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The Renaissance. Historical Context and Background for Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Brainstorm…. What do you already know about Shakespeare and/or the Renaissance in Great Britain?. The English Renaissance. Cultural and artistic movement in the 15th-17th centuries
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The Renaissance Historical Context and Background for Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Brainstorm… What do you already know about Shakespeare and/or the Renaissance in Great Britain?
The English Renaissance • Cultural and artistic movement in the 15th-17th centuries • Particular influence on literature and music • Marlowe, Spenser, Donne, Jonson
Elizabeth I • Reigned 1558-1603 • Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn • United a divided country • Died unmarried, without children
James I • Reigned 1603-1625 • Son of Mary Stuart, Elizabeth’s cousin • 1597: Wrote Daemonologie, an opposition to witchcraft • 1605: The Gunpowder Plot • Descendant of Banquo
Guy Fawkes Day Remember remember the fifth of November Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder, treason Should ever be forgot...
William Shakespeare • 1564-1616 • Notable by 1592 • Wrote approximately 38 plays and 150 sonnets • Life shrouded in mystery
Macbeth “It is a troubling thought that Macbeth, of all Shakespeare's characters, should seem the most 'modern,' the only one you could transpose into contemporary battle dress or a sport shirt and slacks.”
Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. • Shakespeare’s main resource for historical background • Mainly gossip, rumor, and legend • Adapted even further by Shakespeare
The “Real” Macbeth • Ruled Scotland starting in 1040 • Defeated Duncan in battle • Duncan was a young, weak ruler • Lady Macbeth hardly mentioned
The Play • Written between 1603-1607 • First performed 1611 • First published 1623 • Deals with ambition, greed, corruption • Cursed
Witchcraft • Main concern of King James I • 4,500 – 8,000 supposed witches executed in the 16th and 17th centuries • Main trickery in Macbeth
Literary Focus • Use of language for deception • Motif vs. theme • Poetic devices • Shakespearean language