The Witch-Man, James I

After reading the first scene of act one of Macbeth, a question quickly popped into my head. With all this talk about witches gathering and doing witchy things, you've got to wonder why Shakespeare was so interested in this topic - interested enough to base a whole play around the effects of witchcraft. Well, after doing a little research, it turns out that Shakespeare put so much effort into portraying his witches (in the most stereotypical way possible) because he knew his audience well. See, James I, the king at the time, had an early interest in witchcraft due to the manner in which his mother was executed, according to History. Apparently, her death and severed head was seen in Scotland before it even happened. Following that, two years afterward, James was to marry a woman named Anne, who lived in Denmark. When they sailed to meet each other, their boats were battered twice by storms, nearly killing James and his betrothed both times. James I assumed that he'd been cursed by witches, and quickly called for a massive witch hunt. He was one of the biggest advocates for the death of witches, and Shakespeare clearly knew this. He knew his audience and wrote a play just to please the biggest fish in the pond - talk about a sellout! ...Or a very clever writer. Yeah, we'll go with that.