History as context

• Shakespeare uses his own current and distant history to shape his plays, including Macbeth

• written in the early 1600s

  • transitional period

    • regime change

    • religious crack-down

    • first taste of mass terrorism

    • a variety of riots

    • queen is very old, dies in 1603

      • no heir

      • political factions are forming and strengthening

        • Succeeded King James

    • King James of Scotland becomes the king with little to no bloodshed

      • boosts cultural scene

        • brings theatre a boost

        • gives theatre leaders power

      • brings family along (wife and three children)

      • let down the Catholics in the country, as James does not repeal the laws that were oppressing them

        • terrorist attack planned and failed- 1605

          • goal was to invite a Spanish invasion

      • Goes from very popular to very unpopular in a very short period of time

  • Shakespeare is also rising sharply to fame, contrasting the world around him

    • 1580s--> is Shakespeare's career

    • Shakespeare, as a result of his new status, is in the middle of the fall out of the failed revolution in 1605

• historical context, especially when they play-write is involved in politics, is important to understand.

Macbeth

• written in 1606 English, set in 11th century Scotland

• he is writing about real people in history and taking liberties, making it a drama

  • real people paired with witches and the supernatural

• The Crown in Scotland

  • The origins of Scotland, Wales, and England have all, at this point, been traced back to the same mythical figure of Brutus of Troy, who landed with his sons. His sons had a falling out and divided up the land into three countries

  • Duncan reigned 1034-1040

  • Macbeth reigned 1040-1057

  • Lulach reigned 1057-1058

  • Malcolm reigned 1058-1093

  • ...

  • James VI/I 1567-1625

• History from Shakespeare given by Holinshed

• Duncan 

  • kindly ineffectual ruler

  • subject to rebellions because he's soft on rule-breakers

  • dependent on others

  • Macbeth leads fight against the invasion of the Norwegians 

  • dies in battle 

    • Holinshed says he was murdered, but not the way Shakespeare portrays

      • Shakespeare used the story of the slaughter of Duff by Donwald who was encouraged by his wife to kill the king to get inspiration for the murder

        • thinking about the retelling of history as a dramatic choice, why were these choices made?

• Macbeth

  • witches are mentioned in history book

  • nature of Macbeth's rule from Holinshed

    • good and effective king

      • Holinshed notes that it was disingenuous

    • supports people, tough on crime

    • antithesis of Duncan

    • deeply effected by the prophecy and plans Banquo's death

  • MacDuff does kill Macbeth and his family

  • Shakespeare's portrayal of Macbeth

    • transfers some of the characteristics of Duncan to Macbeth

    • expands the role of Lady Macbeth

    • embraces the witches to drive the plot

  • Banquo, Thane of Lochaber

    • He was never a real figure, but Shakespeare likely doesn't know this

      • the origin point for the ruling house of Stuart (stewart?)

        • origin of King James's line

      • Play is set as a origin myth for the new King of England, as it is showing that he is legitimate

        • King also asserts that he is the king of Great Britain, rather than just of England

        • this is not reality, he is kings of two places at once

          • this continues with the line of succession, his son also becomes the king of two places

• Macbeth plays into the fear of terrorism and the chaos of overthrowing the crown

reminder that casting in Shakespeare's day would be all men

The position of women in early modern society

• God creates Man 'in his own image'

• the body of the King represents the body of the country 

• power is God-given and masculine

• hierarchy was a strong way to control society... in this case, patriarchy.

  • God--> Man--> Woman

    • Eve

      • disobedience

      • succumbing to temptation

      • accessing forbidden knowledge

      • leading Man astray

      • challenging the natural order

      • therefore...women were naturally inferior, yet had power to endanger men. an interesting paradox

  • the more the status quo is emphasized, the more we dear its disruption

Anti-theatricalism

• threats to the fixed order

• people are always counterfeiting, they are not always acting others, not themselves; all the whole action of Plays is nought else but feigning...palpable hypocrysy and dissimulation...therefore it must needs be sinful

• men taking on effeminiate gender identities is not only a lie, but also a sin.

• women were publically shamed for "allowing" his woman to break the social hierarchy because women disobeying their husbands indicates potential greater disorder in the country

Women in the Law

• a feme covert

• she has no legal existence of her own, and is passed from the ownership of father to husband

  • "An you be mind, I'll give you to my friend" (Juliet's father)

• women were property

  • men believe other men

• rape in marriage made an offense- England, 1991

• Catherine Hayes burned at the steak for treason for murdering her husband, she defied the power over her

• exceptions to the rule

  • Queen Elizabeth rejects her femininity in order to reign in power and establish herself of worthy as a ruler

Love between men and women (the theory)

• Hero's view

  • Orsino in Twelfth Night II.iv

  • "Then put my tires and mantles on him, whilst I wore his sword Philippan" 

    • Anthony and Cleopatra II v

• what women should be...

  • a maiden never bold (desdemona's father)

  • soft, gentle, and low (cordelia's father)

• What women are feared to be...

  • But to the girdle do the gods inheret; beneath is all the fiends (King Leer)

  • When she is sated with his body, she must have change (Iago)

  • the idea is that when women have a taste of sex, their appetite will be more and varied (which is dangerous)

  • Frailty, thy name is woman (Hamlet)

    • commenting on his mother remarrying and shaming her in the choice

• How can the legally powerless drive the dramatic action?

  • escaping (literally) the patriarchy

    • running away

    • Viola: shippwrecked

    • Rosalind: exiled

    • Portion: left behind

  • transgressive women only permitted within strict confines of plot and genre

    • must cross-dress

      • they have not left the world, just the men

    • comedies begin in trouble and end in peace, tragedies begin in calm and end in tempest

      • the women follow this pattern and somehow are removed from the freedom that they attempt to establish

        • return to female attire and status quo

          • Viola

          • Rosalind

          • Portia

          • Innogen

          • Hermia

        • death

          • Tamora

          • Regan

          • Lady Macbeth

        • collateral damage

          • Juliet

          • Desdemona

• men playing women

  • 'a nest of boys able to ravish a man'- Father Hubbard's Tales

  • the fear that men watching boys play women would then fall in love with men

  • soothed by the idea that it's all just pretend

  • clothing creates the shape of the body, rather than the other way around. 

    • if you wear female clothing, you will have a female shape and visa versa

    • cross-dressing allows the actors to move more freely on stage when they are not limited by the female clothing

The problematic plays of yesterday being viewed today

• Taming of the Shrew, how has it been reframed to be palatable

  • much of it hangs on the performance of the infamous final speech

Shakespeare can be a great tool to confront social issues by viewing him not as a modern mind, but rather as a body that should be actively contested