The Renaissance Period {1485-1660}
The Tragedy of Macbeth Background Information
Set in Scotland
Written for King James I (formerly of Scotland, now England) Queen of Denmark (James’s sister) was visiting
Shakespeare researched The Chronicles - Banquo is an ancestor of King James I
The Characters!
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
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
-
Wants more power! Kill! Kill!
-
Gets what’s coming to him in the end
