Page 60 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

British Drama
Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University

Notes Unit 4: Shakespeare: Macbeth—Introduction

to the Author and the Text

CONTENTS
Objectives

Introduction
4.1 Shakespeare: Introduction

4.1.1 Biography

4.1.2 Literary Works of Shakespeare

4.2 Macbeth: Introduction to the Text

4.2.1 Introduction

4.2.2 Sources of the Text
4.3 Summary

4.4 Keywords

4.5 Review Questions

4.6 Further Readings

Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:
• Elaborate the fact that Shakespeare was a celebrated writer;

• Explain that Shakespeare was a successful actor;
• Understand the text of Macbeth;
• Enumerate the the sources of the text of Macbeth.

Introduction
The Tragedy of Macbeth (commonly called Macbeth) is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide
and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime
between 1603 and 1607. The earliest account of a performance of what was probably Shakespeare’s
play is April 1611, when Simon Forman recorded seeing such a play at the Globe Theatre. It was
first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book for a specific performance.
Shakespeare’s source for the tragedy are the accounts of King Macbeth of Scotland, Macduff, and
Duncan in Holinshed’s Chronicles (1587), a history of England, Scotland and Ireland familiar to
Shakespeare and his contemporaries. However, the story of Macbeth as told by Shakespeare bears

54 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY