This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1606.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1606.
The Tragedy of Macbeth, often shortened to Macbeth (/məkˈbɛθ/), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambitions and power. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. Scholars believe Macbeth, of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of King James I, contains the most allusions to James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company.
In the play, a brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by his latent ambition and spurred to violence by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. Then, racked with guilt and paranoia, he commits further murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, becoming a tyrannical ruler in the process. The violence perpetrated by the power-hungry couple leads to their insanity and finally to their deaths.