Macbeth by Shakespeare and the Cinematic Interpretation by Roman Polanski

Macbeth by Shakespeare and the Cinematic Interpretation by Roman Polanski

Macbeth is one of the great plays written by William Shakespeare in

the sixteenth century ,over three and a half centuries ago .It is

known all over the world and is still very popular even to this very

day.It is the basis of many movies and theatrical plays .One film

interpretation was made by Roman Polanski in 1971,centuries after it

was first performed in Elizabethan sixteenth century England .Therefor

there is a great difference between this and the original ,as things

have changed greatly over the many years .

Shakespeare was an amazing story writer and entertainer and obviously

wanted to catch his audiences imagination ,but even for such a gifted

person as he, it must still have been a very difficult task .He had to

rely on vivid descriptions and whatever was available in his theatre

and the imagination of the audience to put a picture in their heads of

the setting, surroundings and and the mood of the play.

The play Macbeth was written in sixteen century Elizabethan England

.In very different times compared to today .The people of sixteenth

century England were very superstitious, believing in witches ,evil

spirits and the supernatural .They recognise that the banging of drums

create the sound of thunder and signified the presence of evil .They

also had a clearer understanding of the language used .

Roman Polanski created his cinematic interpretation in 1971 and

therefore had an easier job in capturing the people's imagination

especially as he had cinematic technolodgy as his disposal ,however

his modern audiences would have been more cynical ,in g...

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...t was written .It would be very hard and unfair to compare the two

,for if it had not been for shakespeare writing his original centuries

ago Polanski would have nothing to work on .Polanski had to rely on

Shakespeare who wrote the great play .

Thanks to Shakespeare ,Polanski was able to do his movie

interpretation .He retained the essence that Shakespeare wanted and he

had , 'A healthy respect for the language'.

Both great works created visual drama ,Polanski has done an excellent

job as he has achieved the same gripping effect on his twentieth

century audience as Shakespeare did in the sixteenth century .Polanski

is a very talented director who has in his adaptation of Shakespeare's

scene created an intimidating atmosphere, arousing his audience's

curiosity and pulling them into the disordered world of 'Macbeth'!