Shakespeare twisted the story of Macbeth Mac Findaech to suit his needs

1033 Words5 Pages
Shakespeare twisted the story of Macbeth Mac Findaech to suit his needs Jonathan Hughes-Khatib ENG3UE/Rockland District High School/Monday April 7th 2008 Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” is a play that features the fictional story of Macbeth, thane of Cawdor, Glamis and later king of Scotland. Most likely written in about 1606 the story revolves around Macbeth’s slaying of the “great King” (Shakespeare, page 8) Duncan and all of the guilt and supernatural happenings that occur afterword. Though sometimes taken as an actual historical account of what happened, most things in the play are very different from what actually happened during the rise and fall of the brave Macbeth Mac Findlaech. Macbeth’s entire character was changed, as was King Duncan’s, to fit the needs of William Shakespeare. Macbeth Mac Findlaech, the actual historical figure, has been almost vilified in society for how his character was portrayed in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. He is thought of as a skilled war general who murdered the great king Duncan in the dead of night while his victim was in a deep sleep. He is thought of someone who had taken power of a prosperous and happy Scotland and, shortly thereafter, drove the country into the ground. In reality Macbeth was a cunning warlord, as he was in the play, but he was no coward. He did not slay King Duncan in his slumber. Duncan was killed by Macbeth during a battle at Pitgaveny, Moray in 1040 fitting the definition of a “Noble” death. After Macbeth took the throne he ruled his country for 17 years, a long reign for any monarch of the Middle Ages. There is evidence to suggest that the time in which Macbeth ruled Scotland was a stable and peaceful one. This evidence is the fact that there was no challenge to the throne when Macbeth had taken a six-month trip to Rome.(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/02/03/nmac03.xml, 1:07am

More about Shakespeare twisted the story of Macbeth Mac Findaech to suit his needs

Open Document