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Andrew Pidduck
Mrs. Dill
English IV
14 January 2015
MacbethA Gift to the King
William Shakespeare was admired during his time for being the voice of his era. One of
the greatest playwrights of all time, he wrote 154 sonnets and thirty-six plays. In order to appeal
to mass audiences, Shakespeares works often included issues and events of the times. By the
time of King James I of Englands coronation, Shakespeare had already written histories for
Queen Elizabeth I and had mastered the art of pleasing both the royal court and the general
public. The Tragedy of Macbeth, one of Shakespeares most noteworthy plays, however, is a
glimpse into the mindset of a king and his kingdom. Although Shakespeare used Raphael
Holinsheds Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland as his primary source for background
information for Macbeth, he took the artistic liberty to alter the exact history. Aspects of
Shakespeares use of scenes, verse, themes, and plot structure in Macbeth were made to allure
King James I based on his interests and opinions. Shakespeares best interest was to keep King
James I of England entertained since James was a patron of Shakespeares acting company, The
Kings Men. Shakespeare, a sycophant of King James I of England, succeeded in making
Macbeth appealing to its intended audiencethe king.
King James I was a learned man who was greatly interested in Scripture. In 1604, King
James I appointed a committee to construct a new, authorized translation of the Bible to relieve
religious disputes among his subjects. Many individuals believe William Shakespeare helped edit
this version of the Bible. Evidence that supports this case can be found in Psalm 46. One will

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find the word shake forty-six words from the beginning of the psalm and the word spear
forty-six words from the end of the psalm. In 1610, when this Bible was nearing completion,
Shakespeare was forty-six years old (Hager). Shakespeare clearly knew of the kings interest in
Christianity and consequently littered Macbeth with references to Scripture. One clear example
of Shakespeare alluding to Scripture is when Macbeth described his encounter with the servants
after he killed King Duncan to Lady Macbeth. Macbeth revealed, One cried, God bless us!
and Amen the other,/As they had seen me with these hangmans hands./Listning their fear I
could not say Amen,/When they did say God bless us!/But wherefore could not I pronounce
Amen?/I had most need of blessing, and Amen/Stuck in my throat (Macbeth, 2.2: 24-31).
After committing the murder, Macbeth is in the most need of a blessing and forgiveness from
God; however, he cannot force himself to ask God for a blessing. Shakespeare included Christian
references such as this to keep King James I interested in the play. Although the plot of Macbeth
is a story of regicide and usurpation, which are concerns of interest for James, Shakespeare
appeals to Jamess preoccupation of Scripture and Christianity by weaving said subjects into the
verse of the play.
King James Is interest in Scripture led him to be intrigued by the powers of witchcraft
and the devil. James was the author of Daemonologie, a book that covers the occult (Philippian).
A powerful theme in Daemonologie is that the kingdom of evil lies close to Christendom (Jack
175). In Macbeth, when the witches prophecy was fulfilled, Banquo exclaimed, What, can the
Devil speak true? (Macbeth, 1.3: 110). Here, he referred to the Devil of Christian orthodoxy
(Jack 178). Shakespeare made the main character of the play one who gave his soul to the devil
and consequently degraded due to his sins. By doing so, Shakespeare knew King James would
hold interest in the play. Throughout the course of the play, Macbeth had such a strong belief in

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the occult and did whatever it took, including committing mortal sins, to fulfill the prophecies of
the witches. According to Daemonologie and the general knowledge of the kings interest in the
occult, Macbeths qualities would have without a doubt intrigued the king and kept his attention
throughout the plays performance.
Jamess conception of life as a war between grace and the devil led Shakespeare to use
the symbolism of light and darkness throughout the play (Jack 177). Jamess first public edition
of Basilikon Doron, a treatise on government, opens alluding to the light that good and truth
shine forth: Charitable Reader, it is one of the golden sentences, whiche Christ our Saviour
uttered to his Apostles, that there is nothing so couered, that shall not be reuealed, neither so hid,
that shall not be knowne: and whatsoever they have spoken in darkness should be heard in the
light (James 4). This Scriptural allusion reveals how King James I enriched his literary style in
Scriptural allusion and how he views light and darkness as symbols for good and evil,
respectively (Jack 177). In Macbeth, characters called upon forces of nature which represent
their summoning of the powers of grace or evil. Lady Macbeth called upon darkness in
preparation of King Duncans murder by saying, Come, thick night,/And pall thee in the
dunnest smoke of hell,/That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,/Nor heaven peep through
the blanket of the dark/To cry Hold, Hold! (Macbeth, 1.5: 51-55). Here, Lady Macbeth acted
as a conjuring witch as she hoped that the forces of darkness would help mask her desire for
blood. Shakespeares incorporation of the roles light and darkness play go hand in hand with
Jamess view of light and darkness.
To captivate the attention of the king, Shakespeare not only incorporated elements of the
tragedy that appealed to Jamess opinions and views on certain topics, but he also incorporated a
specific event from Jamess life. Allusions to The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 lay within the

