‘A drum, a drum; Macbeth doth come.’
Using such a clever method such as Pathetic Fallacy, helps create tension and dramatic impact to Act 1 Scene 3.
Secondly, the actions and the appearance of the witches also help maintain the tension and dramatic impact. Their physical appearances are similar to those of men, yet they are ‘women’. When Shakespeare first brings Macbeth and Banquo to the scene; Banquo is the first to see the witches, he immediately notices their appearance, and he also describes them to look as if they are not from Earth. Having ‘choppy fingers’ and ‘skinny lips’, in addition they have beards.
‘What are these, so wither’d and so wild in their attire, that look not like th’inhabitants o’ the earth, and yet are on’t? ...her choppy fingers laying upon her skinny lips: you should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so.’
This conveys that as their appearance is not civil then this could suggest that this is one of the ways in which William Shakespeare had tried and succeed in maintaining the tension and dramatic impact in Act 1 Scene 3, as when the audience see the witches they would sense: ‘why are the witches so abnormal?’ and this would maintain the tension in the readers mind. Adding to this the witches actions and speech are also mysterious, they speak in rhyme therefore it is as if they are casting spells, or putting a curse on someone, which would make their lives a misery.
‘The weird sisters, hand in hand,
Posters of the sea and land,
Thus do go about, about:
Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine,
And thrice again, to make up nine.
Peace! The charm’s wound up.’
The audience of the time of Shakespeare would have believed in witches thus, as a result they would have been familiar with the stereotypical and supernatural beings. When Shakespeare directs the witches into speaking in rhyme, this once again creates the tension and maintains it in Act 1 Scene 3.
Next Shakespeare uses another effective method which helps create and maintain tension and dramatic impact in Act 1 Scene 3, is how the writer foils the two characters, Macbeth and Banquo. When they both are coming back from the battle, and how both of their reactions to the witches are opposite, and also in a way they are juxtaposed. When Macbeth first hears the witches tell their prophecies, he ‘starts’.
‘Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear
things that do sound so fair?’
This implies that by hearing that Macbeth will be king hereafter he is startled and it could also designate that he may want to believe the witches. However Banquo does not dwell on the witches´ prophecies but Macbeth is entranced. The audience can judge the witches better than Macbeth can, we know that Macbeth has become the thane of Cawdor because he is brave and not because of the witches magic, and we are not surprised, as Macbeth is, when Ross calls him by his title. Macbeth believes now that because one prediction is true that, perhaps, the others may too. Macbeth speaks his thoughts aloud in a soliloquy. These thoughts are of regicide. This would create tension for the audience because it was an absolute sin to even contemplate the murder of a king because it was thought that the King was a man chosen by God and so, was holy. 'Macbeth´ was supposedly written for the king of this period, James I. The witches, again in this scene, would have created a feeling of evil and terror. The audience would think that the witches´ prophecies may all become true but would all have an evil, twisted outcome. It was thought that witches were purely evil and so could not predict anything of happiness. As the viewers can see by Banquos reactions that he is not rapt within the thoughts of the witches, and their prophecies, therefore they focus more on how Macbeth is deeply in thought about the prediction. Here Shakespeare has juxtaposed the two characters very well.
When Macbeth wants the witches to stay and explain to him how he will become ‘Thane of Cawdor’ and ‘king’ hereafter, the audience see him as believing the ‘weird sisters’.
‘Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:’
As William Shakespeare has made Banquo and Macbeth’s reaction to the witches diverse, it helps the audience to see the two different ways of looking at the witches; and this is how Shakespeare creates and maintains tension and dramatic impact in Act 1 Scene 3.
Then, the inner and outer thoughts and actions of the characters in Act 1 Scene 3 also create and maintain dramatic impact and tension. For instance Banquo doesn’t seem to believe the witches, however when Ross and Angus come with the news that Macbeth is the new thane of Cawdor.
[Aside] ‘What! Can the devil speak true?’
To the audience the character of Banquo is curious to know what is happening. In the same way once again Macbeth seems to believe the witches as he thinks that two of the witches prophecies have come true therefore, he thinks the third one must.
[Aside] ‘If chance will have me king, why, chance
may crown me,
without my stir’
Macbeth seems to think the witches speak truth, and he believes them, however the audience may seem to think differently as the audience of the time would have been against the witches and this would have created dramatic impact to Act 1 scene 3. As Macbeth and Banquo both think differently and both of their actions are different, this technique which Shakespeare has used once again creates tension, and dramatic impact to Act 1 scene 3.
In conclusion I believe that by using different techniques and methods throughout Act 1 Scene 3 of the play: Macbeth, William Shakespeare has managed to grab to audiences attention. These various schemes have all worked in different ways to cause tension and dramatic impact to Act 1 Scene 3. By making the scene like this the audience stay intrigued in the play and this helps make the play a successful play. So how does Shakespeare create and maintain tension and dramatic impact in Act 1 Scene 3? I believe this is by using many different techniques.
By Namrata Rajyaguru 9PW