William Shakespeare's Use of Language to Heighten Drama in Macbeth
For my essay I am going to compare the tragedies of Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth and decide whose is the greater. I will look at how
Shakespeare exploits language to heighten drama and tragedy for the
audience.
William Shakespeare wrote 'Macbeth' around the year 1606. It is widely
thought that the play was written for the King of Denmark, who was in
Londonon a visit to his brother-in-law, James I. Shakespeare found the
nucleus of the play in a book, which he used many times in writing his
historical plays: Ralph Holinshed's 'Chronicles of England, Scotland
and Ireland' published in 1577. According to Holinshed, Duncan I was a
weak king, and Macbeth a rival chief with a genuine grievance. Macbeth
had met 'three woman in evil apparel', who had made certain
prophecies. Encouraged by his wife, and aided by a certain Banquo and
some friends, he killed Duncan and reigned honourably for seventeen
years. Also in Holinshed's 'Chronicles' there is a story of an old
warrior chieftain called King Duff, who was murdered by a man called
Donwald and his wife, when the King was staying in their castle as a
guest. Shakespeare combined the two stories in composing the plot of
Macbeth. Although there was a historical Lady Macbeth, she had one
son, Lulach 'the simple', this may explain the child whose brains she
would have 'dash'd out had she so sworn'.
The traditional criteria for a tragedy are that the main character has
to occupy a weighty and well-respected position. The main character
would suffer from a fatal flaw that would eventually lead to their
demise. To speed up this proc...
... middle of paper ...
... from the audience. His wife may have played the
'Roman fool' but he was not about to follow her path. At the time of
Macduff's confrontation Macbeth's demise is now in sight. The audience
can see this and sympathise with Macbeth, which is the key ingredient
to a tragedy.
In examining the facts before me I believe that Lady Macbeth suffers
greater tragedy than Macbeth does. She suffers far greater inner
turmoil than Macbeth. It is not until after Lady Macbeth has died does
Macbeth finally begin to show signs of repent and guilt. Penny
Woolcock's 1996 adaptation of 'Macbeth' supports my views; she also
saw that it is Macbeth that is her fatal flaw. Shakespeare makes sure
through his language, that the audience feels the suffering of the
main characters; he exploits language well in order to heighten
tension.
Claudius's last wife. She wanted him dead, so she entrusted the job to Locusta. Locusta
Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a play about an honest and brave Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that he will be made Thane of Cawdor and one day King of Scotland. As the first prophecy comes true, Macbeth becomes consumed by ambition and greed leading him to murder King Duncan and taking over the throne. Afterwards he is filled with regretted and guilt yet continues on killing as a means to protect himself, losing sight of the honourable man he once was. Throughout the play Shakespeare uses many stylistic features and language techniques such as imagery, paradoxes and soliloquies to engage his readers, both those of his time and today, as well as highlighting important issues.
One of the first occasions presented was the plotting of Caesar’s assassination. Cassius, Casca, Trebonius, Ligarius and the other conspirators all wanted to rid Rome of Caesar. However, not one of them could give the green light.” They needed one who held a high place in the hearts of the people, to support them and to justify their actions. They needed an “honorable” man.
William Shakespeare's Macbeth In Act I, King Duncan is at the top of the chart of power, because he has the most power being the king of Scotland, he is good and kind. king, which holds legitimate and referent power. In Act I, Scene 2, he. announces his eldest son, Malcolm, as heir to the throne, after the throne.
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.
Literary Devices used in Macbeth Imagine how dull a Shakespearean play would be without the ingenious literary devices and techniques that contribute so much to the fulfillment of its reader or viewer. Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is a tragedy that combines fact and legend to tell the story of an eleventh century king. Shakespeare uses numerous types of literary techniques to make this tragic play more appealing. Three literary devices that Shakespeare uses to make Macbeth more interesting and effective are irony, symbolism, and imagery. One technique that Shakespeare uses is ironic.
William Shakespeare's Language use to Create an Atmosphere in Act 2 Scene 1 and Act 2 Scene 2 of Macbeth
Laurence Sterne once wrote, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” This passage embodies one of the over arching themes of Macbeth. The character Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, could easily identify with this passage due to the fact that he is pulled in opposite directions by both his desire to do what is right and his desire for power.
by this, "Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear things which do
WORKS CITED Meyer, Michael, ed., pp. 113 Thinking and Writing About Literature. Second Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin, John J., 2001. o Joan Murray, "Play-By-Play".
...ter this that he has tarnished his reputation, so he ends up killing himself so the world doesn’t have to see somebody like him. He was made a fool of by Iago, and he made a fool of himself by killing his one true love.
Does this country’s bad luck ever seem to end? Just as we were starting to come to terms with the death of Great King Duncan we seem to be faced with yet another drama and a crisis. Insiders claim that the freshly appointed King Macbeth has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness. If that is the case than this might answer some of the peculiar rumours that have been surfacing around about the King and his beloved wife Lady Macbeth.
...by his mother for dishonoring his father’s life by marrying Claudius less then a month after he died. He was also affected by other people that might suggest he wasn’t just affected by his parents.
To explore the demise of Lady Macbeth, it is crucial to compare various scenes beginning with Act 1 Scene 5 and ending with Act 5 Scene 1. It is going to examine, using language, stagecraft and structure, how in the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth is manipulative and dominant over Macbeth, but towards the end of the play, the roles have reversed and Lady Macbeth is needed less and less. Towards the closing scenes, Macbeth becomes totally independent in his actions and decisions, in stark contrast, Lady Macbeth becomes isolated, anxious and tormented by the crime they have committed, so much so that she feels that is too much to bear, and by the end of the play, takes her own life.
William Shakespeare's Macbeth To a certain extent this statement can be considered to be true,