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tragedy. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a terror plot in which conspirators planned to blow up
the House of Lords and kill King James. One such case of the incorporation of this event in
Macbeth is when Macbeth alluded to a Jesuit priest named Father Henry Garnet who had
withheld his knowledge of the Gunpowder Plot (Mabillard). Macbeth articulated, Faith, heres
an equivocator that could swear in both the/scales against either scale, who committed treason
enough/for Gods sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven. O, come/in, equivocator (Macbeth,
2.3: 8-11). This verse of Macbeth is a blatant allusion to Father Henry Garnet. This sly move of
Shakespeares, alluding to an individual directly involved in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, is yet
another example of how he articulated verse that directly related to Jamess life. Incorporating
this event in James's life into the tragedy is another was Shakespeare held James's attention
during the play.
In reaction to the plot, King James I made a speech to Parliament and admitted, What
can I speak of this, I know not; Nay rather, what can I not speak of it? And therefore I must for
horror say with the Poet, Vox faucibus haeret [my voice sticks in my throat]. Shakespeare
incorporated the paradox of speakability/unspeakability into the language throughout the tragedy
(Herman). For example, the paradox was weaved into the play when the Captain specified,
Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds,/Or memorize another Golgotha,/I cannot tell
(Macbeth, 1.2: 39-41) and when the Weird Sisters participated in a deed without a name
(Macbeth, 4.1: 49). These two paradoxes of speakability/unspeakability are incredibly similar to
the conflict James faced when discussing the plot. Shakespeares inclusion of scenes and verse
that clearly allude to King James Is speech on the Gunpowder Plot yet again reveals how King
James I was the intended audience of this tragedy.

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A theme throughout Macbeth that appeals to King James Is opinion of Divine Right of
Kings is the constant yearn for power. Shakespeare gave Macbeth the qualities of a power-thirsty
individual who did whatever it took to gain controleven murder. This quality drove Macbeth
to murder King Duncan and usurp the throne. King James I believed in the Divine Right of
Kings, the doctrine that asserts that a monarch is given the power to rule directly from God, even
if said power is usurped (Empson). Given that the plot of Macbeth is mainly Macbeth usurping
power over Scotland, it is clear that Shakespeare developed the play in this way to appeal to the
opinions of King James. Although James would have frowned upon the way Macbeth took to
become king, he would not frown upon the usurping of the king, for it was something he
condoned.
Overall, William Shakespeare delivers the play Macbeth in order to appeal to the likings
of Englands King, James I. James was a supporter of the arts, specifically a patron of
Shakespeares acting company, The Kings Men. Shakespeare developed The Tragedy of
Macbeth with elements of literature that James could relate to in order to make him enjoy the
play and continue supporting The Kings Men. The incorporation of Christianity throughout
verse in Macbeth is a major aspect of the tragedys details that would appeal to King James I.
Shakespeare specifically calls upon themes strewn throughout King James Is book,
Daemonologie, and incorporates them into certain scenes in Macbeth. Knowing that James has
an interest in the occult and the powers of the devil, Shakespeare also incorporated elements of
witchcraft throughout the play and the effect the power of the devil had on characters. Then, by
incorporating both a specific life event of the king and the kings beliefs into the play,
Shakespeare was sure to please King James I with Macbeth. A sycophant of King James I of

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England, Shakespeare succeeded in making Macbeth appealing to its intended audience, the
king.

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Works Cited
Empson, William. "Macbeth." Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File News Services,
1986. Web. 20 Dec. 2014.
Hager, Alan. "King James Bible." Encyclopedia of British Writers, 16th and 17th Centuries.
N.p.: Facts on File, 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.
Jack, Jane H. "Macbeth, King James, and the Bible." JSTOR. JSTOR, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2014.
James, Charles. Basilikon Doron. Speyer: n.p., 1604. Print.
Mabillard, Amanda. "Contemporary References to King James I in Shakespeare's Macbeth
(1605-06)." Shakespeare's Compliments to King James in Macbeth. Shakespeare Online,
20 Nov. 2011. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.
Peter, Herman C. "A Deed without a Name: Macbeth, the Gunpowder Plot, and Terrorism."
Journal for Cultural Research 18.2 (2014): 114-31. Academic Search Premier. Web.
20 Dec. 2014.
Philippian, Mardy, Jr. "James I." Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File News
Services, 2008. Web. 20 Dec. 2014.
Shakespeare, William, and John Crowther. Macbeth. S.l.: Spark Notes, 2004. Print.