SH+P5+2014-15+Holinshed’s+Chornicles

by Dylan Williams The aim of the Holinshed Chronicles for Macbeth, is the inspiration it provides for Shakespeare. Shakespeare's Macbeth is a twisted or mildly adjusted version from the story King Duncan and Macbeth. A quote from Macbeth states, “By each one her choppy finger laying Upon her skinny lips. You should be women, And yet your beards forbid me to interpret That you are so. (I.III.39-46). Shakespeare takes the part of the weird sisters into gross hags. He took the whole story and just altered it to make it more interesting while staying historical. The Holinshed's Chronicle is a seven book volume and Macbeth is just a small part. Holinshed chronicles are filled with history and Shakespeare took one of the stories and made one of his most famous historical plays.
 * Aim: **

Mabillard, Amanda. "Shakespeare's Sources for Macbeth". //Shakespeare Online//, 20 Aug. 2000. Web. 06 Jan. 2015.

Knutson, Roslyn L., and David McInnis. "The Lost Plays Database: A Wiki for Lost Plays". //Cengage Learning//, 01 Jan. 2011. Web. 06 Jan. 2015.

**Historical:** by Zachary Brooks The Holinshed’s Chronicles are remembered in history for being the most important source for playwrights and poets. As Richard Rowley mentioned, “Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland was at once the crowning achievement of Tudor historiography and the most important single source for contemporary playwrights and poets, above all Shakespeare, Spenser, Daniel, and Drayton” (The Holinshed Project). The most famous person to use Holinshed’s Chronicles as a source is Shakespeare. Shakespeare used it for many of his history plays but the most famous one is Macbeth. The plot of Macbeth incorporated a lot of Holinshed's Chronicles. However, it is not a clone of Holinshed’s Chronicles. Shakespeare dramatised the work and improvised because Macbet h’s character did not have any descriptions. This is how the Holinshed’s Chronicles are remembered in history for being the most important source for playwrights and poets.

Kewes, Paulina and Annabel Patterson. "Holinshed’s Chronicles"//. Wikipedia//, 6 Nov. 2014. Web. 5 Jan. 2015.

Rowley, Richard. "The Holinshed Project". //The Holinshed Project//, 2008. Web. 5. Jan. 2015.

by Chris Pavia
 * Cultural: **

Raphael Holinshed’s work became one way or another a mold for how readers view the United Kingdom’s history. Shakespeare’s primary history source in writing his play Macbeth was a copy of Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, as well as the majority of his other historical plays (William Shakespeare and Holinshed’s Chronicles 1). Macbeth is a historic play taking place in Scotland. Shakespeare’s works are to this day continually studied and revered, as they often paint a great emotional picture of history. This work fueled the dramatic scene the people see today in nearly every way, with compiling evidence given, “Whether one agrees with the postulations regarding Shakespeare's authorial intentions, one would be hard pressed to refute the claim that Shakespeare has taken his semi-historical sources and made alterations that allow for a more exciting, thought-provoking and tragic story” (Mabillard 2). His interpretation of the Chronicles makes a small chunk of Scottish history very exciting and immersive, more often molding its reader’s perspective on it as a whole. The piece in the name of Holinshed not only affected Shakespeare’s take on Scotland alone, but also on England and the whole Kingdom, and not only doing so to Shakespeare. In fact, the Oxford University is currently studying for the creation of the Oxford Holinshed Handbook, “approx. 360,000 words on the making, transmission, reception, appropriation, and literary and historical significance of the Chronicles” (Rowley 1). Without the writing, readers and scholars would likely not even think about immersing themselves on the history of Scotland and the entire United Kingdom in such a way.

Mabillard, Amanda. "Shakespeare's Sources for Macbeth". //Shakespeare Online//, 20 Aug. 2000. Web. 6 Jan. 2015.

Rowley, Richard. "The Holinshed Project". //The Holinshed Project//, 2008. Web. 6 Jan. 2015

"William Shakespeare and Holinshed’s Chronicles". //Long Wharf Theatre//. Web. 6 Jan. 2015.

**Audience:** by Alexander Garza The intended audience for Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles were the people who wanted to know about the history of Britain. The books were intended to tell the history of Britain and the important events of the British Isles. The creators of The Holinshed Project stated, “Wolfe planned a massive universal history, but died before it came to fruition. His assistant Raphael Holinshed, a native of Cheshire who was probably a graduate of Cambridge, took over Wolfe's project as it applied to the British Isles alone” (Archer 1). To this day, the Chronicles provide a source to British history to many those who want to learn, or to pull stories from such as many playwrights and poets did. Holinshed’s Chronicles gave all of that information and history to those who turned it’s pages, and gave inspiration to Shakespeare to make his famous play, Macbeth.

Rowley, Richard. "The Holinshed Project". //The Holinshed Project//, 2008. Web. 6 Jan. 2015

Kewes, Paulina and Patterson, Annabel. "Holinshed’s Chronicles". //Wikipedia//, 6 Nov. 2014. Web. 5 Jan. 2015.