How do the texts of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth illustrate Shakespeare’s allegorical response to events and political concerns?

As far back as Plato’s theory of imitation it has been asserted that “the poet always copies an earlier act of creation from reality or from other literary representations” (Carter 49). When Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream around 1595 and Macbeth around 1606, he drew strongly from source material, including known history, recent events and classical texts. It is argued in this essay that in doing so he included topical allegorical meanings that suited the concerns of his patronage and personal interests. In addition to using these elements, no writer writes in seclusion from all other influence. Allen writes that “works of literature, after all, are built from systems, codes and traditions established by previous works of literature.” (Allen 1). Allegory was an established and expected element of writing in the Elizabethan period. John Harington may have tended toward literal preferences himself (Nelson 361), however he notes that:

"while some audiences might be satisfied with the pleasantnes of the historie and sweetnes of the verse, some that have stronger stomackes will as it were take a further taste of the Morall sence, a third sort, more high conceited then they, will digest the Allegorie: so as indeed it hath bene thought by men of verie good iudgement" (cited in Nelson 359).

Queen Elizabeth herself was one of these with “stronger stomackes” and was well aware of allegorical meanings within courtly entertainment, famously stating “I am Richard II, know ye not that?” (Orgel 11). Others at court were sceptical of the merits of allegory with Sidney warning against allegorical interpretation of his sonnet sequence (Taylor 6). Perhaps this was a self-interested caveat, but it does show that some maintained a preference for a reading that encompasses the most natural and obvious meaning. Given these propensities for allegorical meaning it is not unreasonable to expect that Shakespeare used this device to respond to pertinent circumstances within his personal sphere of giving and receiving influence.

However, we must acknowledge that when looking to ascertain meanings from known facts we very swiftly enter the realm of speculation (Hunt 423). It is accepted as fact that Shakespeare was closely connected with Henry Wriothesley, the earl of Southampton. While we again enter the realm of speculation when considering the closeness of this connection, there is a significant tradition that views Southampton as the “fair young man” and there is extensive evidence of his patronage in Shakespeare’s dedication of Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece to him as well as the fact that Southampton gave Shakespeare a substantial monetary gift (Rowe).

Southampton in turn was taken under the wing of the earl of Essex after being introduced to him at court by the Queen (Lee) and their allegiance was demonstrated to the extent of being together imprisoned and sentenced to death after participating in an uprising. Southampton’s sentence was commuted but Essex was executed. Prior to his execution, Essex was an ally of James VI and was in communication with him while he was King of Scotland. When James became King of England, one of his early acts was to free Southampton and reinstate him at court (Lee). Barroll suggests that these connections were unimportant and rather that it was King James’ wish to subdue English puritans that led to his sponsorship of theatre (138). However, I think that these connections provide a possible explanation of how favor flowed from King James through to Shakespeare (even if it omitted him directly (Wortham 99)) as his company, Lord Chamberlain’s Men, was appointed the King’s Men within ten days of James’ accession (Wortham 98).

These connections between Essex, Southampton and Shakespeare indicate that there is merit in the speculation that A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth contained allegory around both the succession and accession of King James. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, performed in the Elizabethan period, this is found in the representation of Queen Elizabeth as Titania as well as the interaction between Titania, Oberon, the Indian Boy and Bottom. In Macbeth, performed in the Jacobean period, evidence for political allegory influenced by Shakespeare’s patron is found in the way that Shakespeare extrapolates from historical sources to portray King James as a legitimate protestant ruler.

Early audience members of A Midsummer Night’s Dream would have been prepared to view fairy queen Titania as Elizabeth owing particularly to Spenser’s recent work Faerie Queen (Hunt 425). The play contains both complimentary and uncomplimentary references to Elizabeth (Hunt 430), an example of which is found in Oberon’s speech where Titania is referred to as a vestal virgin and her chastity is praised yet mocked (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.1.157-164). The interpretation of Hunt’s speculative political allegory turns on the plot of Titania’s punishment by Oberon when she refuses to give him the Indian Boy (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.1.137). The punishment involves her falling in love with the ridiculous spectacle of Bottom, dressed as an ass. Rickert argues that the audience would have recognized Henry VIII in the character of Oberon, primarily because of the link with Spenser’s Oberon and secondly because Dekker shortly after took this allusion as fact and wrote his own allegory in which he drew heavily from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, characterizing Oberon as Henry VIII and the Indian Boy as a changeling and heir (Hunt 436).

