Historical Context for Shakespeare's Plays

In the play Twelfth Night Shakespeare states “Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them” (Twelfth Night II.5.154). Shakespeare influenced every generation of writers since his death, and he continues to have an enormous impact on contemporary plays, movies, and poems. His plays have plots with many twists and turns providing an excellent exercise in logic. William Shakespeare is known worldwide because he is the greatest poet and playwright who ever lived, he influenced the world of literature, his plots were unoriginal, and because of his achievements he is now taught at school. To begin, Shakespeare is a well-known playwright and a tremendous poet.

N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014. hamletcharacter.html>. Schwartz, Debora B. "Shakespeare's Plays: Tragedy."

This is displayed when Macbeth becomes mutinous after murdering Duncan for the throne. Ultimately, Macduff is critical to Macbeth’s downfall due to the fact that he murdered Macbeth. This not only ended Macbeth’s life, but his reign over Scotland as well. Although there are many minor characters in the play, the witches, Duncan and Macduff are three of the most significant to Macbeth’s death. The witches play a brief, yet important role in Macbeth’s fate.

William Shakespeare is nothing if not a genius. According to Amanda Mabillard, “Shakespeare influenced every generation of writers since his death and he continues to have an enormous impact on contemporary plays, movies, and poems.” He conceived several classic pieces of literature, all unique in their own right. They all have different characters, plots, et cetera. But if you sit down and think about it, it is not hard to come up with similarities between his plays. In the case between Macbeth and The Tempest, there almost isn’t a character from one play that doesn’t have a counterpart in the other.

It speaks of the killing of two of Scotland’s kings – the first for ambition and the second for justice. During this, Shakespeare also reveals many human truths such as ambition, vengeance and hatred. Shakespeare was influenced in his writing of Macbeth by James I, who was a patron of Shakespeare’s acting company. The play Macbeth pays homage to the King, who was rumoured to be a descendant of Banquo, and shows Shakespeare’s close relationship with him. This extract comes from act three scene one after Macbeth has killed the king, Duncan, in order to ascend to kingship and fulfil the witches’ prophesies more rapidly.

Web. 17 February, 2014. “Summary of Baconian Evidence for Shakespeare Authorship”. http://www.sirbacon.org/links/evidence.html. N.p, n.d.

"The Main Characteristics of Shakespearean Plays: Comedy, Tragedy, History."HubPages. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. . Michaels, Leigh.

Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence: From Ancient Times to the Present, Third Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE49&iPin=ENPP046&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 25, 2014).

Web. 27 Jan. 2014. Boyce, Charles. “Shakespearean Tragedy.” Bloom’s Literature. Facts on File, Inc.

In the time that King James I ruled, there was a large fear of witches and witchcraft throughout England and Scotland. And during his reign, William Shakespeare wrote the play Macbeth, which is the renamed King’s Men sign of gratitude towards James. Macbeth is interesting because it is “based on a story from Scottish history particularly apt for a monarch who traced his line back to Banquo” (Greenblatt 815). The play also drew from James’ own fears of assassination, eventually leading to Macbeth’s own fear of Banquo and having him killed so that he would not have to worry about his possibility of becoming a traitor. James also had a fear of witchcraft being behind any attempt on his life because he “suspected the hand of the devil in any plot against an anointed king” (816).