Question

Which of these sources did Shakespeare use to write the play Macbeth?

A.a history of Scotland by Raphael Holinshed
B.a classical tragedy from ancient Greece
C.the story of the Fates from Greek and Roman mythology
D.an older English play by an anonymous author

Answer 1

a history of Scotland by Raphael Holinshed

Answer 2

The source that Shakespeare used to write the play is option A. A history of Scotland by Raphael Holinshed.

The main reason that Shakespeare used for Macbeth was Holinshed's Chronicles (Macbeth), who based his account of Scotland's history, and Macbeth's in particular, on the Scotorum Historiae, written in 1527 by Hector Boece. Other minor sources that Shakespeare used in order to write his dramatic version of history includes Reginald Scot's Discovery of Witchcraft, and Daemonologie, written in 1599 by King James I.