The Man That Would Be Shakespeare
• Born April 23rd, 1564
• Started out performing
with “The Lord
Chamberlain’s Men”
• Gave him a chance to
write a play
• Henry IV, Pt. 1- It stunk
but they gave him
another shot
• Many playwrights with
nowhere to “play”
• Barn turned into theatre
(Yeah!)
• Puritans burn it down
(Evil theatre! Boo!)
• Globe built! (Yeah!)
• Globe burns (sniff, darn
cannon!)
• Globe rebuilt! (Yeah!)
Reconstructed in the 1990’s
• Globe burns (Dang that
Fire of London!)
o Aristocrats
o The Queen/King
o The Groundlings!
When in a play...
• Only men were permitted
to perform
• Boys or effeminate men
were used to play the
women
• Costumes were often the
company’s most valuable
asset
• Costumes were made by
the company, bought in
London, or donated by
courtiers
The Cost of a Show
• 1 shilling to stand
• 2 shillings to sit in the
balcony
• 1 shilling was 10% of
their weekly income
• Broadway Today:
– $85 Orchestra
– $60 Balcony
– 10% of a teacher’s
weekly salary
• Set in Scotland
• Written for King James I
(formerly of Scotland,
now England)
• Queen of Denmark
(James’s sister) was
visiting
• Shakespeare researched
The Chronicles - Banquo
is an ancestor of King
James I
• King Duncan of Scotland
– Murdered by cousin Macbeth
– Honest and good
• Malcolm & Donalbain
– Sons of the King
– Malcolm is the eldest son
• Macbeth
– Duncan’s most courageous general
– Ambition to become king corrupts him
causing him to murder Duncan
• Banquo
– General and Macbeth’s best friend
– Suspects Macbeth in Duncan’s murder
– An actual ancestor of King James I
• Lady Macbeth
– As ambitious as her husband
– A dark force behind his evil deeds
• Macduff
– Scottish general, suspects Macbeth of
murdering the king
– Macbeth has his family murdered
– Swears vengeance
The Scottish Play
• It is believed to be bad luck to
even squeak the word ‘Macbeth’
in a theatre
• Legend has it you will lose all
your friends involved in the
production--horribly
• MORE ON THAT LATER...
• Def. “Man of high
standard who falls
from that high
because of a flaw
that has affected
many” - Aristotle
• Macbeth is one of
the most famous
examples of the
tragic hero.
So what really happens?
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Good guy goes bad
Guy wants power
Married to a pushy control freak
She wants power
Kills people- LOTS of people
Gets power
Gets paranoid (a.k.a. goes crazy)
Ticks off a lot of people
Want more power! Kill! Kill!
Gets what’s coming to him in the end
“Life’s but a walking shadow; a poor
player, That struts and frets his hour
upon the stage, And is heard of no more:
it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound
and fury, Signifying nothing.”
- Act V; s.5