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"Macbeth is a dark, relentless tale of a good and brave Scottish general who, encouraged by the dark prophesies of three evil witches and by his own wife murders Duncan, king of Scotland. Macbeth then becomes king and brings about his own destruction" Historical Overview    Shakespeare wrote the play for King James I, England's new king after the demise of Elizabeth I. He had also been the king of Scotland.To please James, Shakespeare set the play in the King's native Scotland and used many characters who were James' ancestors, and included witches, a subject that James had great interest in.The play happens to Shakespeare's shortest tragedy -- probably because King James often fell asleep during performances -- and his bloodiest. Under the realm of Queen Elizabeth I, political and economic growth of England was unrivalled. But she lived a spinster. Therefore, there was no Tudor successor to the throne of England and Elizabeth I chose James VI...

Macbeth kills Banquo out of fear and initially hardly agonises over the murder of either Banquo or his son Fleance the way he does over the killing of Duncan. He believes by killing them he annihilates the possibility of Banquo's seeds mastering the kingdom. However in the banquet Macbeth's fear does turn guilt as sees or imagines Banquo's ghost. This is of immense significance since this is first time that his inner conflict is made public, that too in front of the other thanes. This is the time from when the tides turn against Macbeth and things start to fall apart. Macbeth becomes increasingly paranoid about everything which is reflected both internally and externally. Noticing Macduff absence he begins to attribute it to a probable conspiracy to hatch his own downfall.     The Banquet Scene (scene iv, Act III) opens at the royal hall of Scotland with the banquet ready celebrating Macbeth’s coronation. The audience find the couple now at the height of double-deal...

Few scenes in Shakespeare can provoke more laughter in the theatre than the ‘Porter Scene’ in Macbeth (II, iii). At the centre of this paradox lies the character of the Porter, and in particular the obscenities which punctuate his remarks. Some critics like Pope, Coleridge, Clark and Wright consider this scene to be an interpolation yet the dramatic importance of this scene cannot be denied.                                   The Porter Scene provides the much-needed dramatic relief in Macbeth. It follows the breath-taking and awe-inspiring murder scene of Duncan’s murder which marks the crisis of the play. Though the murder takes play off stage the horror of the deed is effectively brought to the audience by a succession of tension bound scenes the appearance of the witches, the report of Macdonald’s executi...