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| Macbeth by William Shakespeare |
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Setting
The story takes place in Scotland during about Shakespeare’s time. Since the play was performed long ago in a simple open theater, backdrops were not used and there were only a few props. Most of the scenery had to be imagined by the audience. Since backdrops could not be used to create mood and atmosphere, the atmosphere had to be created by the few props they used and by the acting of the actors. For example, a cauldron would have been used in the first scene with the witches, and it would have served to create a mood of evil foreboding. There were other props such as a bloody knife which was used for a similar effect.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Themes
There is no way to go around fate. At the beginning of the book, the witches made several prophecies about Macbeth and Banquo. While Macbeth tried to stop some of those prophecies such as the one about Banquo’s sons becoming kings, it happened anyway.
Extreme ambition leads to downfall. Macbeth was made extremely ambitious and jealous by the prophecy and his wife. He followed up that ambition with action and through it brought about his death.
Bad things can happen to good people with one fatal flaw. This is a theme often used in this sort of tragedy. Macbeth was a good person in the beginning of the play. He loyally served the king. However, because of his ambition, his entire world fell apart.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Style
Shakespeare is often considered one of the world’s greatest playwrights, and has a style to back it up. He writes with poetic diction using eloquent words and phrases. He uses irony and drama to create and sustain suspense through the play. Shakespeare uses much figurative language and imagery.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Diction
Shakespeare write in a formal manner. While the play was meant to be performed and spoken, Shakespeare write the dialogue in a poetic manner. He often includes metaphors and imagery in his dialogues. However, the poetic speech often seems forced and difficult to understand. While not being as flowery as poems, it is much too flowery for everyday speech and often difficult to understand. His words and subject matter are sometimes lewd and intended for an audience of commoners. The vocabulary and writing style suggests and Shakespeare was highly educated in the English language. The words are carefully placed to fit an iambic pentameter rhythm.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Imagery
Shakespeare uses a lot of imagery in this play to develop atmosphere, mood, and characters. The images are clearly thought out and give and make a certain impression on the mind of the audience. Often, the images foreshadow something in the future. For example, the image of the bloody knife before Macbeth in the second passage foreshadow the brutal cold hearted murder that immediately follows. Blood is a recurring image in this play to denote guilt. Lady Macbeth frets in her sleep of not being able to wash the blood off of her hands since she feels so guilty about the murder. The images of the bleak sky continues through the play displaying the lack of order and peace within the kingdom.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Symbolism
Shakespeare uses a lot of symbolism in this play. The most often used is that of blood symbolizing guilt. Blood is stained on Macbeth’s imaginary knife before the murder. Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth suffer from visions of blood after the murder, especially Lady Macbeth who is driven insane by it. The blood is seen as their guilt and they cannot get rid of it until the crime is punished by their own deaths. Another symbol used in the play is the raven symbolizing ill omen. The raven is often referred to as a storm crow since it tells of an upcoming storm. It served the same purpose in the play being seen before tense parts. Another symbol in the play is sleep. Sleep represents innocence, and those who cannot have sleep, are so because they have lost their innocence and are overcome with guilt.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Figurative language
Shakespeare is known for his great use of figurative language, and this play is no exception.
Metaphor - Shakespeare continually uses metaphors throughout the play comparing something to other things. Examples occur when lady refers to “the milk of human kindness,” and Macbeth refers to life as “a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage.”
Simile - Although Shakespeare does not use similes as often as metaphors, they are a regular feature in the play. An example of a simile is when Macbeth refers to pity “like a naked newborn babe.”
Personification - Shakespeare occasionally uses personification in this play. It is most often used to emphasize an inanimate symbol. An example of this point is when Macbeth says that “sleep ... knits up the raveled sleeve of care... chief nourisher in life’s feast.”
Allusion - Shakespeare makes several allusions to the kings of his time saying that they are of a good breed. He also alludes to the theater in his statement that life is “a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage.”
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Ironic devices
Shakespeare uses several instances of irony in this play to give the play some humor and some depth. Situational irony is used during the play many times due to the predictions of the witches. The witches predict one thing, which happens to come true. However, Macbeth often misinterprets their fortunes and are put in situations of irony.
Dramatic irony is used often during the play. A good example of dramatic irony is when Macbeth plans Duncan’s murder while feigning loyalty to the king. This is dramatic irony since while Duncan does not know of Macbeth’s plans, the audience does.
Paradoxes are often given by the witches in their fortunes and speeches. The witches say that, “fair is foul and foul is fair.” This is obviously a paradox but proves to be true by the end of the play as many of the fair predictions of the witches turn foul for Macbeth.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Tone
Shakespeare tone throughout the play is usually serious. However, at certain points, Shakespeare seems to laugh at the mistakes and misfortunes of the characters through the witches. Besides these occasions, there is a constant mood of dreariness and bleakness throughout the play. This feeling is brought about especially because of the witches which start the play off with some equivocal, yet ominous predictions.
Additional Comments
I enjoyed this play. It’s message about greed was powerful. The characterizations of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were deep and I enjoyed the way they seemed to switch places and personalities after the murder. The psychological aspects of the murder were nicely emphasized and brought out giving the story a certain depth. However, this play still leaves some questions on fate and free will. Do we have any free will at all? or is everything controlled by fate? Would Macbeth have killed Duncan if the witches did not tell him his fortune?
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