Intro To MB

SHAKESPEARE
23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616

Shakespeare’s Life Middle Class
• Born Stratford-upon Avon

to John and Mary
Shakespeare.
• 3rd among 8 children, 1st
son, and surviving child.
• His father is glove-maker,
leather dresser, sold
agricultural commodities.
• Fortunes of the family
declined by 1577.
Shakespeare’s School Life
• Attended King Edward’s Grammar
School in Stratford
• Short school life; left at 15 (only rich boys
went to university).
• Apprenticed in father’s
shop to learn his trade
Shakespeare’s Love Life
Anne
Hathaway’s
cottage
• Married Anne Hathaway at 18 in 1582.

• At 26, Anne was seven to eight years older than him.
• 3 children – 2 daughters and 1 son:
Susanna, Hamnet and Judith (twins)
(baptism record 1585)

Career, retirement &
“Lost Years”
• 1594 – Joined The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, renamed The
King’s Men in 1603
• Wrote tragedy, comedy, history plays and poetry –
reflected town and country life
• Part-owner of the Globe (1599)
• London had recurring plagues when theatres had to shut
(remember covid lockdowns?)
• Invested in real estate
• Retired a rich man and established himself as well-known
actor and playwright.
• Lived mainly in London, leaving his family in Stratford.
Shakespearean Times
Elizabethan Reformation
Era
• What do you call this

exhilarating era for
Renaissance 1485 – 1625?
Age of Age of
Exploration Discovery
Politics: Queen Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603)
• Her father was Henry VIII (6 wives) who started the Protestant Reformation
in England.
• She took to the throne in a time of religious uncertainty.
• She was Protestant but was tolerant of Catholics as long as they were loyal
to the throne.
• She was endowed with great power and authority. Much admired.
• Never married because a king would be more powerful than a queen.
Armada Portrait 1588. Background pictures show Spanish Armada sailing
to attack England and then the storm that destroyed it. Wore pearls which
were a symbol of virginity (the Virigin Queen)
Elizabethan Era
• Absolute monarchy – • One of most profitable
people believed in the and stable periods of
divine right to rule, history.
monarchs were God’s •She was possibly
representative on earth. England’s greatest
• As a strong queen, monarch?
Elizabeth went against
the common perceptions
of a woman’s role.
• Nothing changed for
other women – no rights.
James I of England /
James VI of Scotland
(died 1625)
• Son of Elizabeth’s cousin Mary Queen of
Scots.
• Became king of Scotland aged one and
reigned for 58 years.
• Became king of England when his cousin
Elizabeth I died. He united the crowns of
Scotland and England for the first time.
• Resurgence of struggle between the
Catholics and Protestants.
• Began the Ulster Plantation in 1610
aiming to make Ireland more Protestant.
• Time of excess and luxury in London.
William Shakespeare
23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616
1) Name the two monarchs (kings/queens) Shakespeare
wrote for.
2) Give three facts about Shakespeare’s background.
3) Name his wife and children.
4) Briefly describe his theatre (include date, location etc).
5) Give an example of a tragedy, a comedy and a history
play.
6) Shakespeare wrote sonnets (poetry). Name one sonnet.
7) Definitions: what is the difference between a) prose and
b) verse? c)What is iambic pentameter?
8) Draw a simplified and labelled sketch of the Globe
theatre. Use pencil.
The Scottish Play
• Considered bad luck among actors to mention Macbeth in
theatres
– Or even to quote him
• Macbeth traditionally produced by theatre companies in
financial trouble
– ‘Jinxed’
• The cure to mentioning Macbeth?
– Go outside the theatre
– Spin around three times
– Say the most vulgar word you know
– Wait for permission to re-enter the theatre
Strictly NOT Family Entertainment
• ‘O valiant cousin! Worthy

