Macbeth and King James I? What’s the relation? Well, as many of you may know the renowned playwright William Shakespeare, many do not know why Shakespeare presents witches in Macbeth as supernatural beings who were always plotting evil and causing chaos in people’s lives such as Macbeth.
Likely written in 1606, Macbeth is considered one of Shakespeare’s most topical plays for a number of reasons. As a dramatization of an episode of Scottish history, the play is clearly associated with the reigning monarch, James I, who was also the patron of Shakespeare’s company, the King’s Men. Shakespeare therefore based many of his plays such as Macbeth off the King’s experiences and beliefs/superstitions about certain things such as witches. Shakespeare also wanted to caution against abuses of power and the instability which follows from political violence. He wrote Macbeth to support the kingship of James 1st and to support the natural order of things which if disturbed, will inevitably lead to disaster.
Now, how does witches in Macbeth and King James’ experiences have anything to do with each other. In fact, the witches are used to reinforce the idea that King James’ had a strong belief in witches and that witches were a force of evil in the world. For example, James was surely convinced that witches were conspiring to murder him through magic once he experienced terrible weather on a journey that he had once made and also blamed the witches for the death of his mother Mary Queen of Scots. Therefore, in Macbeth, Shakespeare presents the witches as real,supernatural beings who were a force of evil to support and reinforce the belief of King James I.
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