One of the most interesting things about Shakespeare is that we do not really know when his plays were written - instead we know when they were performed. In fact, it has been argued that Macbeth was written ten years before it was performed.
If this is the case, the writer of the play could seriously have been attempting to paint a black picture of a Scottish king (a very real threat).
As we know, King James became King...which means that Elizabeth's heir was Scots. Yikes!
What do you think of the fact that we don't have written dates for the plays, no signature for William Shakespeare, and no written version of the plays? We do have the first folio, but this was complied by the actors. The plays could have been completely different.
I guess, long story short. Do you think Macbeth was written for Elizabeth or James? do you think it was written when it was performed or earlier (as this movie suggests)?
I think it could have very well been written before it was presented. I like the idea the movie presents that the writer the Earl of Oxford in this case just had the plays sitting around waiting for a prime time to let them be played out. I liked the fact that he wrote or had written a play for when the Queen was supposed to pick an heir.
ReplyDeleteA agree with you, it is very possible it was written for this purpose but nobody will ever know whether it was or not. Totally up for interpretation.
DeleteWorks for me for an explanation if it does happen you have a historical piece if it does not happen then you have a sort of parody of what may have happened either way you get a win win.
DeleteThe movie's idea of what happened would be really crazy but it seems like a little too much drama to be real. to me at least
DeleteI think it could have been written before because there are always those who know a little something before it happens. It could have been totally predictable that what happened was actually going to happen. On the other hand, I could see it being written on performance because maybe there wasn't anyone who saw that coming. All on all, we can say all we want about and debate about it forever but we'll never know the truth behind anything. Ever.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you we will never know for sure what actually happened, it is still interesting to think about though.
DeleteHonestly I like the idea however unlikely that someone just pulled this out of their butt just going crazy for a single night like the guy who wrote I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream just some crazy guy who locks himself in a room for a night and the next morning out comes a good story. Would explain why their are no dates beause the writer wrote it all in one night and literally the next day the script was distriputed guess thats one way to look at it I guess mostly I just like the idea of these really good writing comeing from some nut job.
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel that whoever wrote the plays and poems that Shakespeare got credit for was not quite right in the head (kind of like Edger Allen Poe), but I don't believe that any of them were completed in one night. There is so much detail in the work that if any of the pieces were written so quickly I feel that they still would of been edited in some way at a later time.
DeleteI like the idea of the play being written earlier like it is portrayed in the movie, but it very well could have been written around the time it was performed. The theories abound about Shakespeare and his works, but the bottom line is we will never know for sure which ones are truth or fiction. However, it won't stop people from drawing their own conclusions about the ways things went down. I am sure the mysteries of Shakespeare will confound people for many years to come.
ReplyDeleteI agree annie that it wont stop people from speculating and spreading rumors about it and that we will be confounded by Shakespeare for many more years to come
DeleteI feel that it is more likely that Macbeth was written for James rather than Elizabeth simply because of the amount of different qualities that James had that his people disliked. I feel like this play was a way to make a point about him without directly saying so. I also feel that the play was probably written a short time before it was published just because I assume that they would be hesitant about preforming something that could be upsetting to the king, but then they simply decided to take the risk.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Levi. Macbeth was most likely wrote for James and probably a short time before it was performed.
DeleteIt could have easily been written before it was presented. If you wrote a play that was a threat to your or someone else's leader, you would have to be completely and utterly insane to present it at the time it would be a threat. You would get beheaded lol but you also never know, plays like this could have been written after the fact with the actual events as a model or alternative events that could have happened. It really is hard to say. It's definitely neat to explore the possibilities though!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Shakespeare was fake, real, or used as a cover but once conspiracies get going it is a never ending cycle. I think it was written for Elizabeth having to pick an heir.
ReplyDeleteI think Shakespeare was real and that he wrote it for Elizabeth since you usually wrote for your ruler at the time
ReplyDeleteThat is true, but just like his plays Shakespeare didn't always follow what people expected
DeleteI believe Macbeth was wrote for the heir of Elizabeth therefore ending up to be James. It was probably wrote some time before it was performed considering it took a good deal of time to organize every aspect of a play. Just like in the movie, it could have been sitting around for a while to be performed and maybe tweeked to make it what it is today.
ReplyDeleteI could see the story written for both, For Elizabeth the part that Lady Macbeth seems to be Ultimately in control, but yet James on How the king is overthrown and killed by Macbeth himself.
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