Macbeth

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Macbeth

In the final Act of the play Macbeth and his wife are described by

Malcolm as “This dead butcher and his fiend-like queen.” Consider how

Shakespeare introduces us to the character of Macbeth in Act 1.

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 and wrote 37 plays

throughout his lifetime. He wrote Macbeth in 1606 and it is probably

one of his best known plays. ‘Macbeth’ is one of Shakespeare’s great

tragedies-the others being: King Lear, Othello and Hamlet. ‘Macbeth’

was written under the rein of King James I, so it is not surprising

that the play is, in many ways linked to the King. It is a Scottish

play (King James was the new Scots King of England). One of the

central characters, Banquo can be traced as one of King James’s

ancestors. The play also deals with the subject of Kingship and

loyalty. This would have appealed to the King as during the gunpowder

plot, people who he trusted turned against him and tried to kill him.

The play also deals with the subject of the supernatural; this would

have interested the King because he was very interested in the darker

sides to life.

Macbeth is first introduced to us in Act 1, Scene 2. We can see from

the start of the play the difference in the language used nowadays to

the language used then. He is first described as “Brave Macbeth and

well he deserves that name.” This would lead you to believe that he is

a brave soldier; someone everyone admires and respects.

The Bleeding Captain then goes on to say, “Like valours minion carved

out his passage.” This is the first sign of the difference in

language. This means that he is a great warrior. There is a

description ...

... middle of paper ...

...why I think Malcolm called

Macbeth and his wife “This dead butcher and his fiend like queen.” The

first thing that has to be noted before I can express my opinion of

the statement made about lady Macbeth is that this play was written in

the Jacobean period. This was the reign of King James and at this

time the desire of society was to keep women powerless and

subordinate. It was a patriarchal society that believed women were

not equal to men. I will now say my thoughts on the statement made

about Macbeth. I think that it is pretty obvious why Macbeth was

called ‘This dead butcher.’ I think this because he dies at the end of

the play so this would be where he gets the ‘dead’ part of the name.

He would then get the ‘butcher’ part of the name as he kills many men

which would make people give him the name ‘butcher.’

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