Macbeth: context links

Helpful material on:

Biographical background of William Shakespeare

• The world of Shakespeare and the Metaphysical poets 1540 - 1660
  • Timeline
  • Biographical background
    • 1564 – 1582: William Shakespeare’s Stratford beginnings
    • 1582 – 1592: William Shakespeare’s marriage, parenthood and early occupation
    • 1592 – 1594: William Shakespeare’s life in London, pt 1
    • 1594 – 1611: William Shakespeare’s life in London, pt 2
    • 1594 – 1611: William Shakespeare’s life in London, pt 3
    • 1611- 1616: William Shakespeare – back to Stratford

Social / political context of Macbeth

• The world of Shakespeare and the Metaphysical poets 1540 - 1660
  • Key events
    • Tudor Monarchy to 1530
    • Catholic heritage in the 16th century
    • Tudor succession: Protestant vs. Catholic
    • Elizabethan court life
    • Stuart monarchy
    • Religious groupings under James I
  • Making sense of the tangible world
    • Renaissance
    • Astronomy and astrology

Religious / philosophical context of Macbeth

• The world of Shakespeare and the Metaphysical poets 1540 - 1660
  • Making sense of the intangible world
    • Faith setting of Shakespeare’s plays
    • Sixteenth century attitudes to ghosts
    • What is a human?
    • Chain of being
    • Nature and nurture
    • Divine right of monarchs
• Impact of the Bible
  • Big ideas from the Bible
    • Blood
    • Darkness
    • Forgiveness, mercy and grace
    • The Ten Commandments

Literary context of Macbeth

• Developments in drama
  • Drama before 1660
    • Mystery and morality plays
    • The earliest permanent theatres
    • Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre design
    • Soliloquy
    • Blank verse in drama
    • Variations from blank verse
    • Female roles before 1660
• Developments in language
  • Aspects of Elizabethan English
    • Thee, thou and you
    • Royal plural
    • Wordplay
• How poetry works
  • Scansion
    • Syllables and stress
    • Metrical feet
    • Regular metre
    • Rhythm
• The world of Shakespeare and the Metaphysical poets 1540 – 1660
  • Making sense of the tangible world
    • Early seventeenth century literary scene

Further study on Macbeth

• Measure for Measure 
  • Resources and further reading
    • Websites
    • Books
• Critical approaches to literature
  • Close reading (new criticism)
  • Contextual reading
  • New approaches since the 1970s
• Tips for successful study
  • Engaging with texts
    • Engaging with drama
  • How to…
    • Plan an essay
    • Approach passage based questions
    • Write a good English exam answer

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