Conjuring legitimacy: Shakespeare's Macbeth as contemporary English politics

In: Filozofija i društvo, Band 31, Heft 3, S. 393-405

Abstract

The text provides a political reading of Shakespeare?s Macbeth, claiming that
the play is responding to the curious connection between witchcraft and
state power in the preceding century, as well as contemporary political
events. Namely, practices variously labeled as witchcraft, magic, conjuring
were an integral aspect of English politics and struggles over royal
succession in the sixteenth century; even more so were the witch hunts and
attempts by British monarchs to control witchcraft. These issues reached a
head with the accession of James VI of Scotland to the English throne in
1603, and the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. On the surface, Shakespeare?s play,
written in the immediate aftermath of the failed attempt at regicide, brings
these historical and political issues together in an effort to legitimize
James? rule. However, the article shows that a closer look reveals a more
complicated, indeed subversive undercurrent at play. Paradoxically, while
Macbeth does provide James with legitimacy, at the same time it calls into
question the grounds of that legitimacy.