Macbeth

Macbeth

1. Dramatic effect

   • Reality in the theatre: Shakespeare didn't try to make his plays seem realistic and there were very few props or scenery. This means the audience had to use their imaginations. This is the most obvious with Macbeth's hallucinations - e.g., he thinks he sees a dagger or Banquo's ghost at the banquet. Some productions might want to show these visions, but most audiences would imagine it - we can't see these visions because we haven't committed his crimes or have the same feelings of guilt. Also, it's important to remember how people watch a play in the theatre - we can't stop the actors to make a cup of tea, no book to put down or no DVD to pause. e.g. in act 2, scene 1 we have to build up to Duncan's murder and we have to think about how an audience would experience this. They don't fast-forwards to the scene but bring all sorts of ideas with them.
     • Creating dramatic effect: Imagine we are looking at act 2, scene 1. To understand how dramatic effect is created in this scene we need to out it into context. we've already met the witches, heard about the predictions nd know that Macbeth has plotted to murder Duncan in the next few hours. At the start of the scene we find Banquo and his son alone after midnight in the courtyard of the castle. An audience would therefore expect a sinister mood - the atmosphere of the scene is dark and tense because we're waiting to find out what happens next. Banquo and Fleance are suddenly disturbed so Banquo reaches for his sword - will we see a fight? It is a 'friend though, Macbeth, and he's choosing his words carefully. He seems to be happy, but as soon as he's alone we know differently. A theatre audience naturally realises his confusion, and how alone he's at this point. His wife wouldn't even recognise his feelings, and his best friend would kill him as a traitor. Feeling are created.
       • Dramatic irony: Shakespeare also makes use of dramatic irony, which is when the audience knows something which characters in the play do not. e.g. Duncan greets Macbeth without suspecting a thing and Duncan thinks the castle is 'pleasant' and 'sweetly recommends itself'. Dramatic irony is used here to bring the audience into the play - we know what is happening but feel powerless to do anything. They key to understanding dramatic effect is to think about the feelings being created in the audience. It's not about reading the play but experiencing it. And the feelings we have are not accidental, but created by putting certain events together, or by explaining a character's thoughts and motivation, or by suggesting what will happen next. We might feel anger, disbelief, sympathy or fear.
     • Theatrical tricks: Drama is created in all sorts of ways, such as using sound effects, leaving characters on stage alone or switching from one event or group of characters to another. Quite a lot is left to the imagination - e.g. we don't see the actual battle in the beginning, the execution of the first Thane, the killing of Duncan or Lady Macbeth's suicide. However, Shakespeare uses all sorts of other theatrical tricks to make us understand just how awful the violence is. e.g. Macbeth disappears to kill Duncan and we hear an owl shriek. He then enters 'with two bloody daggers'. He and his wife both hear noises and then he tells her about hearing a voice cry out to him. He daren't even look again at Duncan's body and when Lady Macbeth leaves, he hears a knocking noise. This noise happens 4 times, reinforcing its importance for the audience and making Macbeth increasingly worried. With the final know he says simply, 'wake Duncan with thy knocking: I would thou couldst.'
       • Theatrical tricks continued: It's as if Macbeth has given up, he's not thinking of becoming king but of his terrible crime, and that's exactly what the audience are thinking too.

