William Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’ is definitely a memorable play that has enduring ideas for the audience - even for a modern day 20th century audience. The play, written in the 16th century is an explanation upon the nature of appearance vs reality, guilt and conscience and loyalty. In both the play and Polanski’s film version of ‘Macbeth’ the audience are led to question the values of our own modern lives that are portrayed by such powerful figures as Lady Macbeth who manipulates her husband for her own prestige and quest for power. Clever use of both film and language techniques convey the ideas of appearance vs reality, guilt and conscience and loyalty.
One of the main points that Shakespeare is making in this film is Appearance vs Reality. Our first impression of Macbeth is a strong and brave leader, named ‘Noble Macbeth’ by his majesty King Duncan. Through the influence of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is forced to go through a series of misdeeds to accomplish his wants of glory. In Act 1 Scene 5 Lady Macbeth advises her husband to ‘look like the innocent flower. But be the serpent under it’ to not let others know about the evil that is in their hearts. This quote has the technique which is a dramatic monologue and a metaphor. The audience learns that appearance can be or not be deceiving but the reality is always hidden and this can be linked back to the memorable text about Macbeth.
One of the main points that Shakespeare has made in the play is Guilt and Conscience. Guilt is felt by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth of what they have done except, Macbeths soliloquises throughout the film while at the start of the film, Lady Macbeth is linked to masculinity and a person with no fear but till the end, her conscience puts her into madness from all the bloodshed that Macbeth has committed that she begins to sleepwalk and try to wash off imaginary blood stains from her clothes. One of Macbeth’s soliloquies in Act 3 Scene 1 is ‘To be thus is nothing. But to be safely thus’, this soliloquy means that Macbeth is not happy with what he has done (the murder of King Duncan) and the contrast with Lady Macbeth in Act 5 Scene 1 using the quotes ‘Yet here’s a spot’ inferring to the imaginary blood stains on her hands and clothes. From this quote and theme, we learn that sooner or later our conscience becomes aware of the crimes committed and turns out to be our guilt that deprives us from repeating those faults; this can be linked back to the memorable text about Macbeth
Lastly, Shakespeare has made another main point which is Loyalty that is justified to be enduring. Despite the three witches prophecy of being the father of kings, Banquo’s loyalty is still stronger than his ambition of becoming king himself and does nothing to act upon this like Macbeth did. He is still loyal to King Duncan and his friend Macbeth. A quote depicting this great loyalty in Act 3 Scene 1 is ‘yet it was said that it should not stand in thy posterity, but that myself should be the root and father of many kings… Why, by the verities on thee made good, may these not be oracles as well, and set me up in hope’. The technique used in this quote is a soliloquy. The audience learns that we shouldn’t infer with predicaments about the future that might or might not be our wanting ambitions or else tragic can occur. The audience can link back to the memorable text of Macbeth about the theme of loyalty.
Throughout the play, there are many techniques and enduring ideas such as soliloquies, metaphors, loyalty, appearance and reality, contrast and guilt which make the play notable to have many useful links for the modern 20th century audiences
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
In Act V. Scene i. the major character that we see is Lady Macbeth. I think the main message we perceive from this scene about Lady Macbeth is that her bravery was all a pretense and on the outside, but really her conscious was afraid and in shock about what she had driven her husband to do. The metaphor used to describe the lingering shadow of the dirty deed is the spot. When Lady Macbeth starts talking she keeps on repeating the same thing over and over again begging for the damned spot to get off her hands. The spot was the left over blood marks and smell of the murder that all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Shakespeare uses indirect characterization to show us that Lady Macbeth has a guilt side of her that she tried so hard to mask. Although we have always known Lady Macbeth as the strong, ruthless ambitious one of the two however in this scene she falls apart and becomes vulnerable to the guilt that built up inside her. This shows that although…
- 1166 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The representations of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and the witches are different between the film and the play. We can see that in the film, Lady Macbeth is beautiful, avaricious, and also seems to be cold. However, in the play Lady Macbeth is very sexually provocative to the audience. It is very clear that Lady Macbeth uses her sex to manipulate Macbeth, so that we feel the full force of her of her taunts of “If thou were a man”. Macbeth is heroic at the beginning and has a stronger sense of his guilt than we get from the play. In the play, Macbeth is called “brave Macbeth”. In the film, the witches are old women. In the play we are told that they have a beard as Banquo says in act two scene one,…
- 783 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
There are many motifs in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, but one of the most important is the recurring disassociation of appearance and reality. The entire motif is introduced in the first scene when the witches say “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (1,i,12). This is then reiterated as important when Macbeth says, “So foul and fair a day I have not seen.” (1,iii, 39). Drawing parallels and comparing two polar opposites, such as foul and fair, sets the stage for the dissimilarity between appearance and reality. This motif changes as the characters change, however, and it moves from the main characters not knowing what to believe or trust, to the main characters using the variance to their own advantage and hiding their true motives, to finally causing the main characters to go insane. Throughout the entirety of Macbeth, what the characters have seen and what the readers know to be true have often times been contrasting. This divergence between appearance and reality grows and develops with the characters throughout the play.…
