The Murderous Medieval King That Inspired Macbeth

Many people don't realize that William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Macbeth was inspired by a real king named Macbeth, or formally Macbethad mac Findláech. He was a Scottish king from 1040 until 1057. Anyone unfamiliar with the real Macbeth can be forgiven, since that was 1000 years ago and there have been a lot of kings in a lot of countries since then. Shakespeare obviously fictionalized the story, adding the prophesy of three witches that eventually came true. They aren't the only witches in the play, and there are also ghosts and prophetic visions. Five hundred years after the fact, Shakespeare made a really tragic and compelling story out of Macbeth's reign. In this TED-Ed lesson, Benjamin Hudson explains the many reasons Shakespeare had for crafting the tale of Macbeth the way he did.