From Noble Macbeth To This Dead Butcher People of Shakespear's time are often thought of as Elizabethans but in fact Macbeth was written when Queen Elizabeth was on her deathbed and had appointed James the VI of Scotland her successor.Shakespeare wrote the play with this new king in mind. The basic story of Macbeth follows that of the “Chronicles of Scotland” a history book of the time. The real-life Banquo was guilty but since he was an ancestor of James I Shakespeare makes him innocent. At this point in history people believed in the devine right of kings – that kings were appointed by God. Therefore killing th