Outline:

Conclusion

Surely James’ conception of the divine nature of kings found itself into Shakespeare’s work, and the playwright carried the idea to its utmost end. It is the genius of Shakespeare that he can be nearly all things to all people—even sycophantic[1]. Yet in doing so, Shakespeare overwhelms the limited notion of artist working alone within himself to create his art. Macbeth grabs hold of the Jacobean ideology of kingship and incorporates the very real threat of regicide, and combining the two, plays out the phantasmagorical moment when the world would have no king. It is a world that, for a suspended instant, is devoid of God.

BSU | ENGL 5170 | Carl Sewall | Repurposing | Preface