The era under James I is strikingly similar to the setting of Shakespeare's play "Macbeth." Like the characters in the play, people during this time were paranoid with thoughts of suspicion following the leak of the Gunpowder Plot of 1603. The plot was intended to blow up Parliament and the King as devised by Guy Fawkes. During his reign, James I published two key works called "Dæmonologie" in which he warns against witchcraft and "Basilikon Doron" arguing for the abolishment of Parliament. The first text relates to both the character of Macbeth himself, as Shakespeare describes him as believing to possess supernatural powers, as well as to the role of the witches, in which the play opens with them representing beings who are mysterious and dark . Shakespeare addresses James I "Basilikon Doron" by having the characters in the play respond to a world of absolutism. Clearly, the world in the play is overwhelmed and in a state of panic as there is this strong sense that authoritarianism has taken over.
Cecilia Luppi
Waldo Section 1D
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