Here is a wonderful video that gives great background on the drama and on the historical aspects that surround this tragedy:
General historical background: http://www.westirondequoit.org/ihs/library/his.html
Gunpowder Plot Background:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/gunpowder_robinson_01.shtml
This is a great link that gives background and analysis; we will be using this in our class production of Macbeth: http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/matthewkantor/502/webquest/index.html#tasks
Take look at the video and links above and leave your reflections, thoughts, feelings, questions in the comment section below (minimum of 6 sentences).
One of the things that really caught my eye while reading more about the history of Macbeth was that Queen Elizabeth I, on her death bed, made James VI of Scotland her successor. Queen Elizabeth had executed Queen Mary of Scotland, who was James's mother in 1587, which would make me think a grudge would be held against England. James and Elizabeth's beliefs were very different as well; she persecuted Catholics where as his wife was catholic. I also read about the Scottish curse and those who believe in the curse say it is cast in the three witches scene, the part of the play we read. According to the legend, Shakespeare got some of the lines from an actual coven of witches and when they saw the play, they were offended and cursed the play. The curse started during the premiere of the play, an actor was killed because a real dagger was used instead of a prop.
ReplyDeleteMy question is, one of the websites makes it sound like James sympathizes with Catholics but reading the other website about the Gunpowder Plot, it sounds like he tried to get rid of them so was he against Catholicism or for it?
This video truly demonstrated the darkness and horror found within the tragedy, Macbeth. The speaker discussed how Shakespeare wrote the drama in a mere two colors: blood red and night black. He even mention that even when daylight is present, the darkness continues to drown it out. This imagery of the colors about which he discussed paint a very dark picture in my mind. He also added that there is witchcraft and murder found within the tragedy as well, which simply adds to the creepy aura surrounding the play. Lastly, the speaker told about the fact that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had never felt more ALIVE then when they are planning to KILL the king which I thought was ironic. I am really looking forward to reading this drama and going more into detail about it.
ReplyDeleteALSO- I looked up why Macbeth is supposedly cursed and apparently this is because there are a lot of talented British actors that have met an unnecessary and quick death during their time performing the show. Therefore, there is a superstition that if you say the word "Macbeth" while in a theatre that something bad will happen to you, like you will get sick or die.
I, personally, am intrigued by the idea of witchcraft in this play, and I wonder where the Scottish belief of this supernatural activity originated from. It is also sort of comical how intensely King James believed in the notion of witches. It seems as though he delved very deeply into this topic, which, to me, is a poor way for the ruler of a country to spend his time. The Gowrie conspiracy also caught my attention, and I am curious about what provoked the Earl of Gowrie and his brother to make an attempt on the king’s life. From what I have read, the king seems to be a just and benevolent ruler. In addition to that, the article I was reading stated, "A murderer who assaulted a king took not only a human life, but also, according to popular belief, a ruler whose monarchy was determined by God.” This was interesting because, similarly to ancient civilizations like Rome, Egypt, and China, the ruler was very attached to his empire’s religion, and was nearly considered a god himself. It’s funny how some things never change.
ReplyDeleteFrom watching this video, it became clear to me that the tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is much more complex than I originally imagined. The tragedy is set in Scottish rule right after the end of the English. Throughout the video, Lehnhof seemed extremely knowledgeable and interested in the history of Shakespeare and his fascinating works. I learned that Shakespeare wrote in only two colors; blood red and night black. I think that this was interesting because it demonstrates the darkness and gloomy characteristics this tragedy holds. I also looked up why Macbeth was called the Scottish play. During the time this tragedy was written, Scotland had many beliefs in witchcraft and supernatural powers which is included in Macbeth. I also looked up why Macbeth is called the Scottish play. I learned that it is because a famous man played the role of one of the characters, he tragically died after. It has become a myth that if you say "Macbeth" in a theatre you will be injured or maybe even die.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video it really shows me how Shakespeare wrote his dramas and how he thought. The tragic drama "Macbeth" really is a gloomy and eerie drama and its interesting that King James I hired his own play writers and actors. Also I found out that Shakespeare only wrote in two colors, black and red. That itself is kind of creepy! Shakespeare really knows how to write creepily and show setting by even his colors he chose to wright with. Also in the drama "Macbeth" their is a fair amount of witch craft mentioned in it. I think that is very interesting, and even King James I was a pronounced witch hunter. In fact he even wrote his own novel. Its crazy to me thtat things like that where real and a common thing back in the day.
ReplyDeleteI learned a lot about Shakespeare's inspirations in writing Macbeth, the people and events from which he drew many of the play's details, from these links. Macbeth was, in fact, more or less written for England's new king and Shakespeare's new sponsor, James I. As a result certain details in the play seem made to appeal specifically to the king. For example, among the play's antagonists are a trio of witches. James was convinced that witches were real, and moreover, out to kill him, so he had a fondness for witch hunting and was considered an expert at it. In addition, the play's regicide and other political intrigues seem to be inspired by The Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy by a group of Catholics to kill King James himself.
ReplyDeleteBefore looking into the background of William Shakespeare's life and work in literature, I was unaware of how his vast collection of writings came to be. Discovering that William Shakespeare did not, in fact, go to college was eye-opening. Also, I found it interesting that Shakespeare worked so closely to the government. I did not know that the multitude of plays he created were made for the king. As I read Macbeth, I plan on looking for parallels between events in the play and events in history. I look forward to discovering similarities between King James and other characters, while also searching for symbols of religious struggles that once occurred in the time of Shakespeare.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video and looking into the links, I hadn't realized how fascinatingly dark this play is. As Dr. Lehnhof described, there are only two colors in the play: blood red and night dark. He describes the beautifully malicious and dark writing found throughout the play, which I am really looking forward to reading. When I watched the bio video on Shakespeare, I found the people in the video continually reiterating what a huge influence he has left on the world: he added about 3,000 words to the English dictionary and he is the second most quoted writer(next to the bible). I am really looking forward to seeing the dark twists and turns that we will experience throughout the tragedy. The witches is this play also seem to play an important role in the plot and how we, the readers, are going to interpret the play and it fascinates me how common it was for people in Shakespeare's time period to believe in and even fear witches, particularly King James himself.
