“What bloody man is that?”: Questioning biblical typology inMacbeth

Abstract

This essay sets out to re-examine the presence of the Bible in Shakespeare's Macbeth, specifically the book of Kings and Revelation. Although largely ignored today, the exegetical culture within which early modern biblical texts were read provides new and surprising readings of biblical presences in early modern drama. I argue that Macbeth is sceptical of the political utility promised by its biblical models. The deeply equivocal sense of politics and subjectivity examined throughout the play arises because it disrupts the typological understanding of history found in Protestant exegetical culture.

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