Macbeth - key ideas and context

Anagnorisis ?

A point where a character regocnises or discovers something important

E.g. the prophecy’s

Peripeteia

A sudden reversal of fortune/ change in circumstances

E.g. Macbeth seeing the forest move towards the hill

Hamartia

• Aristotle’s idea about every tragedy’s protagonist having a fatal flaw

King James I beliefs

• he was king James VI of Scotland aswell as England

• Personally involved in interrogations + torture in North Berwick witch trials and inniated the hunts in Scotland —> reflected in play through grousome details

• King James was deeply misogynistic, changed the bible translation , his version (king James bible) ensures all references to sorcerers was witches and so female

3 witches

• could be an inversion of the holy trinity but a negative one

Holinshead chronicles

• Shakespears primary historical source

• In the Holinshed Chronicles Banquo helps Macbeth killl the king

• In the play king James has lineage from Banquo

• Macbeth creates Baquo in image of King James to please him, he immediately sees the witches as vehicles of evil

• And also king James ancestor commuting her heracy would not look good

James I views about himself?

• viewed himself to be gods representative on earth

• He was divine on earth

• Macbeth cannot pray after killing Duncan —> he has lost his connection to God, supports James opinion that harming him was to harn god

Setting: gates of macbeths castle

• described by porter as gates of hell

• However also implies to be ‘too cold for hell’ implying the castle is even worse than hell, foreshadows macbeths character arc as his character gets more violent

• Macbeth + lady Macbeth are occupants of hell

Setting : Scotland

• unnatural events, great chain is upside down ‘‘tis said they eat each other’

• Suspicious of Duncan’s muder ‘suspicion of the deed’

• Scotland seems to be rebelling against Macbeth’s reign

• Foreshadows macbeths violent and chaotic reign

• Turing Scotland into hell

• His reign is illegitimate

Setting : England + Ireland

• thanes + princes taking sanctuary away from Macbeth + his rule

• Thanes dividing Scotland and it is breaking apart

Macbeths illegitimate reign?

• gains throne through regicide which is ultimate crime

• Kings believe to be chosen y God (divine right of kings)

• Macbeth usurps the throne from Duncan - subverting legal and natural order of succession

• Violation of primogeniture (right of first born son to inherity)

• Relies on the supernatural- implies corrupt , unholy, unnatural origin of reign

Macbeths impact on Scotland act 4

• Scotland is in a precarious situation due to:

  • witches have lots of power and could cause downfall of Scotland as only care about themselves / Hacete

  • Macbeth is a tyrant leader who relies on supernatural and is bringing Scotland to the brink of war

  • The thanes are abandoning Macbeth

  • Macbeth willing to destroy Scotland for his personal gain

  • Reflected through unnatural events