Macbeth

A detailed Summary of Macbeth

Discuss Macbeths and Lady Macbeth's state of mind before and after the murder of Duncan considering the dramatic, thematic and linguistic aspects of Act Two scenes 1 and 2.

The murder of King Duncan is possibly the most important event that takes place in the play. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the only two people involved in the murder of King Duncan and are therefore put themselves under great emotional stress both in the build up to the murder and the time following it. To gain a clear picture of mental position that the two were in before and after the murder of King Duncan it is important that the focus remains on the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

A significant feature of the play is the way in which it uses dramatic effects to provoke the audience to think about the situation in the play and to intrigue the audience. At the very start of Act two scene 2 Fleance enters with a torch because it is dark, in the context of what is about to happen (treason/the murder of King Duncan), darkness is appropriate as it symbolizes evil. If the stage is dark, the entire theatre is dark and this makes the audience aware of the fact that there is an air of evil looming. In the RSC television production of Macbeth th

Overall, considering dramatic and literary devices as well as the linguistic affects and themes of Macbeth, Shakespeare manages to give the audience psychological insight into the minds of the characters whilst producing a play that entertains the audience and deals with some very contemporary issues (ie.betrayal/evil/murder).

Another theme that follows on from the idea of betrayal is deception, again the Kings gift to Lady Macbeth shows how he has been deceived by her act and how her cunning has tricked the King, she takes the same advice that she gave to Macbeth "Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it." This idea of deceit points towards the difference between appearance and reality, this is a theme throughout Macbeth. The fact that Macbeth meets Banquo and denies that he has had any further thoughts about the weird sisters when in fact they have played on his mind constantly shows that Macbeth is capable of hiding his thoughts and what Banquo perceives Macbeth to be thinking is different to what in reality Macbeth is thinking.

A linguistic theme that is repeated throughout the play is the importance of being a man whilst dealing with situations, Lady Macbeth seems to embrace the idea that men are only capable of committing evil because of the perception of femininity at the time. She wants to act cold and masculine about the murder before hand saying "unsex me here" and "Stop up the access passage to remorse." Although she does not actually commit the murder Lady Macbeth is the driving force behind it reassuring Macbeth that she would make sure that they were successful "Leave all the rest to me". The words that she uses straight after the murder to convince Macbeth that they have done the right thing come back to haunt her when she loses her sanity, Shakespeare plays on the word "Done" with Lady Macbeth. She says soon after the murder showing no regret "what's done is done" and later as she goes insane her conscience begins to make her sorry "what's done is done and cannot be undone".

e lighting is so dark that the bodies of the characters were only just visible as silhouettes with the set being very dark and bare giving the production a theatrical feel. However the faces of the characters were spotlighted and the camera takes close up shots of Macbeth and Lady Macbeths faces. This focuses the audience's attention to their facial expressions which portray their state of mind. In the RSC production Macbeth's soliloquy is shot as a close up of Macbeths face, the expressions and grimaces of Macbeth show the audience the mental torment that Macbeth is going through as he has visions of the dagger and how he is still trying to get his mind clear on whether or not he should actually commit the murder.

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Approximate Word count = 2747
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English