After we completed our study of literary terms such as paradox, soliloquy, pathetic fallacy, and iambic , I placed a genealogical sketch on the board tracing the lineage of James I, the king when Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, and discussed how the play not only includes witchcraft, a favorite topic of King James, but also legitimizes King James' rule over both England and Scotland. We then discussed the textual paradoxes in the first scenes as well as how Macbeth's bravery and savagery are conveyed to the audience .