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Contemporary References to King James I in Shakespeare's Macbeth (1605-06)One can connect Shakespeare's patron, King James I, to almost every significant dramatic alteration Shakespeare made to his source material on the historical Macbeth, as we can see in Shakespeare's Sources for Macbeth. But fascinating contemporary references and compliments to James also are found throughout the play.The two-fold balls and treble sceptres (4.1) is a reference to the double coronation of James, at Scone and Westminster, and the most overt homage to James in the play. The balls or globes "were the royal insignia which King James bore in right of his double kingship of England and Scotland, and the three sceptres were those of his three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland" (Lilian Winstanley, Macbeth, King Lear and Contemporary History). Another obvious tribute to James is Malcolm's reference to the evil (4.3) or scrofula, which James believed he could cure by his touch; a power supposedly inherited from Edward the Confessor. A probable allusion to the Gunpowder Plot to assassinate James can be found in Lady Macbeth's words, look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't (1.5) and even more riveting is an allusion to a Jesuit priest named Father Henry Garnet, who had concealed his knowledge of the conspiracy: Faith, here’s an equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either scale; who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven. O, come in, equivocator. (2.3)Macbeth also, more so than any of Shakespeare's works, is overflowing with Biblical imagery, and, of course, one of King James's great passions was Scripture, culminating in the King James Version of the Bible in 1611. Another of James's interests was witchcraft, and woven into Macbeth are portions of James's own book on the subject, Daemonologie. It is not surprising that Shakespeare aimed to please James. Shortly after his arrival in London, James insisted that Shakespeare's troupe come under his own patronage, giving them unlimited opportunities and making Shakespeare a wealthy man. More on the King's Men... How to cite this article: Reference Winstanley, Lilian. Macbeth, King Lear and Contemporary History. Cambridge: The University Press, 1922. ____ Related Resources on Shakespeare's Macbeth  Macbeth: The Complete Play with Annotations and Commentary Shakespeare's Sources for Macbeth Intercourse with a Devil: The Trial of Poor Bessie Dunlop Elizabethan Use of Mummified Flesh Superstitions in Shakespeare's England The Fatal Bellman Aesthetic Examination Questions on Macbeth The Metre of Macbeth: Blank Verse and Rhymed Lines Macbeth Character Introduction Metaphors in Macbeth (Biblical) Soliloquy Analysis: If it were done when 'tis done (1.7.1-29) Soliloquy Analysis: Is this a dagger (2.1.33-61) Soliloquy Analysis: To be thus is nothing (3.1.47-71) Soliloquy Analysis: She should have died hereafter (5.5.17-28) Explanatory Notes for Lady Macbeth's Soliloquy (1.5) The Psychoanalysis of Lady Macbeth (Sleepwalking Scene) Lady Macbeth's Suicide Is Lady Macbeth's Swoon Real? Explanatory Notes for the Witches' Chants (4.1) Macbeth Plot Summary (Acts 1 and 2) Macbeth Plot Summary (Acts 3, 4 and 5) A Comparison of Macbeth and Hamlet The Effect of Lady Macbeth's Death on Macbeth Heebie-Jeebies: The Curse of Macbeth Macbeth Q & A What is Tragic Irony? Macbeth Study Quiz (with detailed answers) Quotations from Macbeth (Full) Top 10 Quotations from Macbeth Characteristics of Elizabethan Tragedy
Shakespeare's Workmanship: Crafting a Sympathetic Macbeth Temptation, Sin, Retribution: Lecture Notes on Macbeth Untie the winds: Exploring the Witches' Control Over Nature in Macbeth Why Shakespeare is so Important Shakespeare's Language Shakespeare's Influence on Other Writers |
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