William Shakespeare, Macbeth

Louise Harrington (Cardiff University); Revised By: Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Ed. by Virginia Mason Vaughan, Clark University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.03: English Writing and Culture: Renaissance (Elizabethan and Jacobean periods) , 1485-1625.
Vol. editors: William M. Hamlin (Washington State University), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University), Ema Vyroubalova (Trinity College Dublin)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1606

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play
Tragedy

Resources

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On March 24 1603, the Scottish king James VI ascended the English throne as James I, thus uniting the crowns of England and Scotland. It has often been argued that

Macbeth

, thought to have been one of three plays performed at Hampton Court on 7 Aug 1606 for James and Christian IV of Denmark, is a reflection of the new king's personal and political preoccupation with regicide and kingship. James was something of an authority on the complexities of royal succession and hereditary rights, and had written, amongst others,

The True Law of Free Monarchies

(1598), which insisted on the divine right of kings, and

Basilikon Doron

(1599) which was concerned with the distinction between good monarchs and tyrants.

Macbeth was also written not long after James discovered the Gunpowder Plot

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2402 words

Citation: Harrington, Louise, Virginia Mason Vaughan. "Macbeth". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 July 2004; last revised 15 May 2020. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3798, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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