Macbeth’s Progress into Villainy

I wrote this essay in year 10 while studying Macbeth. My teachers reply sort of went along the lines of "...maybe for a history essay...". Enjoy.


Once upon a time there was an ancient country known as Alba. The kings of Alba were elected, from a group of clan chiefs by their fellow chiefs and churchmen. One of these kings to be elected was King Duncan. But there was a problem with King Duncan. You see, Duncan kept fighting wars to expand his territories and while Duncan was off at war his people back in Alba were starving to death. Something had to be done so the chiefs and churchmen of Alba elected the Chief of Clan Moray as king instead.
Under the new king, things in Alba were looking pretty good. The new king had united the country for the first time. He made and enforced laws. Alba had become a place where the old and the sick were protected, and where women had equal rights. Under the new king Alba was peaceful and prosperous.
Now, at this time, outside of Alba in all the other countries, kings were not elected. Kingship was inherited. This caused many members of the royal family to resort to murder and war as they tried to gain kingship. Duncan’s son, Malcolm, had fled to one of these countries where kings were not elected. In this country it was believed that the king’s son became king no matter what. It didn’t matter how bad he was for the country. So the king of this country decided to help Malcolm raise an army and conquer Alba.
But Malcolm’s army couldn’t take Alba. After a failed invasion Malcolm resorted to sending assassins to murder the king of Alba.
The king of Alba was Macbeth.

Macbeth takes place in Scotland in the early eleventh century, which, at the time, was known as Alba. In the play, though, Shakespeare makes it more relevant and people-friendly by referring to the country by its modern name, Scotland. The above story of Alba is the story of “the real Macbeth”.
According to Irish, Norwegian and Scottish historians, Macbeth was, in most aspects, a very good king. Even lady Macbeth is said to have been an exceptionally wise queen. It was really only the English historian, Raphael Holinshed that claimed Macbeth wasn’t a good king. Holinshed was from England, the country that Malcolm had fled to and the country that had assisted Malcolm’s war against Macbeth. It could be more than possible that Holinshed held bias against Macbeth and that his view was coloured in favour of Malcolm and England. Holinshed’s history, the Chronicles of Scotland, also show little understanding of ancient Scottish laws which could have affected his view of Macbeth.
Holinshed is believed to be the only source that Shakespeare used when writing his play. Shakespeare portrayed Macbeth even worse than the villain Holinshed had depicted. The main aim of Shakespeare’s plays was to entertain and impress those in power, at the time this was King James, a descendent of Banquo. Because of James’ relation, Shakespeare played up Banquo, showing him as a hero and Macbeth the villain. The addition of the witches was also for the purpose of entertainment and to impress the king. James was known to have a hatred of witches.
I didn’t matter to Shakespeare that the facts he used or his portrayal of Macbeth weren’t true because sycophancy was more important in his profession than historical accuracy.
Macbeth’s progress into villainy started with an English historian, Rafael Holinshed, who wrote the Chronicles of Scotland without a full understanding of Scottish law or governance. Holinshed let his bias influence his portrayal of Macbeth and also likely wrote his history to please those in power. Similarly, using information form Holinshed’s history, Shakespeare manipulated facts in his play to please those in charge; creating the villain Macbeth is known as today.

After Macbeth’s murder his step-son, Lulach Macgillecomgain, was elected as the king of Alba but after many years of fighting Malcolm he too was assassinated and Malcolm became king by force. From Malcolm’s time onwards Scottish kings inherited the throne rather than being elected. The laws in Alba that had given equal rights and protected the poor were abolished.
Malcolm was the first king not to be buried at the sacred island of Iona.

