Macbeth Annotated Bibliography

Macbeth

Annotated Bibliography

Overview of Macbeth." EXPLORING Shakespeare. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Gold. Thomson Gale. SMITHSON VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL. 1 Nov. 2007

This article provides more than a simple resume or overview of Macbeth, but a critical introspective on the play, together with useful mentions and quotations from other critics and their opinions. The article begins with a relevant critical overview of the most important themes in the play, here identified as "nature of evil and the consequences of crimes against humanity," but also as the transformation of good to evil in an individual and the factors that might trigger that.

The article is keen to present the underlying historical background for Shakespeare's play, but also to present the important differences between historical realities and the way the play is actually written. As such, one of the main differences is that Macbeth's reign is relatively short in Shakespeare's play, while in real history, the king Macbeth ruled for 17 whole years, out of which ten were considered to be prosperous and relevant years for his rule. Many of the historical characters also differ from how they are portrayed in the play.

On the other hand, the author of the article also points out towards specificities that show the period it was written in. One of these is, for example, the presence of witchcraft in the play, associated with King James's own interests in this area. Characters such as the three Weird Sisters have been differently viewed by critics as either important or less important symbols in the play.

Finally, the author of the article also refers to Shakespeare's treatment of sex roles and to the sense of deterioration (of the atmosphere, of the characters, of their underlying personalities) that seems to be constant throughout the play. The article provides excellent critical reference to the play and covers the most essential coordinates of Macbeth.

The Historical Context of Macbeth." EXPLORING Shakespeare. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Gold. Thomson Gale. SMITHSON VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL. 1 Nov. 2007

The article presents both the history of Scotland during the period when king Macbeth reigned, as well as the history of England when the play was written, during the reign of King James I. The author of the article shows that the historical source of the play was the Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, written by Raphael Holinshed in 1577. In the respective chronicles, historical references are mentioned about King Malcolm II, succeeded in his reign by Duncan I and by Macbeth, all of them appearing in Shakespeare's play. The article goes into significant details about the genealogical structure of the Scottish families that were on the Scottish throne at that point. Although Shakespeare does not follow exactly the historical line, most of his characters and actions are closely linked with the historical realities.

The article briefly goes through a description of the Scottish life and Scotland at the time of King Macbeth, as they are also reflected in the play. Besides raides from the Vikings from Norway and Denmark, medieval Scotland is also dominated by a belief in witches (which appear in the play) and the unnatural. However, the author points out that authorities took drastic measures against witchcraft.

Finally, the article includes a presentation on England in the time the play was written, namely during the time of James I, with a description of historical events (the Gunpowder Plot and the Gowrie Conspiracy among these) and general traits of those times.

Gurewitsch, Matthew. "This Time, No Laughing at the Witches.(Arts and Leisure Desk)(MUSIC)." The New York Times. 157. 54104 (Oct 21, 2007): 30(L). Student Resource Center - Gold. Thomson Gale. SMITHSON VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL. 1 Nov. 2007