The society in which Macbeth was written in was full of betrayal and a lack of trust. Much of this distrust and betrayal occurred between subject and King or Queen. This stemmed from religious confliction between ruler and subjects, as well as the desire for a new leader. An example from the time period of Macbeth is the gunpowder plot which was an attempt to kill the king and all of parliament in order to end the persecution of Catholics (History.com). It makes sense why Shakespeare would illustrate Macbeth as being paranoid, he was in a way making Macbeth intune to the time period. Shakespeare knew of this attempted overthrow and thought of it while making the character Macbeth. Towards the end of the play and end of Macbeth’s reign, the