According to an allegorical interpretation, the refusal of Elizabeth to produce an heir leads Henry VIII to humiliate her with the affair of Bottom. The explanation provided by the allegory that Bottom stands for the figure of Anjou, makes sense of the otherwise unaccountable circumstance of English-speaking fairies located in Greece being addressed by the title Monsieur (Hunt 432). In poking fun at Anjou as an ass, Shakespeare implies that no suitor is good enough for Elizabeth and in restoring Titania’s marriage to Oberon, he implies that Elizabeth is wedded to her Tudor line (Hunt 437).

This of course does nothing to resolve the tension over who will succeed the throne of an aging childless queen. In Hunt’s assertion of the Indian Boy as a kind of surrogate heir, we can see a connection then to the Scottish King James. Elizabeth had been on relatively good terms with him despite her execution of his mother, reportedly giving him £3000 each year. Hunt’s speculative political allegory that paints King James as successor to the throne in a play written by a close connection of James’ close ally the earl of Essex demonstrates a way that Shakespeare responded to political concerns at the time in his writing.

Wortham notes that: There is little celebration of England and Englishness in Shakespeare's plays written after the accession of James VI of Scotland to his English throne as James I in 1603. There is some reference to Britain and Britishness in the later plays, but mention of England is muted and infrequent (97). He also asserts that King James and Shakespeare each stood to gain from the patronage or allegiance of the other – Shakespeare by the King’s support of his work at a time when London theatre-going was constrained by outbreaks of the plague and Puritan antipathy to the stage and the king by Shakespeare’s growing popularity as a writer and talent in turning a story to favor or disfavor as needed.

In Macbeth, we see Shakespeare responding to prevailing political agenda and rewriting history to place King James in a favorable light. King James of Scotland, who had to shake off the legacy of having had a fiercely Catholic mother, sought to establish himself as protestant king fit to rule England and Scotland and Shakespeare’s sympathetic reimagining of historical sources was certainly framed to assert his legitimacy as monarch. In 1605 King James and the houses of parliament as well as prominent Scots living in London were the target of the Gunpowder plot. This created a greater sense of sympathy for King James, which perhaps Shakespeare hoped to harness (Wortham 112). The plot of Macbeth is openly concerned with loyalty to monarchs and retribution for betrayal of these loyalties (Wortham 112).

In 1578, John Leslie had published a history of Scotland, detailing the eight Stuart monarchs from Robert II to Mary Queen of Scots, all of whom were descended from Banquo’s son Fleance (Wortham 113-114). Shakespeare clearly alludes to this when he has the witches conjure a vision showing Macbeth the line of eight kings descended from Banquo with the suggestion that the reflection of the glass indicates many more to come (Macbeth 4.1.110-22). King James wished to add legitimacy to his reign by emphasizing his connection to Banquo, yet this required the careful reconstruction of the character of Banquo in history. Holinshed’s Chronicle is the established source for Macbeth. In it, following the prophetic incantations of some witches, Banquo and Macbeth conspire together against the unworthy King Duncan, and this presented obvious difficulties as King James could not be portrayed as a conspirator.

Shakespeare absolves Banquo from involvement in Duncan’s murder (Alker & Nelson 391) and shows him almost uncertain of how to proceed with his suspicions, assuring Macbeth of his loyalty (III.i.15-8), yet at the same time conflicted over his responsibility to inform the nobility. It is his lack of action for justice that leads to his ultimate death (Alker & Nelson 392), yet his innocence in the murder of King Duncan along with the courage of Fleance creates sufficient sympathy for the legitimacy of his son as successor.

Regardless of whether Shakespeare shared the views of those he aimed to flatter or please, his work created the opportunity for him to advocate certain points of view and it is possible to trace in much of his work what the points of influence might be and from whom the influence stemmed (Wortham 100). In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare comments on Elizabeth’s succession in terms of a suitor for Titania and the heir as a surrogate child. In Macbeth he redraws the character of Banquo to make it honorable for King James to claim him as ancestor.

Works Cited

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