1/10 One of my favourite Shakespeare's plays is Macbeth. It deals with topics such as war, witchcraft and female power. Here's a thread about this spooky play

Painting by Goya

2/10 Macbeth was probably first performed in 1606. At that time king James was in the throne. He symbolized the union between the Scottish and the English crowns

3/10 The play is set in Scotland and it is said to be a mixture of history and legend. It deals with issues such as royal descent, legitimacy and loyalty, wich demonstrates the play's connection to the social and political context in England

4/10 One of the things that characterised king James' reign was his obsession with witchcraft. In fact, he published a book about it: Daemonologie

5/10 In this book he accepted the existence of witches and evil powers. During his reign thousands of women were falsely accused of witchcraft

6/10 At that time it was believed that the absence of menstruation (amenorrhoea) was a characteristc of most witches. People thought as well that witches had a third a nipple and they nursed the evil spirits

7/10 This portrays people's fear of maternal milk. It was thought that some diseases could be transmitted through breast-feeding, as well as morals and behaviour

8/10 One of the most interesting characters in this play Lady Macbeth. She is the perfect villain: cold-hearted and narcissistic. She encourages her husband to do whatever it takes to become the king of Scotland

Painting by John Singer Sargent

9/10 According to the literary critic Janet Adelman, the mother figure is replaced by the witches and Lady Macbeth. In the play, men fear female presence as it takes control of male identity, mind, self and autonomy

10/10 I hope you've enjoyed this thread and that it has awaken your interest to read this masterpiece!

**All the information was retrieved from wikipedia and the book "Critical Approaches to Shakespeare. Shakespeare for all time"