When Does "Macbeth" (1606) Take Place?
"The Tragedy of Macbeth" (often released simply as "Macbeth") is a historical fiction stageplay written by William Shakespeare and performed as early as August 1606 (according to most scholars). So when is "Macbeth" set?
It takes place in the years:
We know this because, at the end of act 1 Lady Macbeth [based on the real-world Scottish Queen Gruoch ingen Boite (1015-1060)] is chiding Macbeth for not being ambitious enough, this soon leads to the death of King Duncan [based on the real-world Scottish King Duncan I] at the beginning of act 2. In the real-world, King Duncan was killed (although in a very different way from the play) in August of 1040 AD, leading to the ascension of real-world Macbethad mac Findláech (often shortened to Macbeth) to the throne.
1040 AD - 1057 AD
We know this because, at the end of act 1 Lady Macbeth [based on the real-world Scottish Queen Gruoch ingen Boite (1015-1060)] is chiding Macbeth for not being ambitious enough, this soon leads to the death of King Duncan [based on the real-world Scottish King Duncan I] at the beginning of act 2. In the real-world, King Duncan was killed (although in a very different way from the play) in August of 1040 AD, leading to the ascension of real-world Macbethad mac Findláech (often shortened to Macbeth) to the throne.
Then, the Scottish King Macbethad mac Findláech reigned until August 15th, 1057 AD at the tragic Battle of Lumphanan. (Shakespeare changes the setting of the climax to the Battle of Dunsinane, which happened on July 27th, 1054 AD. Both moments are equally appropriate for dating the end of the play in act 5.)
The show's first act opens with the announcement that Scottish forces have defeated an army in present-day Norway. This first scene is difficult to place as this battle seems to have never happened in the real world. Presumably, it is just weeks or months before Duncan's death in August of 1040 AD.
Overall, the story of Shakespeare's play spans from (act 1) just before the (act 2) beginning of Macbeth's reign as King of Scotland in 1040 AD to (act 5) its end in 1057 AD or 1054 AD.
It was remade in 1971 as "uMabatha" and in 2003 as "Sleep No More".
It was partially adapted in the 1812 painting "Lady MacBeth Seizing the Daggers", then as an opera in 1847, to music in 1888, to film in 1908, twice more as films in 1909 (one in French & one in Italian), a second opera in 1910, a film in 1911, another film in 1913, again in 1915, one more in 1916, yet another film in 1922, the first sound-film adaptation in 1948, to television in 1954, to film again in 1955 as "Joe MacBeth", again in 1957 as "Throne of Blood", to television twice more in 1960 (one in the United States & one in Australia), then again in 1961 in Canada, another film in 1971, to television again in 1982, then in 1983, to film in 1990 as "Men of Respect", to animation in 1992, as a concept album "Thane to the Throne" in 2000, to film twice in 2001 (as "Makibefo" and "Scotland, PA"), a second concept album "Shakespeare's Macbeth – A Tragedy in Steel" in 2002, to film in 2003 as "Maqbool", and in 2006, for television in 2010, once again to film in 2015, again in 2016 as "Veeram", partially as a novel in 2018, and the latest film adaptation used the original title "The Tragedy of Macbeth" in 2021.
