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Macbeth

Macbeth. Introduction. King Duncan of Scotland Murdered by cousin Macbeth Honest and good Malcolm & Donalbain Sons of the King Malcolm is the eldest son Macbeth Duncan’s most courageous general Ambition to become king corrupts him causing him to murder Duncan. Banquo

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Macbeth

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  1. Macbeth Introduction

  2. King Duncan of Scotland • Murdered by cousin Macbeth • Honest and good • Malcolm & Donalbain • Sons of the King • Malcolm is the eldest son • Macbeth • Duncan’s most courageous general • Ambition to become king corrupts him causing him to murder Duncan

  3. Banquo • General and Macbeth’s best friend • Suspects Macbeth in Duncan’s murder • An actual ancestor of King James I • Lady Macbeth • As ambitious as her husband • A dark force behind his evil deeds • Macduff • Scottish general, suspects Macbeth of murdering the king • Macbeth has his family murdered • Swears vengeance

  4. The Curse!

  5. The Scottish Play • It is believed to be bad luck to even squeak the word ‘Macbeth’ in a theatre • Legend has it you will lose all your friends involved in the production--horribly

  6. So what really happens? • Good guy goes bad • Guy wants power • Married to a pushy control freak • She wants power • Kills people- LOTS of people • Gets power • Gets paranoid (a.k.a. goes crazy) • Ticks off a lot of people • Want more power! Kill! Kill! • Gets what’s coming to him in the end

  7. The Real Macbeth and Duncan • In 1040 AD, Macbeth slew Duncan in battleatBurghead in Moray. • Macbeth wasthenacclaimed High King of Scotland • Nothingcouldbefurtherfrom the truththan in Shakespeare’saccount of Duncan’sdeath.

  8. The overthrow of Duncan was the overthrow of an unpopularkingwhowasintent on pursuing an aggressivewaragainstEngland, a war in whichheshowedhimself to bemilitarilyincompetent, and therefore to retain the High Kinship. • Macbeth’s claim to the thronewasjust as, if not more, validthanDuncan’s.

  9. Duncan was far from the “gracious king” that Shakespeare makes him out to be. • Stories from ancient Scotland tell us that he was a vicious, bloodthirsty, and self-absorbed tyrant.

  10. In contrast, for the first five years of Macbeth’s reign, Scotland was a peaceful kingdom. • In 1057, three years after Siward unsuccessfully attempted to place Malcolm III on the throne, Macbeth was slain by Malcolm in battle. • Macbeth was 53 years old and had reigned for 17 prosperous years as a righteous and virtuous king.

  11. HistoricalContext of the Play • The source of the play Macbeth was Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1587), and was written for King James I of England (James VI of Scotland), the successor to Elizabeth I.

  12. King James’ Opinion • Unfortunately, James didn’t like the play much: he was very superstitious and had a fear of witches. • The play also honours the English throne by paying homage to Edward the Confessor, a good English king who reigned from 1042-1066.

  13. Tragedy • Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, and was first published in the First Folio. • There are, apparently, some missing scenes, and some scenes were added for specific actors-such as the scenes concerning Hecate.

  14. According to the Elizabethan view of Kingship, kings were appointed by God, as his rulers on earth. • Because an attack upon the king was an attack on God, Macbeth’s rebellion is not only against the divinely appointed king, but God as well. • He has disrupted the divine order and must pay the price before order can be rightfully restored.

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