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On the most obvious level, the play cautions against overreaching ambition – especially the sort directed towards the throne, and in that sense, Macbeth doubles as a pro-establishment deterrent directed towards Guy Fawkes sympathisers or potential insurgents. The Gunpowder Plot conspirators – Guy Fawkes is the third from right Macbeth was first performed in 1606 – one year after the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, which was a failed attempt to assassinate James I and to blow up the Parliament.Īrriving hot on the heels of such a shattering incident, Macbeth and its clear parallels to the political happenings at the time would not have been lost on the King or Jacobean audiences. Given the strong political connotations of ambition in Macbeth, its historical context is important for a deeper understanding of the play. The historical context of Macbeth : James VI and I, the Gunpowder Plot, and the ‘King’s Men’ The ideological framework for this was the so-called ‘ divine right of kings ’ theory, which was institutionalised by James VI of Scotland, who in 1603 became James I of England after Elizabeth I’s death. if you don’t have royal blood, you can never – and should never want to – become king. Kingship was believed to be divinely preordained, i.e.
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Anyone could become wealthy by virtue of wits and hard work, but not everyone could be king. In the Renaissance worldview, there was a limit to which different people could achieve their ambition. It is also a relative concept, the meaning of which differs substantially depending on the historical period in question. The word ‘ambition’ is defined as ‘a strong desire to achieve success’.ĭepending on one’s disposition and values, ambition could be the single most important quality in life, or an overrated, misery-inducing ticket to the modern rat race. In that post, I left out ambition on purpose, largely because I wanted to save it up for a full-length post, which you’re now reading.
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Previously, I wrote about the primary causes of Macbeth’s fall. (This post contains a detailed video on the topic)
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