- 1005 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Polanski’s ‘Macbeth’ placed in a traditional setting, allows the viewer to be immersed in the complete realism, a world away from the stylised likes of ‘Shakespeare Retold’. The intensification and brutality highlight the violent realities of war and murder. In the original text, Shakespeare confined most of Macbeth’s violence to offstage; however Polanski moved blades, blood and all, to the centre of his adaptation, executing the piece colder than the textual analogue. The major symbol of blood is a powerful visual effect successfully utilised in Polanski’s ‘Macbeth’ to further enhance Shakespeare’s original theme. Polanski’s interpretative choice by the portrayal of two youthful main characters emphasises the pure passion of the great tragedy. Because the two characters are so young, their naïve personas are alleviated through a lust for material gain and recognition. The vindictive tone Lady Macbeth uses conveys ambition in her thoughts and aspirations but lacks maturity while incorporating a naive inability to see the consequences of her actions. This passion is increasingly effective in displaying the power and influential actions Lady Macbeth has over her husband. Polanski’s film Macbeth displays an in-depth look and understanding of Shakespeare’s original play. The interpretive film uses character casting, shot design, and symbolism to engage its viewer’s attentions by adding to the plot of the play. All in all,…
- 605 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Macbeth, a dark and gruesome tragic play written by William Shakespeare primarily discusses the concept of greed for more authority. Emasculation and the Great Chain of Being are some core components of this play that are discussed through gothic poetry. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the main characters in the play. Through Macbeth’s catalyst, his wife, he found the strength to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth was his agent in many of the scenes in the play. Their compatible pairing lead to many “successes”, but also to their own deaths. Shakespeare brilliantly uses garment metaphors throughout the play as well as the innocent flower and crafty serpent motif to express Macbeth’s mindset and tragedy.…
- 997 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
* Show that the witches can only create the environment, it has to be an act of freewill…
- 2303 Words
- 10 Pages
Better Essays -
Character: Macbeth’s impulsive character is demonstrated here. Macbeth is saying that he will no longer be reflective and contemplative regarding his actions but will act immediately.…
- 799 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
One would say that being bipolar in today’s society isn’t that bad of a mental disease, but when you throw that mental disease into the power of a potential king, you live on a day to day basis and never know what could happen in the blink of an eye. Bipolar Disorder is one of the oldest mental disorders and its symptoms have been molded by differing theories over time until it actually had its own classification. For many years, Bipolar Disorder was linked to Schizophrenia. The founder of this disorder, Francois Baillarger, was finally successful in separating the two disorders and Emeril Krapelin finally acclaimed the title "manic depression" in 1913.…
- 577 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
* 14-year-old Burl Crow has a father who is violent. His mother struggles with mental illness. When he follows his father to his secret fishing spot he learns that his father is having an affair. Burl's cover is blown and his father beats him. As his father strikes blow after blow, a helicopter flies overhead, carrying a piano, distracting them both.…
- 1213 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Macbeth is one of the greatest tragedy themed plays by William Shakespeare. One of the main themes of Macbeth is that Ambition does not stop once you start thinking about it.…
- 557 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth create their own tragedy by inciting ambition, and power-hungry obsession that fatalistically corrupts their minds. In the play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth begins the downward spiral with her ambition, pushing Macbeth into wanting to become King. Macbeth then becomes obsessed with becoming King and gaining and maintaining power. These situations lead to both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s corruption, and ultimately, their deaths. In the characters of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, Shakespeare demonstrates that unrestrained ambition and the dogged pursuit of power have severe consequences.…
- 912 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Women have a very strong influence on their husbands and husbands will usually take their wives opinions in important matters. Lady Macbeth was the dominant of the two characters. She had very strong persuasive skills over Macbeth and though show her control of Macbeth in public, in private she often uses emotional and testing his manliness to manipulate him to do what he wants. Lady Macbeth is the more evil character than Macbeth in the play through her ambition, cruelty, and manipulation.…
- 471 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Macbeth in the beginning of the play is a noble, humble and honourable person who, without question would sacrifice his life for the liberty of his King, Duncan. As the play progresses he attitude towards life in general changes completely, mainly due to the pressure that Lady Macbeth inflicts on him. However, Lady Macbeth has quite a surprising personality as she is not the stereotypical Elizabethan woman. Lady Macbeth is expected to be fragile, meek, innocent and comforting but in this unusual circumstance Lady Macbeth would very much rather “dashed the brains out” of an infant child. This is plain evidence to suggest that Lady Macbeth is of no stable condition. In addition to this surprising fact Lady Macbeth is cunning and bloodthirsty. She demands Macbeth in Act one, Scene Five to “look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t”. It is very common for a man to demand a female to pursue tasks but for a woman to demand a man, especially of something like sacrilege, is very unusual. This could mean two things, Macbeth is weak and is unable to depict his own decisions or/and that Macbeth is mentally deteriorating. Macbeth reason with Lady Macbeths orders in his soliloquy in Act one, Scene seven and from the things he…
- 1055 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
William Shakespeare wrote the play “Macbeth” in 1606. It, as the title suggests, follows the story of a Scotsman named Macbeth and how, after the prophecy of three witches, sees his status evolve from a general in the Kings army to becoming the King himself. However the main theme that Shakespeare introduces in this play is the lengths man will go to fulfil ambition and the treacherous consequences that come with it. Not only do we see Macbeth’s status evolve but also his personality within. With each scene we see Macbeth succumb to the pressures of achieving power and how this affects his character as well. Act 1 of “Macbeth” truly, from the beginning, shows us a clear development of Macbeth’s disturbed personality not only through language but the context behind this tragedy.…
- 1361 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
I think that it is very possible that Macbeth has PTSD otherwise known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Throughout the story, Macbeth seems to show symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is an emotional illness that usually develops as a result of a terribly frightening, life-threatening, or otherwise highly unsafe experience.…
- 474 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays