Shakespeare was well known for borrowing ideas from history and
mythology so I didn't find it surprising that Macbeth was based on
stories from the Holinshed's Chronicles, which is a history of the
British Isles. In Holinshed's, Macbeth, King of the Scots, although the play exaggerates and makes parts up about the play. In some ways, Shakespeare invented the genre of historical fiction.
Interesting. Who knew Shakespeare was so unoriginal? Although, I know he took a lot of Greek mythology and used it in his plays.
ReplyDeleteAlso, to quote my English teacher last year, Mrs. Ryba always said that "Artists beg, borrow, and steal[each other's ideas]."
I agree with Liann that i would have never guessed Shakespeare was unoriginal. One thing I came across though when I was researching Shakespeare was that he did often refer to historical moments and incorporate them within his literary pieces and like you said, William did base Macbeth on the Holinshed's Chronicles. He often found inspiration through events such as kings and monarchs, but would put his own twist on the stories to make them that much more riveting and interesting to the reader.
ReplyDelete