Macbeth and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605
Shakespeare’s Macbeth was influenced by the gunpowder plot of 1605. The equivocation that was inspired by this event played an important role in the play. The general theme of Macbeth reflects the mood of society at the time that it was written. This relationship is a direct reflection of the mimetic theory. This paper will examine the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and the role of equivocation in the subsequent prosecutions during the time that Shakespeare was writing Macbeth, and show how Macbeth was influenced by the event.
On the night of November 4, 1605, an important discovery was made in London: thirty-six barrels of highly explosive gunpowder, ready to blow a hole in the earth, were discovered directly below the House of Parliament in Westminster. Had the authorities not foiled this attempt, Parliament would have been destroyed, killing the members of Parliament as well as King James I of England (whose reign had only begun in 1603), and sending the English government into shambles. In modern day context, Garry Wills suggests that this event would be as if an atomic bomb was discovered under the United States Capitol Building during the heat of the Cold War:
How to suggest the scale of it? For a parallel we might imagine America in the 1950s, and suppose that a communist cell – made up of Americans acting under foreign direction – has planted a nuclear device under the United States Capitol. It is timed to go off when the President is addressing both houses of Congress. All Executive Officers will be there, as well as all justices of the Supreme Court. The three branches of Government will be wiped out. Every Constitutional successor to the President will die with him.1
One of ...
... middle of paper ...
...ent as of April 8, 2000)
Boot, Jeremy. Guy Fawkes – Treason in 1605. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.innotts.co.uk/~asperges/fawkes/> (version current as of March 5, 2000)
Friedlander, Ed, M.D. Enjoying "Macbeth", by William Shakespeare. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.pathguy.com/erf/macbeth.htm> (version current as of March 5, 2000)
Vaidya, Suchit and Chris Harrison. Macbeth.com. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.igs.net/~chrisharr/macbeth/index2.html> (version current as of March 5, 2000)
Weller, Philip. Macbeth Navigator: Themes: Equivocation. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.clicknotes.com/macbeth/Equiv.html> (version current as of March 5, 2000)
Wuestenhagen, Greg. Guy Fawkes and his day. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.bcpl.lib.md.us/~cbladey/guy/html/toc.html> (version current as of March 5, 2000)
What is maturity? When does one mature? Maturity defined by a dictionary means “fully developed physically; fully grown,” but it also depends on the way one acts. Although one is grown up, it does not mean one acts poised and sophisticated as expected. After the Trojan War, the main character Odysseus is on a long journey to return to his home, Ithaca. The problem is the kingdom is overrun by suitors; his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, do their best to keep them out of the palace. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus transitions from being immature to mature as he is placed in Xenia,the Greek custom of hospitality for guests through encounters with Polyphemus, Circe, and Alcinous.
To reach maturity it requires loss of innocence. It’s a coming of age experience that changes the outlook on life forever. For example, when Antonio saw Lupito’s death scene he couldn’t believe what had happened, he said “I had started praying to myself from the moment I heard the first shot, and I never stopped praying until I reached home.”(Anaya 23), he was terrified of what he had seen and didn’t know
Lizhi, Ye. “The Equivocation Theme in Macbeth/Equivocation Du Theme Dans Macbeth.” Vol.2 No.4. Canadian Research & Development Center of Sciences and Cultures. Montreal, 2006.
Foakes, Francis. "A New Perspective of Macbeth." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 58-64.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press New Folger Edition, 1992
“Plot Summary: Macbeth”. Shakespeare. Online Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center- Gold. Gale. Ozen High School. 12 Jan 2010. http://find.galegroup.com
Not surprisingly, Shakespeare's play reflects these topical Jacobean events through its word choice, plot, and themes in an intriguing blend of Scottish history, contemporary political events, and authorial creativity. The language of the play, for example, includes a litany of references to the Gunpowder Plot that would have been familiar to all the king's loyal subjects in 1605. Such terms as "vault," "mine," "blow," "devils," "fuse," "powder," "confusion," "corpses," "spirits," and "combustion" set up a linguistic landscape through which Macbeth and the witches kill a king and take over his throne in a mirror image of the aborted Popish plot during James's reign. Similarly, the play's riddling prophesies mimic the ease with which Jesuits equivocated between truth and falsehood, good and evil.
The essence of Macbeth lies not only in the fact that it is written by the universal talent William Shakespeare; the royal-conspiracy, the political unethical activity, the killin...
Macbeth is a brave general who fights for his country Scotland, defeating the King of Norway. He is loyal to his king Duncan, but Macbeth has ambition to take over the kingdom for himself. He has lots of doubts of if he is doing the right thing, but still murders Duncan and then Banquo who is another general who fought with Macbeth. These murders and guilt about his treason are leading Macbeth to become insane. This essay shows that although Macbeth’s strong desire for power is influenced by the three witches in the play and also the planning and ambition of his wife Lady Macbeth, in the end he is responsible for his self-destruction.
113 Macbeth. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1990. The. Coursen, H. R. Macbeth: A Guide to the Play. London: Greenwood Press, 1997.
Thrasher, Thomas E. Understanding Great Literature: Understanding Macbeth Lucent Books, 10911 Technology Place, San Diego, CA 92127, 2002.
Furthermore, Levinson classifies the novice phase into the early adulthood transition stage (17-22 years), entering the adulthood world (22-28 years), and age-30 transition (28-33 years). On the other hand, the culminating phase encompasses the settling down stage (33-40 years) and midlife transition stage (40-45 years of age). Nevertheless, adulthood is composed of middle-aged period (45-65 years) and late adulthood period entailing the age of 65 years and beyond. Some experts in developmental psychology have gone further to classify the late adulthood period into young-old stage (65-85 years) and old-old stage (85 and above years of age) (Newton, 1994; Levinson, 1978). However, it suffices to emphasize that these stages only exist as a guide to showcase normal development occurring in a continuum, since not everyone develops through displayed stages at exactly similar
“Age is just a number, maturiy is a choice.” (Harry Styles) Some people see this quote as true, while others view it as nonsense. Maturity is the state of being mature, but what does “being mature” really mean? In actuality, the definition of mature is defined by the person themselves. Some believe it is being “Fully physically developed; full grown” as stated in the Oxford English Dictionary. Others argue that one must attain a certain level of mental or emotional growth. Search engines and dictionaries also say that being mature is having reached an advanced stage of mental or emotional development characteristic of an adult. The definition of a word may seem like a small thing because, on the surface, it appears very matter of fact. But, for anyone who is actually striving to achieve maturity, or for one who is being judged or is judging the attained level of maturity of
Shakespeare, William. “Macbeth.” The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Longman, 1997