeare invented over 1700 new words into the English language that we still use today.
Shakespeare's most famous plays are:
- Hamlet
- Romeo and Juliet
- Macbeth
- The tempest
- Julius Caesar
- Othello
Anne Hathaway was born in 1556 and died in 1623, she was also called Agnes Hathwey. She was the daughter of a local landowner.
She married Shakespeare in 1582, when he was 18 and she was 26.
Anne and her children lived at Straftord-upon-Avon while Shakespeare lived in London as he worked. When Shakespeare retired, he moved back to Stratford.
Anne Hathaway was buried next to her husband in Stratford.
Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Elizabeth I was born in 1533 and died in 1603, she was the queen of England.
She was the daughter of Tudor King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. The king broke England from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church to dissolve his marriage with his first wife, who had his first daughter, Mary. The king hoped that his second wife would give birth to a male heir, but the birth of Elizabeth weakened the new queen's position. Anne Boleyn was beheaded when Elizabeth was nearly 3 years old, because of adultery and treason. The king's second marriage was declared invalid, thus making Elizabeth illegitimate. Henry VIII treated all his children the same and even declared Elizabeth third in line to the throne. Elizabeth received education normally only given to male heirs. After King Henry died in 1947, Elizabeth's 10-year-old half-brother ruled until his death in 1553, then, ignoring Edward's will, Mary, accessed to the throne, and Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels. In 1558 upon Mary's death, Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister to the throne. During her reign, Elizabeth established an English Protestant Church, of which she was the supreme governor. After her death, she was succeeded by her first cousin, James VI of Scotland. (James I of England)
The image of Elizabeth's reign is one of triumph and success. The Queen was often called 'Gloriana', 'Good Queen Bess' and 'The Virgin Queen'. However, her reign was also one of the considerable danger and difficulty for many, with threats of invasion from Spain through Ireland, and from France through Scotland. During her reign, the nation also suffered from severe economic depression, Elizabeth left large debts to her successor.
During her reign, Mary, the Queen of Scots was imprisoned as Elizabeth's prisoner for 19 years. Mary was likely to be Elizabeth's successor Mary was the focus for rebellion and possible assassination plots. After 19 years Mary was found guilty of plotting to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and was executed in 1587.
King James I of England
King James I was born in 1566 and died in 1625. He was the King of Scotland (as James VI) from 1567 to 1625, and first Stuart king of England from 1603 to 1625.
He was a strong advocate of royal absolutism,
King James I was the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots and her second husband, Henry Stewart. Eight months after James' birth, his father died. As Queen Mary was defeated by rebel Scottish lords, she abdicated the throne, and King James, who was 1 year old, became king. Mary left the kingdom and never saw her son again.
The King was given good education and studied Greek, French and Latin.
King James was under the influence of Duke of Lennox, who wanted to win back Scotland for Queen Mary, but James was kidnapped and was forced to denounce Duke of Lennox. The following year, James managed to escape and started to pursue his own policies as a king
In 1589, he was married to Anne, the daughter of Frederick II of Denmark, and had their first son in 1594, Prince Henry.
King James ruled Scotland successfully and was able to play off Protestant and Roman Catholic factions of Scottish nobles against each other.
When King James succeeded Elizabeth I, he was 'an old and experienced King', unfortunately his experience didn’t help him solve the problems that were facing him. He couldn’t understand the rights or temper of the English Parliament and he thus came into conflict with it.
Witchcraft
Witchcraft was not made a capital offence in Britain until 1563.
From 1484 until around 1750, some 200,000 witches were tortures, burnt or hanged in Western Europe
Most supposed witches were usually old poor women. Anyone who was 'crone-like', snaggle-toothed, sunken cheeked and having hairy lip were assumed to be witches. Cats were taken as proofs to prove women were witches.
Witch fever gripped East anglia for 14 months. People of these eastern counties were in mission to seek out the slightest whiff of heresy.
An unsuccessful lawyer, Matthew Hopkins became knows as the 'witch finder general', as he put 87 people to die in a single day. Hopkins was responsible for over 300 executions
Many of the acts against witchcraft were repealed in 1736, witch hunting still went on.
The witches were handled cruelly and harshly and were typically put under some kind of awful torture to gain a confession of their crimes.
Witch tests included the swimming test. Mary Sutton was tossed into the river with her thumbs tied to her opposite big toes. If she floated, then she was guilty, if she sank, then she was innocent.
From April 1661 to the Autumn of 1662, 600 witches were found - 100 were executed
The Great Chain of Being
The Elizabethans believed in 'The Great Chain of Being'
'The Great Chain of Being' was the idea that everyone was ordered by God into his allotted place, with the king at the head.
By killing the king and taking his place, Macbeth was subverting this natural order. Disorder in nature reflects the disorder in human affairs.
The Divine Right of Kings
The idea of 'The Divine Right of Kings' was that the Christian Kings of Europe believed they were answerable to no one except God.
The divine right was an ancient idea that began with medieval kings. They claimed that they had been chosen by God and were his representatives on Earth. These kings had absolute power. They expected total obedience from the people that they rules.
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a failed assassination attempt to King James I
Disgruntled Catholics planned to blow up the House of Lords. Guy Fawkes was discovered guarding their horde of explosives in the house of Lords on November 5, 1605.
The traitors were sentenced to death.
Many of Macbeth's themes resonate with the attempted revolt: it's a play about treason, the overthrow of a king, and the downfall of his murderers.
Religion: In the 1600s, Scotland underwent a Protestant Reformation.
Gender Role: Women were part of a patriarchal society. Women retained their family surnames at marriage and didn’t join their husbnd's kin groups. Women were a major part of the workforce.
King James was convinced that a coven of witches was conspiring to murder him through magic. He even published a study of witchcraft, titled Daemonologie.