Literature

Literature

Introduction

The chief source for Macbeth was Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (2nd ed., 1587), whose account of Scotland was derived from the Latin Scotorum Historiae (1527) of Hector Boece. Shakespeare used Holinshed's report of Macbeth's encounter with witches and subsequent usurpation of the throne, though the playwright altered the story considerably. He also used an account in Holinshed of another Scottish regicide that provided the details of Macbeth's crime and included his wife's involvement. Other details may have come from other Scottish tales in Holinshed. Another history of Scotland, George Buchanan's Latin Rerum Scotiarum Historia (1582), may also have influenced the playwright in the development of Macbeth's character and in several political details.

Discussion

Various other sources contributed to Macbeth in minor ways. Reginald Scot's Discovery of Witchcraft (1584) contributed to the depiction of the Witches, as did a work by King James I, Daemonologie (1599). Another tract by James, his Counterblaste to Tobacco (1604) provided additional details. The Latin memoirs of Erasmus, Colloquia (1500)—which the playwright may have read in school—provided the original version of Macbeth's remarks on dogs and men in 3.1.91-100. Lines from two contemporary plays are echoed in Macbeth: Samuel Daniel's The Queen's Arcadia (1605) and John Marston's Sophonisba (1606). Another play, Matthew Gwinne's Latin work, Tres Sibyllae (1605), may have suggested the subject matter in the first place. Some scholars believe, however, that the idea may have come from a lost play on Macbeth thought to have been performed in the 1590s. Also, Shakespeare exploited the plays of Seneca in Macbeth, particularly in the depiction of Lady Macbeth. He also used details from three of his own earlier works, 2 Henry VI, Richard III, and, especially, The Rape of Lucrece (McKeown, Cannoy, 2004).

Text of the Play

Macbeth was probably written between 1603 and 1606. It is dated after King James's accession to the throne in the former year and before the publication in 1607 of The Puritan, a play whose author—probably Thomas Middleton—had clearly seen Macbeth. Some critics feel that the references to James were added later and that the play was written before he came to power, perhaps as early as 1599. However, most scholars believe that the style suggests the later dates. Also, several pieces of evidence—the probable influence of Matthew Gwinne and John Marston, the reference in 1.3.7 to the ship Tiger, and certain allusions to the treason of Henry Garnet—suggest the summer of 1606 as a more precise date. However, these items could also have been added, and the date of composition remains uncertain.

The scenes involving Hecate in Macbeth—3.5 and 4.1.39-43—were obviously added. They include material that came from Middleton's play The Witch (ca. 1610-20), and it is traditionally assumed that Middleton wrote them. However, some scholars point out differences in style and conclude that some other writer, now unknown, was responsible. The scenes were presumably written for a King's Men production sometime after Shakespeare's retirement, but before the publication of the play (Moschovakis, 2008).

Macbeth was first published in the First Folio ...