ABSTRACT
Macbeth recites this list to the two murderers he hires to kill Banquo. In this otherwise brief exchange, the detailedness of the catalogue puzzles us, for its details are seemingly unneeded. But, as I shall argue, this episode links Macbeth to his hirelings; the passage places them all within a dual social context, first of the feudal society represented in the play, and then of a rapidly changing society at the time of its composition. Though Macbeth is far less commonly studied for a glimpse of Shakespeare serving as social historian than, say, Lear, taking a closer look at the hired killers reveals this play’s insight into the socioeconomic realities of Shakespeare’s time.