gentleman!’
– The cause: hacking a person in half
• Horses go insane and
cannibalistic
– They eat each other while still alive
• Occult incantations
• A severed head on a stick
• Bloody murder in the night
The Many Interpretations of
Macbeth
● A historical thriller ● A play of illusions
– a fast-moving, action-packed – the effect of the mysterious or
murder mystery demonstrating supernatural on humans
that crime doesn’t pay
● A play of ideas or themes
● A psychological study of – for example, “appearance
versus reality”
a murderer’s mind
● A play about gender
● A play of political and
social realism ● A tragedy
– how oppressive and – the fall of a great person
hierarchical society can brought about by a fatal flaw
corrupt individuals in their character
Real Duncan? Real Macbeth?
Shakespeare researched his play
Macbeth in a Tudor history textbook:
Holinshed’s Chronicles.
(Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches, Holinshed, Chronicles)
• Duncan WAS the king of Scotland when the real Macbeth was
born.
• Duncan was murdered (aged 38) – possibly by the real Macbeth.
• Macbeth was elected High King of Scotland in 1040.
• Macbeth ruled Scotland for 17 years – a peaceful and stable reign.
• Macbeth was killed in battle by Malcolm (the son of Duncan,
whom Macbeth had killed).
Writing for the King
• Macbeth was written for King James I
– Had a long and generally successful
reign.
– Was married but also gay. He had to
keep this hidden at the time.
• James was Scottish
– Macbeth intended to glorify that
background
– Macbeth praised kingship and
James’ bloodline.
• Shakespeare included some of James’
interests e.g. the supernatural especially
witches (James wrote a book about
witchcraft).
• Shakespeare needed the king to be a
patron – someone who would support
Shakespeare and pay for his plays.
Shakespeare weaves references to the
Gunpower Plot of 1605 into Macbeth
- As the new king of England, James faced an assassination attempt.

- Disgruntled Catholics planned to blow up parliament by planting gunpowder in the
cellars underneath the king’s throne.
- Guy Fawkes was discovered, guarding the gunpowder – he was arrested and tortured
– all the conspirators were executed.
- Still ‘celebrated’ in England as Guy Fawkes Night.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40UuVVsYtaM&ab_channel=HorribleHistories
James I and witches
● King James’ interest in

witchcraft was well known
● King James visited Oxford
in 1605 and was greeted by
three witches who hailed
him as the descendent of
Banquo . . .
● Holinshed’s Chronicles
included a family tree
linking James I to Banquo.
Alexandre-Marie Colin, The Three Witches from Macbeth

Witch mania in Elizabethan times…
People thought witches could:
- Predict the future
- Cause fogs, tempests or night in daytime
- Curse enemies
- Kill animals
- Cause nightmares
- Raise evil spirits by concocting a brew
Accused witches were searched for a ‘Devil’s

mark’ where the devil had sucked their blood.
Witches often had ‘familiars’ like a cat or a toad.
Most people believed in witches at this time.

There were laws against witchcraft.
Between 1560 and 1650 (peak of witch trials)

hundreds of people (almost all were women)
were convicted of witchcraft, tortured and
executed.
Opening of Macbeth Act 1 scene 1
Opening scenes of Macbeth productions (12 mins). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWyegNZOqQE&t=467s
Summary of Macbeth 8 mins
http://tadshakespeare.weebly.com/shakespeares-work
s.html
TedEd 6 mins Why watch Macbeth?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD5goS69LT4&list=RD
CMUCsooa4yRKGN_zEE8iknghZA&start_radio=1&t=357
Shakespeare 1564-1616
1) What type/genre of play is Macbeth?
2) Why did Shakespeare choose a Scottish theme?
3) Which interests of James I did he include?
4) What theme or themes can you identify in Macbeth?
5) Is the story of Macbeth accurate history? Explain.
6) Why do you think Shakespeare wrote this play for James I
(include the word patron).
7) Summarise the story of the play Macbeth in ONE
sentence.

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SHAKESPEARE

23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616

• Born Stratford-upon Avon

• Married Anne Hathaway at 18 in 1582.

(baptism record 1585)

• What do you call this

• ‘O valiant cousin! Worthy

(Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches, Holinshed, Chronicles)

- As the new king of England, James faced an assassination attempt.

● King James’ interest in

Alexandre-Marie Colin, The Three Witches from Macbeth

Accused witches were searched for a ‘Devil’s

Most people believed in witches at this time.

Between 1560 and 1650 (peak of witch trials)

TedEd 6 mins Why watch Macbeth?

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