Society
What about the society of the time? We need to remember that Shakespeare set Macbeth in the past which gave him a certain licence in what he said. The real Macbeth was the King of Scotland in the 11th century, but violence was commonplace in both eras. We like to think we live in a more civilised world, but the prevalence of gangs and knife crime is one thread that made Macbeth on the Estate so successful. The society of Macbeth is very A system of organising people or things in terms of a perceived importance, eg from king to beggar would represent a social hierarchy., giving the fight for the crown great significance.
This clip looks in more detail at Shakespeare’s audience and the social attitudes of the time
Theatre seating reflected the social structure of the time. The groundlings, the people who paid least for admission and stood around the edge of the stage, were at the bottom of the hierarchy in a society with a rigid class system. At the other extreme, there were the lords who sat on cushioned seats in the higher gallery. The theatre was quite a significant social commentator in Shakespeare’s day, so it’s not surprising that the seating in the theatre should be a One small version of a larger world, eg a school could be described as a microcosm of society. of his world.