2. Themes

   • Ambition: We see this with both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. They're tempted by the idea that Macbeth will become king - Macbeth is not sure what to do but his wife is ruthless in getting what she wants - she views her husband as a coward and appears ready to do anything. Ambition leads to evil - it makes Macbeth stronger and determined, but then destroys his wife - she goes mad. And ambition eventually kills him as well, because he becomes a tyrant and so loses the support of his friends.
     • The supernatural: The idea that there are mysterious forces controlling what is happening in our lives. The very 1st characters we meet are the 3 witches, and their prophesies are what drives the story forward. In Shakespeare's time belief in witchcraft was very strong and many so-called witches were burnt at the stake. It's not surprising that his audience would have taken these ideas seriously and felt that Macbeth was somehow possessed. There are lots of references to this - he's unable to say 'amen', he has visions, he's disturbed and even thinks no-one can kill him. The final battle scene also contains many elements of the supernatural. Macbeth believes he's invincible because many of the witches' prophecies appear impossible to fulfil - and yet just as the witches predicted Birnam Wood does indeed move to Dunsinane, and Macbeth is killed by Macduff because he's not 'of woman born'.
       • Reality and appearance: The classic dagger scene, when Macbeth isn't sure if he can trust his eyes, is only 1 of many references to this theme. e.g., he sees Banquo's ghost at the banquet and Lady Macbeth imagines blood on her hands. The contrast between reality and appearances also shown with all the references to thoughts, dreams and actions. Banquo talks about the 'cursed thoughts' he has had and his dreams of the witches. Macbeth talks of the world of thought and dreams and sometimes is stuck there. e.g. Lady Macbeth is critical of Macbeth's 'foolish thoughts' and talks of him being 'lost' because of this. Sleep is another theme associated with reality, because characters view it as vital to life, but like death or being in another world. Macbeth is told he has murdered sleep and will 'sleep no more' whilst Lady Macbeth thinks of sleep as death, calling it the sternest 'goodnight'.
       • Loyalty and Guilt: Duncan clearly values loyalty - he has the first Thane of Cawdor executed and rewards Macbeth by making him the new Thane. Shakespeare cleverly uses loyalty as a dramatic device as well - Duncan is in the middle of talking about 'absolute trust' when Macbeth walks in - we know he's already thought about killing Duncan, but for the moment he talks about 'the loyalty I owe' and his 'duties' to Duncan. Loyalty is also very important to Banquo - he will not desert Duncan. Macbeth, however, has an odd idea of loyalty - he knows he's doing the wrong thing, but he still goes ahead. Early on in the play perhaps it's his wife who's manipulating him, but later on it's Macbeth who makes the decisions. And later on he also starts to show he hates disloyalty, threatening his messengers and servants.
         • Loyalty and Guilt continued: Macbeth also shows his guilt - he's unsure before the murder and regrets it immediately after. Lady Macbeth is the opposite - she seems to show no guilt at the time and ven talk about how 'a little water' cleans away the blood. Her increasing madness later on is a sign of her guilt and she imagines her hands to be stained with blood.

3. Language

   • Using quotations: e.g. Macbeth isn't afraid to die at the end of the play - 'I'll fight till from my bones my flesh be hack'd and he also insults people who he thinks are afraid'. Avoid using long quotations.
     • Shakespeare's technique: e.g. when we meet the witches at the start, imagine that they said: 'Thing's aren't what they seem, you know'. But they actually say 'fair is foul, and foul is fair'. - suddenly it's not so obvious what Shakespeare is getting at. This is also a lot more complex and interesting - opposing ideas are put together and the actual meaning seems to be a paradox.
       • Ambiguities: 'fair is foul, and foul is fair' - We know the witches are in the middle of a storm and perhaps they're saying that they like this; they're witches so they enjoy bad things and are on the side of evil. However, they could also be saying that what we think looks attractive is actually bad. In other words, our ambitions can be our downfall. Or they could be warning us of things to come in the play - Macbeth is tempted by their predictions and enters a confused, unnatural world, where he cannot trust what he sees and cannot bear what he is. Another example of ambiguity is when Lady Macbeth says the daggers 'must lie there' - she could mean the daggers must be placed there, but also that the daggers will hide the truth and pin the blame on the servants.
         • Imagery: Imagery - e.g. play ahs lots of references to darkness, sleep, disease and blood. Metaphors - e.g. When Macbeth wants to defend his land against others, he uses metaphors from medicine - he wants to find the 'disease' in Scotland, to restore it to 'health' and to use a 'drug' against others. Personification - e.g. 'dark night strangles the travelling lamp'. Similes - e.g. Banquo says that the witches 'look not like the inhabitants o'the'earth' or Macbeth says something 'moves like a ghost'.
           • Other techniques: Opposite words or ideas - this highlights conflict in the story such as appearance and reality, choice and fate or good and evil. Repetition - e.g. 'sleep' is repeated 8 times within 10 lines demonstrates sleep is like death but it's also an escape from worries of the world. Soliloquies - These are speeches but are meant to be heard only by the audience. Tell us directly about charters thoughts and feelings.