Macbeth_Context

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  • Created by: Hemdev
  • Created on: 09-11-17 16:06
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Context
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Divine Right of Kings_1
The belief that kings were answerable only to God is reflected by Macbeth’s unlawful claim to the crown being tragically doomed.
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Divine Right of Kings_2
The Divine Right of Kings originated in the Middle Ages. Any attempt to remove the king was thought to go against God and was therefore sacrilegious, and against the natural order, hence the disturbance in nature the night of Duncan's murder.
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The playwright
Shakespeare wrote at least thirty-seven plays and a large collection of poems. In Macbeth he seems to draw on history and his personal experience of parental grief.
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Holinshed’s Chronicles
Holinshed’s 'Chronicles' were a written history of Britain in which the real eleventh-century King Macbeth features. These seem to have been an essential source for Shakespeare in the writing of 'Macbeth.'
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The supernatural_1
At the time when this play was written, the existence and power of supernatural forces and magical entities, such as witches, was commonly accepted.
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The supernatural_2
King James published "Demonology" in 1605. It is thought that Shakespeare wrote his play "Macbeth" to appeal to King James's interest in the supernatural.
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The Gunpowder Plot
A year before Shakespeare wrote "Macbeth", a Catholic plot to kill King James I was uncovered. Echoes of the Gunpowder Plot are seen in the plot to kill Duncan.
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Theatres
Open-air theatres started to appear in 1576. Plays were performed in the afternoon with few props. Torches would have been used to help emphasise the night-time scenes in "Macbeth".
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The court
The royal court was very powerful in Shakespeare's day, but in showing Duncan as a weak king as well as Malcolm as a strong king Shakespeare presents a balanced, and potentially radical view of monarchy.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

The belief that kings were answerable only to God is reflected by Macbeth’s unlawful claim to the crown being tragically doomed.

Back

Divine Right of Kings_1

Card 3

Front

The Divine Right of Kings originated in the Middle Ages. Any attempt to remove the king was thought to go against God and was therefore sacrilegious, and against the natural order, hence the disturbance in nature the night of Duncan's murder.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Shakespeare wrote at least thirty-seven plays and a large collection of poems. In Macbeth he seems to draw on history and his personal experience of parental grief.

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

Holinshed’s 'Chronicles' were a written history of Britain in which the real eleventh-century King Macbeth features. These seem to have been an essential source for Shakespeare in the writing of 'Macbeth.'

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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