About the play : In August 1606 James was at Hampton Court , a palace near London , entertaining his brother-in-law , King Christian of Denmark. A play was acted for them Macbeth - written by the best dramatist of the time , William Shakespeare. It was a new play, but the story was an old one , and James knew it well. It was about his ancestors , Banquo and Fleance, through whom he had inherited the throne of Scotland. Shakespeare found the story of 'The Chronicles of Scotland ' , by Rapheal Holinshed. However, his play is much more than a dramatic re-writing of the historical facts . He made many changes, and the biggest of these concerned James' ancestors . In true story , Banquo joined Macbeth in killing Duncan ; but clearly it would be tactless to suggest that James was descended from regicide - the murderer of a king. So Shakespeare 's Banquo is innocent. James also believed that he was descended spiritually from the long tradition of English monarchs , and that he had inherited the power of healing that Edward the confessor (1042-66) possessed . Shakespeare's description of this power ( Act 5 , scene 3 , lines 148-58) is , to some extent , deliberate flattery of king of his king. Shakespeare also knew that James was extremely interested in witchcraft and had written a book about it. Macbeth is certainly a play ' fit for a king ' . On one level it is royal entertainment - and entertainment , too , for all those of us who enjoy the suspense and excitement of a murder story.
A Moral lesson :
But of course it is more than this , more than flattery for an ancient British monarch. Although the story is largely true , we do not read Macbeth as a ' history'. We could interpret Shakespeare's play as a moral lesson. Macbeth murders his king . To murder any man is crime , but those who lived at the time of Shakespeare thought that the murder of a king was the greatest of all crimes. Kings were appointed by God , to rule as his deputies : rebellion against a true king was rebellion against God. By murdering Duncan , Macbeth gains the crown but he loses , love , friendship , respect and in the end his life. His crime is rightly punished.
Characters :
Duncan : The King of Scotland (c.1034). He is presented as a true and gracious monarch - the embodiment of the Elizabethan belief that a king was appointed as God's deputy on earth and was himself almost divine.
Macbeth : A mighty and ambitious warrior , one of the leaders of Duncan's army. A witches ' prophecy leads him to murder Duncan so that he himself can be king - but his conscience afterwards will never let him rest.
Lady Macbeth - Macbeth's wife. She is even more ambitious than her husband , and has fewer moral scruples . She urges Macbeth to kill Duncan , and refuses to understand his doubts and hesitations . Gradually her close relationship with Macbeth crumbles into nothing.
Synopsis :
Act 2
Scene 1: Banquo and his son , Fleance are going to bed when they encounter Macbeth , who is preparing himself for his grim task.
Scene 2 : Macbeth has murdered Duncan. Lady Macbeth takes the bloody daggers away from her husband , who is already beginning to regret what he has done.
Scene 3 : All is discovered. The porter is roused from his drunken sleep by Macduff and Lennox who go to call upon the king but find he has been murdered. Macbeth panics and kills Duncan's attendants . Duncan's sons are afraid for a their own safety and slip away secretly.
Scene 4 : Ross and an Old Man discuss the unnatural events that occurred on the night of Duncan's murder. They learn from Macduff that the king's two sons have fled , and that Macbeth has been chosen to be the next king.
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