The Man That Would Be Shakespeare
• Born April 23rd, 1564• Started out performing
with “The Lord Chamberlain’s Men”
• Gave him a chance to write a play
• Henry IV, Pt. 1- It stunk but they gave him another shot
• Many playwrights with nowhere to “play”
• Barn turned into theatre (Yeah!)
• Puritans burn it down (Evil theatre! Boo!)
• Globe built! (Yeah!)• Globe burns (sniff, darn
cannon!)• Globe rebuilt! (Yeah!)• Globe burns (Dang that
Fire of London!)
Reconstructed in the 1990’s
o Aristocrats
o The Queen/King
o The Groundlings!
When in a play...• Only men were permitted
to perform• Boys or effeminate men
were used to play the women
• Costumes were often the company’s most valuable asset
• Costumes were made by the company, bought in London, or donated by courtiers
The Cost of a Show• 1 shilling to stand
• 2 shillings to sit in the balcony
• 1 shilling was 10% of their weekly income
• Broadway Today:– $85 Orchestra
– $60 Balcony
– 10% of a teacher’s weekly salary
• Set in 11th Century Scotland• Written for King James I
(formerly of Scotland, now England)
• Queen of Denmark (James’s sister) was visiting
• Shakespeare researched Holinshed’s Chronicles of Scottish History - Banquo is an ancestor of King James I
Was there a real Macbeth?
• Yes! He became King of Scotland in 1040 AD when he killed the previous king, Duncan, in battle.
• He ruled for 17 years until he was overthrown and killed by Duncan’s son, who became King Malcolm III.
Some changes Shakespeare made to The Chronicles
• Shows Banquo in a good light because he’s related to King James I (In The Chronicles, Banquo is an active participant in the death of King Duncan.)
• Shows predictions about the future of Scotland coming from witches (In The Chronicles, a mystical goddess delivers the predictions.)
Connections for British Society
• “Remember, remember the fifth of November Gunpowder, treason and plot.I see no reason why gunpowder, treasonShould ever be forgot...”
• In November 1605 the Gunpowder Plot was discovered– Guy Fawkes and his followers (Roman Catholics)
planned to blow up Parliament– They wanted to bring down the British government
and put a Catholic rulers on the throne – The plot was discovered and the men involved
were tried and killed as traitors• Shakespeare sided with the king and seemed to think
that a play about treason and death would find an audience at this time
• King Duncan of Scotland– Murdered by cousin Macbeth
– Honest and good
• Malcolm & Donalbain– Sons of the King
– Malcolm is the eldest son
• Macbeth– Duncan’s most courageous general
– Ambition to become king corrupts him causing him to murder Duncan
• Banquo– General and Macbeth’s best friend– Suspects Macbeth in Duncan’s murder – An actual ancestor of King James I
• Lady Macbeth– As ambitious as her husband– A dark force behind his evil deeds
• Macduff– Scottish general, suspects Macbeth of
murdering the king– Macbeth has his family murdered– Swears vengeance
The Scottish Play• It is believed to be bad luck to
even squeak the word ‘Macbeth’ in a theatre
• Legend has it you will lose all your friends involved in the production--horribly
• Def. “Man of high standard who falls from that high because of a flaw that has affected many” - Aristotle
• Macbeth is one of the most famous examples of the tragic hero.
So what really happens?• Good guy goes bad
• Guy wants power
• Married to a pushy control freak
• She wants power
• Kills people- LOTS of people
• Gets power
• Gets paranoid (a.k.a. goes crazy)
• Ticks off a lot of people
• Want more power! Kill! Kill!
• Gets what’s coming to him in the end
