Macbeth: Man and Myth

by N. B. Aitchison

Immortalised in Shakespeare's compelling tragedy, Macbeth (1040-1057) is perhaps Scotland's most famous king. But how much is known about the historical Macbeth and his reign? What was it about this king that intrigued later chroniclers and inspired Shakespeare? And how closely does Shakespeare's Macbeth correspond with historical reality? This book aims to study Macbeth in all his manifestations: historical, mythological and dramatic. Bringing together widely scattered material, it begins by placing Macbeth in the context of the turbulent politics of 11th-century Scotland, before examining the evidence for the historical Macbeth and his reign. The book then traces the origins and development of the myths surrounding the king through a range of medieval source material to the culmination of this process in Shakespeare's Macbeth. The author disentangles the real from the mythical Macbeth and puts into focus a blurring of fact and fiction that is as old as Macbeth himself. The concluding chapter goes in search of Macbeth, travelling from the "blasted heath", where Shakespeare's Macbeth met the witches, to Dunsinane where he met his death at the hands of MacDuff.
This text offers a comprehensive study of the historical and mythical king and the truth behind the "Scottish Play".

• ISBN10: 0750918918
• ISBN13: 9780750918916
• Publish Date: 23 September 1999
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 6 May 2011
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: The History Press Ltd
• Imprint: Sutton Publishing Ltd
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[brokentune]

This was a very thorough book on the historical background of Macbeth, the historical figure, not the Shakespeare character.

I got this on recommendation from a historian and I can see how this would be a great read for someone who has an interest in medieval Scotland.
For me, much of the detail was too complex. That is not a criticism of the book, but a reflection of my own knowledge and interest in this particular era in history.

However, the book did answer the questions I had about Macbeth's background, the differences between the play and historical facts, and the background to the issues of succession in this particular era.