Abstract Macbeth, Shakespeare’ s shortest and bloodiest tragedy, has shocked and fascinated audiences for nearly four hundred years. Yet Shakespeare’ s deep concern with James’ s reign has been neglected by critics. So, the objective of this thesis is to disclose the relationship between Macbeth and its historical context by applying the major theories of New Historicism, especially the New Historicist dictum of “historicity of text and textuality of history”. The thesis examines the text from four aspects. Firstly, it gives a brief introduction to New Historicism and its major theories. Secondly, through the analysis of the text, it points out that the play is actually a product of negotiation between Shakespeare and the historical context. Thirdly, the analysis of the influence of the historical context on Macbeth reveals that the play is a representation of the James era. Finally, it analyzes the important role Macbeth plays in the British development of drama and culture. Thus, the new historicist reading of Macbeth will highlight some cultural aspects of the text.61212

Keywords: Macbeth; Shakespeare; New Historicism; historicity; textuality 

摘要《麦克白》是莎士比亚最短最血腥的悲剧，近四百年来深深震撼并吸引着读者。然而，莎士比亚对詹姆斯统治时代的深层关注却为评论家们所忽视。因此，本文运用“文本的历史性和历史的文本性”这一新历史主义最重要的理论，挖掘《麦克白》与它所产生的社会历史环境间的“对话性”关系。本文从四个方面解析文本：首先简单介绍新历史主义的内涵和主要理论；其次采用新历史主义的观点探讨创作《麦克白》的过程，指出这是莎士比亚结合当时的社会历史背景不断进行“商讨”的一个过程；再而揭露《麦克白》反映了詹姆斯时代的特定社会历史背景；最终分析《麦克白》在英国戏剧和文化发展中所起的重大历史作用。因此，本文将有助于对文本的文化层面的解读。

毕业论文关键词: 《麦克白》; 莎士比亚; 新历史主义; 历史性; 文本性 

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

3. An Introduction to New Historicism 3

3.1 The Definition of New Historicism 3

3.2 Major Theories of New Historicism 3

4. Macbeth — the Product of Shakespeare’s Negotiation with the Historical Context 5

4.1 The Dynamic Role Shakespeare Played in Creating Macbeth 5

4.2 The Submissive Role Shakespeare Played in Creating Macbeth 7

5. Macbeth — A Realistic Representation of the Society in the James Era 8

5.1 A Brief Account of the Religious and Social Background of the James Era 8

5.2 Characters in Macbeth: Typical Figures of the James Era 9

6. The Historical Power of Macbeth 11

6.1 Dramatic Level 11

6.2 Cultural Level 12

7. Conclusion 13

Works Cited 15

 1. Introduction 

Shakespeare’ s Macbeth has aroused hot discussions among many critics. However, few critics focus on its historical background. The author was invoked by them into a serious thinking about the specific relationship between Macbeth and its historical background. Is Macbeth deeply influenced by the historical background? Does it have any influence on the history in return? And how did Shakespeare create such a play at that particular time? New Historicism offers a perspective for the author’ s thinking because “the relationship between history and text remains in the center of the New Historicist arguments” (Zhu Gang, 2001: 260). The theories of New Historicism provide the author with wider and firmer basis to make a systematic study on the relationship between Macbeth and its historical context, which in this specific aspect, could be more in depth than the previous studies. The dissertation is pided into mainly four parts. Firstly, it gives a brief introduction to New Historicism and its major theories, especially those which are feasible for the research on Macbeth to offer a theoretical basis. Secondly, it focuses on Shakespeare, applying some theories of New Historicism to analyze how Shakespeare produced Macbeth. The next two chapters deal with the relationship between the text Macbeth and the historical context of the James Era with the help of the well-known New Historicist dictum of “historicity of texts” and “textuality of history” separately. Thirdly, it discusses the influence of history on the text which makes the play a realistic recording of the James Era. And at last, it discloses the influence of the text on the historical context—the historical power of Macbeth. On the whole, the author does a research on Shakespeare’s Macbeth from the perspective of New Historicism in order to show the important value of this play to analyze inter-influence between the play and the historical context of the James Era, and to approach again to the relationship between history and text.源:自'优尔.·论,文;网·www.youerw.com/