Context of Macbeth – Knowledge Organiser

Everything I need to know for the exam about the Jacobean era (1603 – 1625) and why Shakespeare wrote the play Macbeth.
Remember, this era is called the ‘Jacobean Era’ as King James I was the King of England during this time.

Jacobean Beliefs What does it mean?

1. The Divine Right of Kings Jacobeans believed that God selected the king and gave him the ultimate power on Earth. A king only had to answer to God and
could therefore do as he pleased. If you disobeyed the king, you disobeyed God and this was known as a crime called sacrilege.
Some kings even believed they had Christ-like powers of healing due to the power given to them by God.
2. The Great Chain of Being Jacobeans believed that everybody in society had a place in a hierarchy. God was at the top of the ‘Great Chain of Being’, then the
king. Commoners were at the bottom of the chain with animals and plants. If you tried to alter your ‘place in society’ (eg Macbeth
forced his way to become king) this was an offence against God and punishable by death.
3. The Jacobeans believed that witches were possessed by demons and were associated with the devil. They conducted evil magic to cause
supernatural/witchcraft harm and danger to ordinary people. Anyone accused of being a witch or associated with witchcraft would be punishable by death.
King James 1 had a strong hatred for witchcraft in the Jacobean era.
4. Women Jacobeans believed that women should be delicate, caring and obey their husbands. Their main role in society was to marry,
produce children and look after the family. Women were generally oppressed, meaning they had no power or say in any decisions.
Any woman that did not marry or bear children was considered a witch and made an outcast in society. Women were subservient
to men and were unable to vote until the emancipation (freedom) of women in 1918.
5. Men/Masculinity Jacobeans believed that men were the dominant sex. A man was expected to work and earn money to raise his family. Men had the
right to own a property and to vote but women did not. Men could be ambitious and aggressive but women could not. Masculinity
was important; a man should appear to be strong, brave and loyal to receive respect.
6. Religion England in the Jacobean era was mainly divided into two main religions; Catholic and Protestant. King James was a Protestant which
upset many Catholics at the time. This led to conflict and violence between people and was the cause of many deaths in the
Jacobean era.
7. Loyalty Jacobeans believed that loyalty to the king was an important moral quality to possess. Unfortunately, many people were disloyal
and attempted to assassinate King James 1. The most famous plot to kill King James was the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Catholic
terrorists tried to blow up parliament as they did not agree with the Protestant king and his views.
8. Treason Treason is a crime in which the perpetrator attempts to kill the king. Macbeth commits treason when murdering Duncan.
9. Sacrilege Sacrilege is a crime in which the perpetrator commits an offence against God. Macbeth not only commits treason when murdering
Duncan, but sacrilege also as the king was thought to be God’s representative on Earth (Divine Right of Kings).
10. Darkness Darkness was considered to be a place of evil and misery in the Jacobean era. It symbolises the darkness on Earth that
was mentioned in the Bible after Jesus was crucified. Anything in the play that occurs in darkness is classed as evil and
unnatural.
Shakespeare’s Intentions – Knowledge Organiser

Everything I need to know for the exam about Shakespeare’s intentions when writing the play and his reasons behind it.

11. Morality Play Shakespeare wrote the play to deliver a moral message to society that too much ambition can consume you and lead to your
downfall. The play is a warning to his audiences not to follow Macbeth’s example as it will end fatally.
12. Tragedy The play ‘Macbeth’ is a tragedy. A tragedy is a play which involves human suffering and ends with the protagonist’s (lead character’s)
downfall. A tragedy will always contain a tragic hero.
13. Tragic Hero A tragic hero is a protagonist (Macbeth) who begins a play with moral qualities. He is a respected, noble, brave character to begin
with. A tragic hero is not perfect and has a fatal flaw in his personality (ambition/greed etc). He makes a poor judgement at some
point in the play and this leads to his downfall.
14. The King’s Men This was the name of Shakespeare’s theatre company. Shakespeare and his actors often performed plays for King James I as he and
Shakespeare were close friends due to their love of theatre and literature.
15. Shakespeare & Shakespeare wrote the play Macbeth as a tribute to his good friend King James I of England. He intended to protect King James from
King James any further plots to kill him (after the Gunpowder plot of 1605). The character of Macbeth kills a king and ends up dead after going
against the Divine Right of Kings and disrupting the Great Chain of Being. Audiences will realise that killing a king will result in your
own death.
16. Misogynistic A misogynist is somebody who believes that women are inferior to men and should not be allowed any power. Some critics claim
views that Shakespeare has misogynistic views on women by the way he creates the character of Lady Macbeth. He suggests that a
powerful woman is a dangerous woman and women should know their place in the Great Chain of Being. Modern audiences may
show Lady Macbeth some respect as she is not frightened to put her opinions across and make her voice heard.
17. Appearance Vs This is a key theme in Shakespeare’s play. He shows us through the character of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth that a person can
Reality appear to be a moral, noble, trustworthy person, but in reality, they may be plotting against you. He encourages his audiences not
to trust people so easily.
18. Guilt This is a key theme in Shakespeare’s play. He shows us the consequences of committing immoral crimes (like killing Duncan) can lead
to intense feelings of guilt (as shown by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth). He warns his audiences that if they did the same, they would
also be consumed by guilt.
19. Symbolism Shakespeare uses symbolism all the way through the play. This means that objects/characters often symbolise something deeper. In
the play, blood symbolises guilt/darkness symbolises evil/animals symbolise bravery.
20. Kingship This is a key theme throughout the play. Shakespeare makes references to several kings in his play to show his audiences what a
good king looks like. Duncan is created to be a noble, moral king whereas when Macbeth is king, he is immoral and brutal. When
Malcolm becomes king at the end of the play, he is shown to be kind and respectful. Shakespeare includes the theme of kingship to
flatter his good friend King James and show that he was a great king.