The Context Of Macbeth

All text always effectively reflects the events surrounding its time, as they certainly exemplify the current issues, values and morals of the era in which they are composed. During the 1600s, a hierarchical society governed by an absolutist was important, with all power residing on the Crown, with James VI being the King of Scotland, at that time Shakespeare was a famous play writer, wrote a play, Macbeth which was written with James as the reign which effectively reflected the Elizabethan context in which it was composed, it demonstrated powerful ideas of Ambition, Chaos and Disorder and and Revenge. Definitely mirroring the majoring issues during this period in history, taking us right into the heart of the Elizabethan.
Ambition is a
driving force of the play in Macbeth, which is presented as a dangerous quality; this ambition soon spirals out of control and drives the downfall of the kingdom. The incident that sparks Macbeth’s vaulting ambition and his thirst for power is when the witches manipulates him and reveal’s his ‘prophesies’ by saying “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!” and plants the seed of ambition to be king deep within Macbeth’s heart. Subsequently Macbeth is than crowned thane of Cawdor and he believes that the witch prophesies has come true. This significantly exemplifies that during the Elizabethan, supernatural was widely believed, with evil and manipulation easily controlling the hearts and minds of a man. By using exclamatory tone, it enables the reader to perceive the tension in the air. Later on Macbeth begins to foresee his sinister desires to overthrow the king to take over the throne, he thinks to himself, using a rhetorical question. “why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair?” questioning himself that if the prophesies was a good thing, why does he think of murdering King Duncan? This clearly highlights a society where kings acquire the ultimate power, and anointed the vessel of God and any desire to do their Kingship any harm is a heinous act. The use of foreshadowing combined with an intense aside and the using of rhetorical question allows illustrating the inimical quality of Macbeth high ambitions and desires. ‘Macbeth’ is evidently a text that allows readers to understand the context during its time.
Order and Harmony is the state in a natural reflection of a ruler, a man who dedicates his service of the state which would benefit the virtues, however if the ruler allows passion to dictate his actions then his life will be reduced to chaos, and it will be reflected in political and social disorder.
This is the tragic flaw of Macbeth; he allows his passion for ‘vaulting ambition’ to override his single state of mind which. When Duncan is murdered, Macbeth strikes the treasonous blow which he unleashes in Scotland, and his own nature and has succumbed to the forces of anarchy and evil. When Macduff finds Duncan murdered, he exclaims with great passion “o horror, horror, horror!” “Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee.” Expressing his utter shock and disgust of this monstrous act, when the monarch is killed, the whole country comes down in chaos. This reaction displays the terrible result of Macbeth’s selfish act and the amount of people suffering because of his crime. This action evidently displays the belief in the Divine Right of Kings during that time, and murdering God’s anointed vessel has a tremendous ramifications, this single act ultimately destroys Macbeth and reflects the Elizabethan belief in fate, where those who flagrantly disregard the moral and social order are destined to suffering. The repetition of ‘horror’ combined with the strident tone of the words reinforces the meaning to have a disrupted and sacrilegiously destroyed the divine moral order. ‘Macbeth’ definitely shows the surrounding times it is
in.
Revenge is an important theme that contrasts with the idea of being done. In ‘Macbeth’, a lot of murder occurs, but the one that involves revenge is only a few, the main one is Macduff killing Macbeth. Macduff has a hunger to avenge his family’s death and speaks of Macbeth by saying “Not in the legions of horrid hell cam a devil more damned in evils to top Macbeth.” This suggests that if you were in hell, finding one as murderous and cruel as Macbeth is impossible. The religious imagery of ‘horrid hell’ mirrors their religious belief during the Elizabethan period, and their faith in the idea of divine providentialism, where human souls are destined to heaven or hell, based on their own actions. The alliterative effect of ‘hell hound’ depict the Elizabethan obsession with the forces of good and evil, which act as a symbol of light and darkness. Since evil has risen in Scotland, it overwhelms with darkness reflecting the darken spaces of the play. It is unquestionable that all text do indeed mirror the surrounding environment it is in.