This chapter examines some of the cultural and literary influences that helped to shape Shakespeare’s play, looking at several of the ways that he uses intertexts to help generate a horrific atmosphere. It then looks at influences that Macbeth has had on the Gothic genre before finally considering how some recent stage directors have attempted to re-imagine the horror of the play for modern audiences. Through this detailed examination of the play’s sources, and of its adaptations and modern productions, we can begin to understand how a potent sense of horror is generated in Macbeth and how that horror is regenerated for succeeding generations of the play’s audiences.
In fourteen specially commissioned chapters by leading Shakespeare scholars from around the globe, Late Shakespeare, 1608–1613 provides an essential reappraisal of the final phase of Shakespeare's writing life. Arranged for the first time in the best-established chronological sequence, Shakespeare's last seven extant plays are discussed in detail in dedicated chapters, from Pericles to the other late co-authored works, King Henry VIII and The Two Noble Kinsmen. The plays are situated in the context of Shakespeare's financial investments, his focus on the practice of reading, the changing nature of his acting company and the pressing issues of contemporary politics and urban life. The book also goes on to explore the relationship between Shakespeare and his audience and considers the dominant themes in his final works. Analysing and responding to the latest criticism in the field, this volume brings to light a vital re-examination of what it means to discuss 'late Shakespeare'.
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