The late 16th century was a time of massive change for England, as old traditions were being discarded and new concepts discovered; in science, commerce, religion, technology - and perhaps most prominently, the arts.

In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I, the major instigator of this change, died. James I, who until then had reigned Scotland for 36 years as James VI, succeeded the throne; combining the Scottish and English empires to form what was eventually called Great Britain.

A sufferer of chronic illnesses all his life, James had been a king since he was 13 months old. His mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was beheaded in 1587, and his father, Lord Darnley, was killed by an explosion for which James held the Roman Catholic Church in contempt. James publicly despised the Catholics, and they did him, trying to assassinate him numerous times - the most famous of these being the Gun Powder Plot of 1605, led by Guy Fawkes.

King James also held strong views about "The Divine Right of Kings". Although this concept had been founded long before, it became almost exclusive to James, who tenaciously believed he was God's chosen representative on earth, and that any act o

The fourth idea relates to the King's chronic illnesses. James could not remain sitting in one place, in the view of the public, for long periods of time. Subsequently, Macbeth was the shortest of Shakespeare's plays. This assured the King would not be in pain or ill-natured by the end of the performance.

Macbeth was one such play. Performed just three years after James had commenced his reign in England, its popularity with the King was vital for Shakespeare's reputation, and hence, career.

Third is the topic of the supernatural, a prominent theme of the play. James was so interested in this subject he wrote a book about it, titled "Daemonologie", so the appearance of the weird sisters in Act One Scene One would have intrigued him immediately. Also, Shakespeare's association of evil with these forces agreed with James, who introduced the mainstream practice of burning witches at the stake.

With this in mind, and recalling the piece I just performed, it would appear that Shakespeare's choice to base the play around the plotting and killing of a king was unwise, to say the least - especially when considering James' sensitivity to the issue, with the Gun Powder Plot occurring less than a year before. However there is evidence to suggest that despite this risky element, Shakespeare did form the play on James' approval.

"This castle hath a pleasant seat. The air / Nimbly and s

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Approximate Word count = 936
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)