When one reads a Shakespearean play (such as Macbeth), one must always understand the situation under which Shakespeare wrote the play in question. Upon closer inspection of Macbeth, one can find many influences from within the social and political worlds of the time and one can better understand what Shakespeare was trying to convey through Macbeth.
· In 1606, King James VI of Scotland became king James I of England, he combined the Scottish flag of St Andrew with the tradition English flag (thus creating the union jack)· On April 3rd, 1606, the former English lord deputy of Ireland, Charles Blount, the 8th lord Mountioy, died in London
· Shortly after, on the other side of the world, James I established the Plymouth company and the London company, effectively creating Jamestown (1607), this began England’s colonization and the English empire (this occurred shortly after Macbeth was written, but would have been going on while Macbeth was still popular and being preformed)
· In 1606, The royal debt had accumulated to over 600 000 pounds
· James I decided to begin taxing more heavily on imports, meaning James I was earning an extra 70 000 pounds a year and could pay off his debt more easily
· The judges ruled that this was allowed: the king could make impositions on imported commodities without parliamentary consent
· James I had a lesser financial problem, but huge controversies sprung up over his financial ministers attempting to increase prerogative income for the crown (they did this using purveyance, wardships, and the discovery of “concealed lands”, crown lands whose tenants were not paying their rents and dues)
· The gunpowder plot, in which Guy Fawkes attempted to assassinate King James I and blow up the parliamentary buildings failed shortly before Macbeth was written
· On January 27th, 1606, the Guy Fawkes trial began and he was hung on January 31st, 1606
· Many people believe that Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in order to appease King James I
- When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth he purposely made references to King James I and his greatness, such as the witches telling Banquo that his children will become Kings (King James I was a descendent of Banquo)
- King James I was scottish, and for this reason Shakespeare set the play in Scotland and made all of the major characters Scottish
- Shakespeare wrote Macbeth while King James I was developing the theory of divine right. In Macbeth, Shakespeare demonstrates how the true, divinely chosen king (Duncan) was a good king, but any usurper of the throne (Macbeth) would not keep the peace or rule as well.
Bibliography:
No Author. 1606: Information from Answers.com. 2007. Answers.com. January 30, 2006.
2 comments:
Well, as MacLordz (my group) was doing history play and tragedy, it's very interesting to hear about the actual political and social world of England. These are some of the situations and events that are what Shakespeare based his plays on. He wrote them so that the audience would also know what's going on, as most of them would have heard about the events. Good research, as I'm sure at least pieces of it were put somehow put into Shakespeare's plays. What's better is the idea of a historic tragedy, all the sad events for the English, that could have also been turned into parts. Great connection between Macbeth and King James I as well! So once again, good job.
In your entry, you mention a lot of events that were directly involved with King James. There are many parallels between these events and some parts of the play. Our group researched on King James himself, Daemonology, and the Newes of Scotland. We pointed out some of the parallels between King James' life and Macbeth that you pointed out as well. It's interesting to see just how much Shakespeare almost "sucks up" to the king and to see the overall influence James must have had over society during his reign. Imagine a different play, if Shakespeare wrote Macbeth as a political satire against the king, at least it certainly would've kept him from falling asleep.
-Arnold
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