ReplyDeleteI find the video and links very intriguing as it adds to my enthusiasm to read the play. From this, I was able to take away a reoccurring point that the play is intended to be dark, mysterious, and tragic. A good point noted by the speaker in the video, is the possibility that "Macbeth" was tailor made to appeal to the interest of the Scottish king. In addition, he also explores that the characters, specifically the witches, can be interrupted many different ways accord to the actor or reader. The reason why the name "Macbeth" is commonly bad luck to say on stage is because the play offend a coven of witches who cursed the performance. The curse supposedly killed one of the actors on stage.
ReplyDeleteMy question is if the play accurately explains how Catholics were treated during this time compared to history texts and the links that were provided.
After watching this video, I got a better insight of how the play is written and what the feeling of it is. I found it interesting that he made a point to say that Macbeth was a savage from the beginning, making him strikingly different from Shakespeare other characters. He talked about how Macbeth has no redeeming qualities and is inherently a bad person along with his wife. The play is portrayed as dark and twisty and he explained that in his speech. He talked about how the only colors expressed in the play were black, for darkness and red for blood. I found this video very insightful, it helped me get a better awareness of how it will play out and I am excited to see the different surprises I come across.
ReplyDeleteThe historical parallels of Macbeth caught my interest. Knowing this play's close connection to King James and other background information from these links, I hope to catch these parallels as we read. It will be fascinating to become more aware of the 16th century time period, including its superstitions, government, values, and common lifestyle, through Shakespeare's Macbeth. I am really curious particularly on how one person could be plucked from a group and deemed a "witch." Were accusations made against others for personal gains? I also find it odd that King James study witchcraft as if was a legitimate subject. Based on the video, the plot seems very morbid, as one might expect from the title "tragedy" of Macbeth.
ReplyDeleteThe video gave me a clear idea of William Shakespeare and his writing of plays. I am very interested by it and how far it goes back into history. I have never really read a lot of shakespeare and learned about it before but, I am excited to. One thing that caught my eye was when he talked about witches and how they were a big fear. But, King James definitely paid attention to them and was very interested in them. Overall Im excited to start reading Macbeth and I'm glad I learned a little background information.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that caught my attention in the video was that in the original manuscript, the witches were weyard, wayward, or weird, and not necessarily witches, kind of like the Fates of Ancient Greece. Then, Kent Lehnhof says that Macbeth quickly descends into hell wading up to his knees in blood, or something similar, which has me looking forward to this play. He also spoils the end of Act 1 though and talks about blood a lot, which I guess explains the cover of the edition I have. I also hadn't known that this King James was the target of the Gunpowder Treason and Plot, which I knew a little bit about. The fact that James I acted hostile towards the Catholics even though he was not against them before in order to please the Puritans seems like something that would happen in modern politics too.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing this video and looking into Shakespeare, I did not think that Macbeth was going to be as dark as it was described. I thought it was interesting that Shakespeare only wrote in two colors, night black and blood red. I never would have thought that Shakespeare’s plays consisted of a death. The video with Kent Lehnhof was interesting to me when he explained that Shakespeare uses evil, and turns it into beauty. I found it fascinating how witchcraft took part in this play and about the actor that was killed on stage from the “Macbeth” curse. I am also very interested in Macbeth and cannot wait to start reading it.
ReplyDeleteThe video talked about some of the things we already learned in class, such as Shakespeare and his men being "sponsored" by King James and becoming the Kings Men, or that he wrote Macbeth specifically for King James himself. Kent Lehnof makes a good point when he says what a dark play this is, as we have already seen in scene 2 when Macbeth kills Macdonald in a horrible way. He says that Shakespeare paints this play with blood red and midnight black, which I think is a good description of the atmosphere of the play. I also found the gunpowder plot interesting, an event that gave the catholics a bad name for centuries. Guy Fawkes, one of the conspirators, is also the name of the Robin Hood villain who hunts Robin Hood and his name, and was the inspiration for that character.
ReplyDeleteI find the overall versatility of the play to be undeniably fascinating, for it truly commends the skillfulness of Shakespeare as not only a timeless writer, but of a person very much of his day. At the time at which Macbeth was written, Shakespeare was sponsored by King James I, and there are many references throughout the play that indicate this. From his glorification of James’s ancestors, reference to ‘anointed rule’ of James, and the subject matter of his interest, Shakespeare is able to use Macbeth as a tool to appease and promote the image of King James I in order to secure his funding. Yet, in addition to being used as a subtle political promotion, this play more famously shines in an artistic sense. Kent Lenhof truly sums up the complexity with which Shakespeare crafts this tragedy. Shakespeare proves that tone is not only determined by circumstance, but by “painting the play” with red and black, one sees how the mood of the story was crafted in perhaps unconventional ways. Macbeth is amazing in the sense that not only is it an indication of the history of Shakespeare’s time, but is also a token that truly epitomizes his genius.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few things that interest me about this play. The first, and in my mind the most interesting, is how the play is based around the new Scottish King. Shakespeare changes some background history to further flatter the king. Secondly, the color imagery is quite interesting. The video states that there are only 2 colors in the play, blood red, and night dark. These two things show how "beautifully horrific" the play truly is.
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