Introduction

Abstract

Art is, above all, contemporary. The childless Elizabeth was approaching sixty when Shakespeare began his dramatic career; so it is no accident that he shows himself from the outset deeply concerned with questions of legitimacy and the responsibilities of power. That these matters are still to the fore in Macbeth testifies to his abiding interest in politics. But he would have gained fresh impetus from the new reign which, beginning with Marston’s The Malcontent and Jonson’s Sejanus (which brought him before the Privy Council on treason charges), saw a growing taste for political plays.