Macbeth by William Shakespeare A series of images and illustrations.

Macbethby William Shakespeare

A series of images and illustrations

The Real Macbeth & Early Scottish Kings

•Early kings were numerous: it was not uncommon to kill your predecessor, only to be killed by your successor

• Kenneth MacAlpin 843-859 (first to unite Scotland)• Donald I 858-862 • Constantine I 862-877 • Aed 877-878 • Eochaid 878-889 • Giric 889 • Donald II 889-900 • Constantine II 900-943 • Malcolm I 943-954 • Indulf 954-962 • Dubh 962-966 • Cullen 966-971 • Kenneth II 971-995 • Constantine III 995-997• Kenneth III 997-1005 • Malcolm II 1005-1034 • Duncan I 1034-1040 (grandson of Malcolm II , killed by

Macbeth in battle)• Macbeth 1040-1057 (grandson of Kenneth II, killed by Malcolm

III, Duncan’s son)• Lulach 1057-1058 (stepson of Macbeth, is killed by Malcolm III)• Malcolm III 1058-1093

The Stone of Scone

Later Scottish Kings• James IV 1488-1513 (son of James III &

Margaret of Denmark, marries Margaret Tudor)

• James V 1513-1542 (marries Mary of Guise, has daughter Mary)

• Mary Queen of Scots 1542-1587 (beheaded as Catholic threat to English throne, ironically was in England to escape growing Protestant movement (Presbyterianism) in Scotland

• James VI 1587-1625 (son of Mary & Henry Stuart, grandson of Margaret Tudor, eldest sister of Henry VII of England (1485-1509)

•Through intermarriage, James VI of Scotland became James I of Scotland when Elizabeth (Tudor) I died childless in 1603

James I of England(king, 1603-1625)

King James the author•James was a scholar on witchcraft, which many people believed in at the time•He published Daemonologie in 1597•Its full name is "Daemonologie, In Forme of a Dialogie, Diuided into three Bookes. By James Rx"

Above: a contemporary portrait of King JamesRight: The original coverand insert page

King James the patron•James was also a patron of the arts•Shakespeare’s theatre group, formerly known as “Lord Chamberlain’s Men” changed their name to “The King’s Men”

Top: inside the Blackfriars theatre. Left: its location

The King James Bible, 1611 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

•To strengthen Protestantism in England, James commissioned a new edition of the Bible in English•Many of the top poets and writers of the time contributed; they may have placed an obscure tribute to Shakespeare – who was age 46 – in it.•Read Psalm 46 (right). Look at the 46th word from the beginning and end.

Right: animage of the originalinsert page

Macbeth: The First Folio edition, 1623, and a map of Macbeth’s Scotland

Scotland: Macbeth meets the witches on a heath: windblown plains that cover much of Scotland

An introduction to Macbeth’s character

•“By Sinel’s death I know that I am thane of Glamis” (1, 3, 74)

•Glamis castle, pictured today

Glamis castle is not visited in Macbeth

Macbeth the warrior“For brave Macbeth... Disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel...Like valour’s minion carved out his passage/ Till he faced the slave;/ Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,/ Till he unseam’d him from the nave to the chaps,/ And fix’d his head upon our battlements.” (1,2,18-25)

Macbeth the warrior

•The weapon of choice of a warrior such as Macbeth is called a claymore•It is a large sword that only the most skilled and strong would be able to use•The statute is of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland•He was king from 1306-1329, a long time for that period

Macbeth’s prophecy

First Witch: “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis!”Second Witch: ”All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!”Third Witch: “All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter!” (1, 3, 50-53)

Macbeth’s prophecy•Cawdor Castle, pictured today•Cawdor, of course, is only mentioned: Duncan is killed at Inverness•Macbeth spends his last days at Dunsinane

Fulfilling prophecy“If it is done, when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well/ It were done quickly.” (1, 7, 1-2)

“Is this a dagger I see before me,/ The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.” (2, 1, 40-41)

“To be thus is nothing;/ But to be safely thus: our fears in Banquo/ Stick deep...Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,/ And put a barren sceptre in my gripe.” (3, 1, 52-66)

Macbeth’s castleDuncan: “From hence to Inverness,/ And bind us further to you.” (1, 4, 48-49)Lady Macbeth: The raven himself is hoarse/ That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan/ Under my battlements.” (1, 5, 41-43)Duncan: “This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air/ Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself/ unto our gentle senses.” (1, 6, 1-3)

Inverness Castle

Becoming kingRoss: “’Tis most like/ the sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth...Will you to Scone?”Macduff: “No, cousin, I’ll to Fife.” (2, 4, 38-47)

The stone (left) resides in Edinburgh Castle (top), today under a throne (right)

The Third MeetingFirst Witch: “Round about the cauldron go;/ In the poison’d entrails go;...Second Witch: “Eye of newt and toe of frog,/ Wool of bat, and tongue of dog...Third Witch: “Liver of blaspheming Jew,/ Gall of goat, and slips of yew,/ Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse,/ Nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips,/ Finger of birth-strangled babe,/ Ditch deliver’d by a drab.” (4, 1, 5-31)

Mass Murder“The castle of Macduff I will surprise;/ Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword/ His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls/ That trace him in his line.” (4, 1, 164-167)

The ruins of a castle at Fife

Birnam Wood and Dunsinane

Macbeth: “Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane/ I cannot taint with fear.” (5, 3, 2-3)

Siward: “What wood is this before us?”Menteith: “The wood of Birnam.”Malcolm: “Let every soldier hew him down a bow,/ And bear’t before him.” (5, 4, 4-7)

Dunsinane Hill, with BirnamWood in thedistance

Macbeth: remember, it’s a tragedy!

Macbeth lives on

•The “Scottish Play” appears again and again

Two films, a play with Captain Jean-Luc Picardand a British pub