Context:
Ways to please the new king.
James I came to the throne in 1603; Macbeth was written in 1606. Shakespeare's main source for the play was Holinshed's Chronicles. In the sources, Banquo is an accomplice who knows all about the plot to murder Duncan, so Shakespeare, who is now working in The King's Men, is deliberately creating a more flattering picture of Banquo's part in the story. As James is believed to be descended from Banquo, this looks like an attempt to please his patron by giving the king's legendary ancestor a better image. Of course the play also contains the message that the murder of kings is an evil thing. |
