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Macbeth
Climax: Macbeth’s murder of Duncan Protagonist: Macbeth Antagonists: The Weird Sisters

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Background Info
Author Bio
Full Name: William Shakespeare Date of Birth: 1564 Place of Birth: Stratford-upon-Avon, England Date of Death: 1616 Brief Life Story: Shakespeare’s father was a glove-maker, and Shakespeare received no more than a grammar school education. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582, but left his family behind around 1590 and moved to London, where he became an actor and playwright. He was an immediate success: Shakespeare soon became the most popular playwright of the day as well as a part-owner of the Globe Theater. His theater troupe was adopted by King James as the King’s Men in 1603. Shakespeare retired as a rich and prominent man to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1613, and died three years later. company, making them the King’s Men. In many ways, Macbeth can be seen as a show of gratitude from Shakespeare to his new King and benefactor. For instance, King James actually traced his ancestry back to the real-life Banquo. Shakespeare’s transformation of the Banquo in Holinshed’s Chronicles who helped murder Duncan to the noble man in Macbeth who refused to help kill Duncan is therefore a kind of compliment given to King James’ ancestor.

Historical and Literary Context
When Written: 1606 Where Written: England When Published: 1623 Literary Period: The Renaissance (1500-1660) Related Literary Works: Shakespeare’s source for Macbeth was Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, though in writing Macbeth Shakespeare changed numerous details for dramatic and thematic reasons, and even for political reasons (see Related Historical Events). For instance, in Holinshed’s version, Duncan was a weak and ineffectual King, and Banquo actually helped Macbeth commit the murder. Shakespeare’s changes to the story emphasize Macbeth’s fall from nobility to man ruled by...