Historical Macbeth Compared To Shakespeares Macbeth Essay -- essays re

Although most of Shakespeare's play " Mac Beth " is not historically accurate, MacBeth's life is the subject of the tragedy. There are characters and events that are based on true events and real persons but, Shakespeare's "MacBeth " differs significantly from history's MacBeth. The first example of a difference between the Shakespeare "MacBeth" and historical Mac Beth is the death of Duncan I. In Shakespeare's " Mac Beth ", Duncan I was murdered by MacBeth. A prophecy said to Mac Beth by one of the three witches "All hail, MacBeth, that shalt be King hereafter1 ." was what prompted Gruoch, MacBeth's wife to plot the murder of Duncan I as he slept in their castle. In history, Mac Beth established himself as the King of Scots after killing his cousin Duncan I, in battle near Elgin not as in Shakespeare's play by killing him in his sleep. Duncan I was killed on August 14, 1040. Mac Beth then reigned as king for seventeen years.As previously stated Duncan I and Mac Beth were cousins, a fact not brought out in the play. Shakespeare loosely based the play," Mac Beth " on events he found in Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. " Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, are the materials that furnished Shakespeare with his plot2. The chronicles were an account of the history of the country of which they came from. Another major difference, is that Duncan I was ...