Macbeth was King of Scotland from 1040 to 1057. Although he is best known
through the Shakespearean drama bearing his name, his historical importance lies in
the fact that he was the last Celtic King of Scotland.
In
The Tragedy of Macbeth
, the shortest and most compressed of Shakespeare’s
tragedies, uncontrollable ambition incites Macbeth and his wife to murder the
rightful King and usurp the throne, until their own guilt destroys them. The play
clearly demonstrates the corrupting effect of ambition – but also deals with the
relationship between cruelty and masculinity, tyranny and kingship, violence, guilt,
prophecy, fate, and the disruption of natural order.
The play was written sometime between 1603 and 1607. Scholars believe the first
performance was in 1606. Macbeth was published in the First Folio of 1623; written
during the reign of King James I, the brevity of the surviving version is evidence of
the cutting required for performance at court before the King. Clearly Shakespeare
intended to flatter King James by his characterization of his ancestor, the noble
Banquo.
The story begins when a Scottish general receives a prophecy from a trio of witches
that one day he will be King of Scotland. Sparked by the prophecy, consumed with
ambition, and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan, taking
the throne for himself. He soon becomes a tyrannical ruler, forced to commit murder
after murder to retain the throne and protect himself from enmity and suspicion. The
bloodbath quickly leads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of arrogance,
madness, and death.
Shakespeare’s source for the tragedy are the accounts of Macbeth, Macduff, and
Malcolm in Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles (1587), a history of England, Scotland,
and Ireland. However, Shakespeare’s Macbeth bears little relation to real events in
Scottish history, as Macbeth was an admired and able monarch. Shakespeare is less
interested in the historical Macbeth than in the character of the Macbeth he has
created, pointedly examining the corroding effects produced when his protagonist
chooses evil over good.
In the backstage world of theatre, many believe the play is cursed and will not
mention its title aloud, referring to it instead as “the Scottish play.” Over the course
of four centuries, the play has attracted some of the most renowned actors to the
roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It has been adapted to film, television, opera,
novels, comic books, and other media.
SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH
MACBETH
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