William Shakespeare's Use of Language and Staging to Create Dramatic Interest in Act 4 scene 1 of Macbeth In ‘Macbeth’ William Shakespeare uses many techniques for example through the language and stage directions he uses to create dramatic interest. The play is set in Scotland and as the king himself was Scottish, he would be familiar with the places mentioned. It was first performed in 1606 in Jacobean England, at a time when both witchcraft and superstition were prevalent. I intend to show how the use of language and staging create dramatic interest in Act 4 scene 1. The scene itself is set in a ‘desolate place near Forres’ and begins with a roll of thunder. This creates dramatic interest through staging because when thunder rumbles before a storm, it suggests some sort of struggle will follow. A desolate place and thunder can automatically be associated with one another. The audience are engaged in the play at this point because the thunder has an effect of tension and anxiety amongst the audience. Nobody is sure as to what will happen next. Bad experiences are most frequent in desolate, cold places as no one else is around to experience the bad fortune. Lightning is nearly always followed by thunder, which can be frightening, and this automatically creates tension amongst those watching the play. From the moment the witches enter on line one, they create tension amongst the audience. The witches’ language is wicked. Shakespeare imaginatively uses them as the main source of dramatic interest in especially this scene. From line 4 to 45 the witches’ spell is chanted in rhyming couplets. ‘ Round about the cauldron go; in the poisoned entrails throw.’ By having all the ingredients of the spell said in rhyming couplets, it makes the effect of the spell more dramatic. It is like a chant, which bewitches the audience. It highlights the actual ingredients being ‘thrown’ into the cauldron. ‘ A blind-worm’s sting’ and ‘a howlet’s wing’ are not the everyday things we hear of. This creates dramatic interest amongst the audience
Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century.
William Shakespeare had a unique way of moving his story along. Instead of making what happens next in a story blatant and obvious, he would incorporate different symbols and new characters to send messages to both the reader and the characters in the story. In one of his most famous plays, “Macbeth” the main character whom the story is named after is visited by three examples of these symbols, foreshadowing the rest of the play, as well as providing somewhat of a flashback to what has been read to enable the reader to see a previous event in a new light as the story progresses.
In Act 4 scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Macbeth Shakespeare explains lies and deception through Macbeth's soliloquy which states Macbeth will do anything and everything to hold the throne. Shakespeare’s purpose is to call attention to the major themes of deception and lies through Macbeth’s actions. He creates a paranoiac tone in order to show the audience what these themes influence. He does this using symbolic diction, basic diction, and choppy syntax.
Macbeth: Shakespeare's Comparisons and Contrasts. Throughout Macbeth Shakespeare uses comparison and contrast to bring out characteristics of his main character, Macbeth. Shakespeare uses comparisons with Duncan, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo to bring out aspects of Macbeth's character. After hearing of Macbeth's courageousness on the battlefield, Duncan, a good and honest king, bestows the title of Cawdor on Macbeth.
William Shakespeare's Language use to Create an Atmosphere in Act 2 Scene 1 and Act 2 Scene 2 of Macbeth
witches spoke there line for the first time it looked like they were speaking plainly, that the line
The Dramatic Effect of Act 5 Scene 1 on the Play Macbeth In this scene the doctor and the gentlewoman wait for Lady Macbeth as it was reported to the doctor that she had been sleepwalking on previous occasions - "since her majesty returned from the field, I have seen her rise from her bed". It is reported by the gentlewoman that every time Lady Macbeth sleepwalks she writes something on paper and she had also seen Lady Macbeth continuously perform an action of washing her hands vigorously. Lady Macbeth enters holding a candle.
First Lady Macbeth calls on night and darkness to assist her scheme against Duncan. Secondly, Macbeth returns after killing Duncan, his speech is full of dark imagery. Lastly, Banquo gets suspicious about Macbeth, then he hires people to kill Banquo. As Macbeth plans the murder of Banquo he uses imagery to express the evil scheme.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Elements of Literature, Sixth Course. Ed. Kristine E. Marshall, 1997. 300-312. Print.
of the 'evil' witches as he was sure that witches were out to get him
The Impact of Act 2 scene 2 of Macbeth & nbsp; Act 2 scene 2 is the most violent and intense part of Macbeth, although we do not actually witness the murder of King Duncan. It is interesting that Shakespeare chooses to have Macbeth kill Duncan offstage. We can only guess why he wrote the scene that way, I think that Shakespeare wanted to focus not on the murder but on Macbeth’s reaction to it; the bloody details supplied by the audiences imaginations will be much worse than anything that could be done onstage. It is also the most crucial part of the play; it is the first of many murders. This scene takes place at night; I feel the darkness represents what is unnatural, cruel and evil.
Evans, G. Blackemore. "Macbeth." In The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blackemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mufflin Company. 1974: 1307- 1311
Shakespeare, Willaim, and Aaron Durband. Macbeth. Shakespeare Made Easy . Hauppagem, NY: Barron, 2004. Print.
“Macbeth” was written between 1603 and 1606, when James VI of Scotland, became James I of England. It could be argued, this play was definitely constructed with James in mind, as he was interested in witchcraft and superstitious activity, which feature in Macbeth, as illustrated in this essay.
113 Macbeth. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1990. The. Coursen, H. R. Macbeth: A Guide to the Play. London: Greenwood Press, 1997.