the country of inverness, dunsinane was the setting of the play macbeth.
what country is the setting of the play macbeth?
inverness, dunsinane
king duncan i's reign was a military failure. he was defeated by the native english at durham in 1040, and was subsequently toppled. duncan had only been related to previous rulers through his mother bethoc, daughter of malcolm ii, who had married crínán, the lay abbot of dunkeld (and probably mormaer of atholl too). at a location called "bothganowan" (or "bothgowan", "bothgofnane", "bothgofuane", meaning "blacksmith's hut" in old gaelic, today "pitgaveny" near elgin), the mormaer of moray, macbeth defeated and killed duncan, and took the kingship for himself. after macbeth's successor lulach, another moravian, all kings of scotland were duncan's descendants. for this reason, duncan's reign is often remembered positively, while macbeth is villanised. eventually, william shakespeare gave fame to this medieval equivalent of propaganda by further immortalising both men in his play macbeth. macbeth's reign however was successful enough that he had the security to go on pilgrimage to rome.
kingdom of alba
in act v, lady macbeth is overcome with guilt; she dies and it is later postulated that she committed suicide. now completely alone, macbeth laments that life is a "tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." by the end of the play macbeth learns that the witches' second set of prophecies have hidden meanings: malcolm's army carries shields made from birnam wood to macbeth's fortress in dunsinane, and macduff reveals that he was prematurely removed from his mother's womb, meaning that he technically was not "of woman born". beaten but still defiant, macbeth declares, "lay on macduff, and damned be he who first cries, hold, enough!" in the ensuing duel, macduff kills macbeth and cuts off his head.
macbeth (character)