Continuing with our grand survey of Shakespearean plays, so far we’ve studied Shakespeare’s background, sonnets, Julius Caesar, Henry V, madnesses of Richard III and Hamlet, the similarities of As You Like It and Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, Much ado about Nothing, and Othello.
After a Shakespearean interlude at the dentist, Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter had so infused my thoughts, that my latest Homeschool Mother’s Weekly Journal featured The Bard.
Opening our copies of Macbeth, we annotated the literary elements key to understanding the story.
Named for King Macbeth of Scotland who reigned peacefully from 1040-1057, Shakespeare’s Macbeth had a tragic life.
This tragic play is also psychological as it examines a man who seeks political power after learning a prophecy he’d one day become king.
Murdering those in his way, his conscience soon stricken him, leading him to madness.
Written by Shakespeare soon after James I (from Scotland) came to power, it’s thought that this play’s tragedy was inspired by the Gunpowder plot of 1605 that attempted to destroy King James I.
Macbeth parallels the Gunpowder Plot with themes of treason and murders.
The following quote reflects a silver coin created in 1605 in honor of James’ I survival of the Gunpowder Plot, since there was a silver coin with an image of a serpent encircled by lilies and roses.
Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t -Lady Macbeth to her husband, Act 1 Sc 5, Macbeth
Remarkably, Macbeth is significantly shorter than the other Shakespearean tragedies.
