THE KING AND THE PLAYWRIGHT

It’s unknown if Shakespeare ever travelled to Scotland, but perhaps his decision to set Macbeth here was influenced by some higher power

PAUL STAFFORD

Mist hangs over the wintry River Tay, obscuring an ancient oak tree whose aged branches, thick like the arms of a caber-tosser, are propped up by crutches. It is the same kind of weather that envelops the scenes of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth as the king is slowly consumed by the ramifications of his dishonourable deeds. It was fitting weather then, because this oak – known as the Birnam Oak – is the celebrated sole survivor of its species from the original wood that once lined the riverbank just outside Birnam. Aged over 500 years old, it is the only tree remaining that would have stood when Shakespeare was immortalising this very wood with his quill. “Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnan (sic) Wood to High Dunsinane Hill Shall come…

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Scotland (Digital) - 1 Issue, May - June 2022

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