2020

I was tagged by Scott over at Ergo (or Epic Ergo as I like to call it) and I'm supposed to predict where I'm going to be in 10 years time and tag 10 people. So here we go:

• In 2020 Australia will finally be achieving everything its aiming for (yeah right) like the 2020 Summit stuff and whatever Defence 2020 is on about. So I'm assuming we will be living in some kind of magical world.
• In this world I will have become the Cultural Vigilante, a misterious masked individual who is returning all artifacts back to their rightful countries (lets see the marbles back in Greece and the mummies back in Egypt!).
• This will have gotten me arrested and unmasked. My trial would be very controvertial as the British would probably hate me but the Italians, Greeks and Egyptian would worship me. But luckily the magistrate judging my case has an Italian grandmother who had seen a family heirloom (looted in WWII) returned thanks to me. I get released but banned from museums around the world.
• This spirals me into depression and I begin teaching Australia history to highschool students.
• This makes my depression worse and I get hooked on wizzfizz (now known to be a deadly drug).
• My family refer me to a clinic and I eventually get clean. Emerging from this I see myself on an E special showing a superheros downward spiral to drugs and addiction.
• I relapse.
• One day the magistrates grandmother visits me while I'm in the clinic. She thanks me and her gratitude is enough to get me back on the right track.
• Eventually the grandmother sets me up with the magistrate and we get married. This causes a lot of controversy but my case doesn't go back to trial.
• E does another story on me.
• I go back to work at the highschool but instead teach senior history and get to stay away from that horrible Australian stuff.
• After a very eventful year, life is pretty good.

I don't know 10 people, but I tag:

Lucy @ Amusing Seth

The Public Donut @ MyBlog

O'Malley @ The Battle of Yonkers

Laura @ Zoidburgtales

'Ban the Bomb'

From 1981 to the end of the Cold War: the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp around the US Airforce base at Greenham Common, England protested against the base which housed cruise missiles. They used creative protests, including joining hands & encircling the base, picnics inside the base and floating a giant web over the base with helium balloons, etc.

This is just another awesome thing that has happened in history and is definitely the way protests should be carried out.

The Bells Toll Five Times

Happy holiday's to those out there who actually have them or get to spend them relaxing and watching the Lion King.
I'll be spending my holiday's completing my History Project for extension history. A 2 500 word essay assessing how the interpretations the Salem Witch Trials have changed over time.
It's not as fun as I thought it would be. Interesting, but not fun.
Welcome to my new follower, Joe Lynch, who shares a name this several famous people including Kenneth Slessor's BFF who Five Bells was written about (thank you advanced english).

Time that is moved by little fidget wheels
Is not my time, the flood that does not flow.
Between the double and the single bell
Of a ship's hour, between a round of bells
From the dark warship riding there below,
I have lived many lives, and this one life
Of Joe, long dead, who lives between five bells...

Bohemian Rhapsody

I like to think I'm slowly going insane.
I am trying to study, I promise you, but it is as if there are two people inside my head and when one isn't looking the other starts to play solitaire or starts typing something like this. I keep telling myself to stop but I will not listen.
I admit I am wont to distractions but this is just rediculous.

Study.

In February 1917 (by the Julian calander) a revolution took place in Russia in which the Tsarist government was over thrown and replaced by the Provisional government-

I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche,scaramouche will you do the fandango-

...Curses...

The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy

I'm sure someone out there is wondering about the introduction of my poll and wants to now why I'm so curious about who killed J. F. K. so let me explain.

The year 11 modern history syllabus calls case study and every year my school does the Assassination of John F. Kennedy. I did this last year and thoroughly convinced myself that Jackie did it. But then someone asked my why you would pay someone to shoot the person sitting next to you while in a moving vehicle and my whole case crumbled. Instead I focused my case on the Secret Service and I think I built a very convincing argument and, although occasionally an argument breaks out between my friend as to whether it was the CIA or the Mafia, J.F.K. was forgotten about.

This years yr 11 modern history class has recently begun their Kennedy case study and old theories have re-emerged. My two person extension history class will be studying Kennedy this year and both of us having our differing theories a heated argument broke out one day in the library as yr 11 modern history listened to John F. Kennedy's inauguration speech. Our fight was broken up by a music teacher who KNOWS it was the Illuminati and we could not convince him any other way.

So now I want to know your thoughts. Who killed J.F.K?

Will you help me prove statistically that yes, it was the Secret Service? Are you with my friend and believe the Mafia are behind it? Do you believe the jazz musician-music teacher and blame the Illuminati? Do you begrudge conspiracy theorists and think Lee Harvey Oswald was a lone assassin? Or perhaps you have your own theory?

All theories are welcome! Tell me what you think!

Who killed J.F.K?