Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare in 1606, in the Elizabethan Era. During this time Queen Elizabeth I and King James VI reigned. The plays Shakespeare wrote during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I surrounded confidence and love and overall happy subjects, whereas the plays he wrote during King James’ I reign were cynical and dark, which reflected his insecurities. King James was very much interested in ghosts and this links to the scene in Macbeth where Banquo’s ghost appears to Macbeth at the banquet. Banquo was an ancestor of King James VI, and throughout the play he is portrayed in a very positive light, as when they meet the witches a line of kings is said to come from him. This reflects well on King James as he is then said to have a long succession. The king during the play, King Duncan rules through divine rights like most kings did. This meant that he was chosen by God to be king. However, when Macbeth is told by the witches that he shall be king, he ends up killing Duncan. This goes against the divine rights, as he is killing the king that God chose, as Macbeth was not chosen to be king. Many people watching the play at this time would not …show more content…
Both of them are equal in ambition and there is no hierarchy yet. They both want the prophecy of the witches to come true, and their ambition for this is what drives their relationship onwards. The way they speak to each other shows us how intertwined with each other they are as she is his ‘dearest partner of greatness’ and his ‘dearest chuck.’ The word dearest is repeated in both of these, showing us how much Macbeth thinks of his wife and how they are in a close relationship. Also, in the first scene they finish each other’s sentences and speak in rhyming couplets, but this gradually changes as their relationship