Historical Macbeth Compared to Shakespeare's Macbeth
Essay by review • September 18, 2010 • Essay • 461 Words (2 Pages) • 2,083 Views
Historical MacBeth compared to Shakespeare's MacBeth
Although most of Shakespeare's play " MacBeth " is not historically
accurate,
MacBeth's life is the subject of the tragedy. There are characters
and events
that are based on true events and real persons but, Shakespeare's
"MacBeth
" differs significantly from history's MacBeth.
The first example of a difference
between the Shakespeare "MacBeth" and
historical MacBeth is the death of Duncan
I. In Shakespeare's " MacBeth ",
Duncan I was murdered by MacBeth. A prophecy
said to MacBeth by one of the
three witches "All hail, MacBeth, that shalt
be King hereafter1 ." was what
prompted Gruoch, MacBeth's wife to plot the
murder of Duncan I as he slept
in their castle. In history, MacBeth established
himself as the King of
Scots after killing his cousin Duncan I, in battle near
Elgin not as in
Shakespeare's play by killing him in his sleep. Duncan I was
killed on August
14, 1040. MacBeth then reigned as king for seventeen years.
As
previously stated Duncan I and MacBeth were cousins, a fact not
brought out
in the play. Shakespeare loosely based the play," MacBeth " on
events he found
in Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and
Ireland. " Raphael
Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland,
are the materials
that furnished Shakespeare with his plot2. The chronicles
were an account of
the history of the country of which they came from.
Another major difference,
is that Duncan I was not the ageing and
respected king Shakespeare makes him
out to be, In real life, Fiona Summerset
Fry author of History of
Scotland
says " He was actually an impetuous and spoilt young man whose six
years of
kingship brought glory neither to Scotland nor
to his family3."
In the play's
last scene, McDuff kills MacBeth and automatically becomes
the
...
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