Macbeth: The Weird Sisters, Predestination, and the Pygmalion Effect
Witchcraft Pamphlet: 1591 Historical Background Shakespeare's (1564-1616) works were written between mid 16th century and early 17th century. It is important to note the time period that his works were written in to not only help understand the context of a given play, but the significance of undertones of social and political criticism made by Shakespeare from his environment. That being said, it is important to note the shift between who ruled England at the time. King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England in 1603 after the death of Queen Elizabeth I. It has been documented that Shakespeare referenced the Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (Holinshed's Chronicles), a work that portrayed British history that was first published in 1577 and later in 1587, to write Macbeth and a few other works such as King Lear (University of Pittsburgh). Though, because King James was presumably though to be a descendent of Banquo, the r...
