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Context :book: - Coggle Diagram

- - - - The concept of a downfall:
        
        Tragedies are stories about the downfall of the characters.
        
        This means that these characters begin the play in happy situations and end up in terrible ones.
        
        Macbeth's downfall:
        
        Macbeth is viewed as the hero at the start, receiving praise from his comrades because he brutally killed their enemies. He is a hero for killing the enemies of the king.
        
        Later on, he begins to kill people for his own selfish needs, benefiting no one but himself and causing tragedy for other people and their families.
    - - Villains: Sometimes it is villains who cause tragedy. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the villains.After the witches reveal their prophecies, Macbeth can see a way to seize power and decides to act on it, no matter the consequences. Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to murder King Duncan – she wants power and does not care how she gets it. King Duncan trusts Macbeth as a friend. Macbeth sneaks up on King Duncan while he is sleeping and defenceless, and then murders him
        
        Villains (continued): When Macbeth is named King of Scotland, he begins to crave even more power.He worries that Banquo and his sons will someday seize power, so he hires men to murder them. Fearing that Macduff will cause problems for him, he sends men to Macduff’s castle to murder him and his family – Macduff is not there, so the murderers kill his wife and son.Macbeth is responsible for the murders of his friends, innocent women and children, and the King of Scotland.
        
        Tragic Characters with Flaws: Often, tragic characters bring about their own downfall. They have a flaw (an error) in the character, such as ambition or immorality, which makes them make mistakes of judgement. Do Macbeth and Lady Macbeth bring about their own downfall?
        Their decision to chase power and ambition lead to them murdering (or being responsible for the murders of) many people. The guilt from these murders then leads Lady Macbeth to die - it's assumed she commits suicide.
        Macbeth’s murder of Macduff’s family (in an attempt to secure his powerful role) leads to his own death.
        
        Macbeth and Lady Macbeth:
        
        Macbeth and Lady Macbeth suffer because of their own greed and bad judgments.
        
        Macbeth’s chase for power means that he loses his own wife, and also that, other people then try to stop him because he keeps killing anyone he feels threatened by. Ultimately, he causes his own downfall.
  - - - Witches in the 17th Century:
        
        In the 17th century, people were very fearful of witchcraft and the supernatural, especially the king himself, James I.
        
        Witchcraft was seen as responsible for everything bad that happened in life (e.g. if crops didn’t grow or if there was an outbreak of disease).
        
        The belief was that people who gained these supernatural powers had made a pact with the Devil.
        
        James I and Witches:
        
        James I himself was especially superstitious and fearful of witches – he was known as a witch hunter and saw hundreds of people burnt at the stake for witchcraft whilst he was King of Scotland.
        
        He called witchcraft “high treason against God”.
        
        When he took the throne of England, James I insisted on hanging witches – even people who were just accused of the crime or just had a strange mark on their body.
      - Men and Women:
        
        In Jacobean times (the time when James I of England was in power), women were expected to be subordinate to their husbands. Patriarchal society
        
        Women being subordinate:
        
        This means women were supposed to obey their husbands.
        
        If the women argued, they could be beaten. Parents raised women to believe that men were more important than they were.
        
        It was definitely not expected that a man would treat his wife as an equal.
        
        Powerful women in Shakespeare:
        
        However, Shakespeare made a lot of his leading women strong characters – this may have been a reflection of having Elizabeth I on the throne just before James I.
        
        In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth seems to be a very powerful character – she encourages her husband to murder King Duncan, and pressures him by implying that he is a worthless coward if he does not.
        
        Ultimately, though, he develops a hunger for power which overtakes his care for his wife.
        
        Expectations of men:
        
        Men with status in society were expected to behave in an honourable way and show qualities like loyalty and bravery.
        
        Macbeth begins the play by being brave and honourable, risking his life to fight for his king and country.
        
        However, he soon dishonours himself by being disloyal to King Duncan and his other comrades.
  - - - Heritage
        
        James was the son of Mary Queen of Scots, who was Catholic.
        
        Elizabeth I (and James himself) was Protestant.
        
        Catholic and Protestant reactions:
        
        Many Protestants did not trust him because of his Catholic heritage, and many Catholics thought that he would support them.
        
        When they realised that James did not support them, some Catholics began to develop conspiracy theories, such as the Gunpowder Plot:
        
        The Gunpowder Plot was a failed attempt to assassinate James I by blowing up the House of Lords with gunpowder.
        
        The plotters of the Gunpowder Plot were caught and tortured. The plot against the king had failed.
        
        A tale of caution?:
        
        Macbeth is, to some degree, a tale of caution – it acted as a warning about what could happen to people who committed treason (a crime against the king).
        
        James I - Catholicism and Protestantism:
        
        Ties to Catholicism : Son of Mary Queen of Scots (Catholic), Therefore, many Catholics thought he would support them, When Catholics realised that James did not support them, some began to develop conspiracy theories
        
        Ties to Protestantism : Was a Protestant, Predecessor (Elizabeth I) was a Protestant, Many Protestants did not trust him because of his Catholic heritage
        
        Divine Right of Kings:
        
        In the 17th century, people believed in the Divine Right of Kings.
        
        Belief explained:
        
        People believed that kings were appointed by, and only answerable to, God.
        
        They answered to a higher power and could not be governed by anyone on Earth.
        
        Therefore, any attempt to remove monarchs from the throne was sacrilegious (a crime against God and Christianity).
        
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