How would a person from the lower class watching Macbeth have reacted to the play in the 1600s?

Macbeth would have been a draw for Elizabethans because of the history, the violence, and the supernatural elements.  Although the average Elizabethan peasant may not have cared about history, he or she probably would have enjoyed the witches.  Supernatural elements were very popular back then.  Some people say that Shakespeare included violence and comic relief at various points during the plays in order to satisfy the lowest class of viewers. 

In those days, theater going...

Macbeth would have been a draw for Elizabethans because of the history, the violence, and the supernatural elements.  Although the average Elizabethan peasant may not have cared about history, he or she probably would have enjoyed the witches.  Supernatural elements were very popular back then.  Some people say that Shakespeare included violence and comic relief at various points during the plays in order to satisfy the lowest class of viewers. 

In those days, theater going was very different.  First off there would be some kind of fun entertainment like a boxing match or a bear-baiting.  There would also likely be a lot of drinking.  The peasants would have been in the penny area, where they were known as groundlings.  They would often make a lot of noise if they were not enjoying the show.  For this reason, Shakespeare often catered to the lowest common denominator with bawdy jokes and comedy. The porter is a good example. 

The conversation between Macduff and the porter serves little actual purpose other than comic relief.  It does indicate Macduff’s patience! 

MACDUFF

What three things does drink especially provoke?

Porter

Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and
urine. Lechery, sir, it provokes, and unprovokes;
it provokes the desire, but it takes
away the performance … (Act 2, Scene 3) 

This scene adds some levity to an otherwise pretty dark play.  Of course the witches would have been very popular.  They do not appear in many scenes, but when they do they are fascinating.  Their chants would have likely enthralled the typical peasant.

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. (Act 4, Scene 1)

This speech or song is both disturbing and funny.  It would have reinforced what most Elizabethans pictured of witches.  Of course, the witches do serve a purpose. They move the plot along.