Although the characters of each story had different motives to kill the King, Julius Caesar and Macbeth are similar because their political situations and supernatural activities relate to each other and the Elizabethan Age. Shakespeare lived in a time period where there was relative political stability followed by eras of extensive upheaval. This period is called the Elizabethan age because Elizabeth I was the Queen of England at this time. This time period included an interesting political situation and people that were fascinated with mysterious and supernatural phenomenon.
Julius Caesar and Macbeth both have appearances of independent practitioners of supernatural arts. Macbeth opens up with three witches giving prophecies. These witches…show more content… The first example is that both stories have an initial ruler killed and replaced by others. In Macbeth, Macbeth kills King Duncan because he is motivated by the prophecies of the witches and his own personal ambition. In Julius Caesar, Brutus and other conspirators kill King Julius Caesar because they feel like it is the best thing for Rome. This relates to Shakespeare’s time because he experienced rulers that were replaced by others. For example, he was born around the time Elizabeth I became queen. Also, he was alive when Queen Elizabeth died and was replaced by James I. There are other examples of how the political situation while Shakespeare wrote influenced his writing. Both Queen Elizabeth I and Julius Caesar did not have any heirs to take over once their reigns ended. In these examples we see that Shakespeare used the story of Caesar to illustrate the political situation of his day. Macbeth was written early in the reign of James I. King James I was a patron of Shakespeare’s acting company. Macbeth clearly depicts Shakespeare’s close relationship with King James I. Another connection is that Macbeth is a figure of Scottish history, so it is believed that Shakespeare did this to give respect to his Scottish King. Also, the witches’ prophecy that Banquo will found a line of kings is a clear nod to James family. The reasoning is because his family claims to have descended from the historical Banquo. In these two stories of Shakespeare, there are many examples that show the political situation of his age influenced his