Palatial Conspiracy in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Abu Zafar’s Siraj-ud-Daulah: A Comparative Study

Abstract

A conspiracy is defined in criminal law as an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime in the future. It is a nefarious, illegal, treacherous, or covert scheme devised by two or more people in secret. Instead of explaining an occurrence or circumstance, a conspiracy theory suggests that it is the plan of evil and powerful people, generally with political motives. The phrase ‘conspiracy theory,’ with its pejorative connotation, suggests that people who believe in conspiracies are motivated by bias or a lack of proof to back up their assertions. For this purpose, this study would like to examine Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Sikandar Abu Jafar’s Siraj-ud-Daulah to foster the real picture of palatial conspiracy historically. It would like to investigate some powerful male and female characters of the two well-familiar historical plays, including Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah Ghaseti Begum, and Mir Jafar on one hand, as well as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth on the other hand. It aims to explore the historical contexts to expose the source on which the stories of the plays have been grounded. Finally, this study aims to look at the comparative discussion of the protagonists in light of writers’ treatment of palatial conspiracy of the age, art of characterization, and plot construction. Thus, it aims to create a novel dimension of English literature by highlighting the historical concerns of sixteenth-century England and the eighteenth-century Indian subcontinent, respectively.