Macbeth Act 3, Scene 4.
Macbeth Act 3, Scene 4 Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most dramatic plays as it is filled with emotion. Some of the themes in Macbeth include love, lust, deceit, betrayal, anxiety and murder. I will study two productions of Macbeth. One is by Roman Polanski which was made in 1971 and the other is a BBC version made by Shaun Sutton which was made in 1981. I will be analysing act 3, scene 4. It is also known as the banqueting scene. I will consider how Roman Polanski and Shaun Sutton present the play. I will analyse the two plays under a number of different headings. These headings include set, costume, actions, lighting, sound, camera angles, extra scene which is only in Polanski's version and other actors. Polanski's version opens with the bear-baiting scene. This then sets the tone of the scene as the lords cheer on. The blood of the bear is symbolic of Macbeth's murder of Duncan. In Polanski's version the set is sparsely decorated and the table is the main piece of furniture on screen. The table is in a central spot; it therefore plays a central role with regard to the scene. I think the director has chosen to set the play in medieval times, as the costumes would suggest. Macbeth wears similar clothes to the actors but has a lighter tunic. Lady Macbeth wears a cream/white robe that enhances her character. All the other costumes are dull black/grey/brown colours.
MACBETH Act 4 Scence 1
MACBETH Act 4 Scence 1 Having considered my own expectations of Act 4, scene 1, I expected it to be a turning point for Macbeth and to highlight Macbeth's lack of control at this time. The scene creates an eerie atmosphere from the beginning with the witches round a cauldron. This atmosphere and sense of what is going to happen draw's the audience's attention at this time. During the scene Macbeth goes to the witches for reassurance. He has committed a crime. He has murdered to become king. It is in his mind, and he feels guilty. Scotland is in turmoil and he is struggling to hold onto power. He needs more information to make himself feel better. He sees the witches as being able to show him this information because they have told him what was going to happen before. This is not the first time we see the witches, infact they open the first act and reoccur throughout the play. The first time Macbeth meets the witches they tell him that he will be king and that Banquo would not be king, but his children will be. Macbeth hopes they will tell him more. The scene is important because it represents the place of evil in the plot. Macbeth has become king through evil means and now goes and sees the witches who are also evil. His vision of the apparitions is not the first time he sees something from the unnatural world. Also in the play he sees a death vision of a dagger pointing
Act 3 Scene 4 - Macbeth.
Shakespeare manages in a number of ways to portray Macbeth's personalities. This scene is one in which very quickly we wee many sides of Macbeth. At the very start of the scene Macbeth announces to the other lords: You know your own degrees This shows us that he wants everyone to know were they stand in relation to him. This also reflects the feudal system that was around during the period in which Macbeth was set. The fact that Macbeth speaks first emphasises his importance. It seems as thought the lords will not do anything until Macbeth announces that they may. Macbeth has also hosted this banquet as he doesn't feel secure in his position and wants to regain it. We know he is insecure as in Act 3 scene 2 as he says it would be 'Better [to] be with the dead...Than on the torture of the mind to lie in restless ecstasy' Shakespeare also, throughout the scene, shows us Macbeth's deceptiveness. First of all she says that he will 'play' the 'humble host' the fact he says 'play' may emphasise that he is just putting on an act. In his speech 'See, they encounter thee.... There's blood upon thy face' we see the two personalities of Macbeth. He talks to his company in a genial manner and almost in the same breath he is talking to the murderer he hired. Macbeth seems to delight in murder- we can see this when he says 'Thou art the best o' the cut throats'. The fact that
Macbeth Act 4 scene 1
Macbeth Act 4 scene 1 When Macbeth enters he speaks to the witches as if he knows them well and is quite friendly with them. He also talks as if he is of higher power then them, as if they were under his power and as intended that they should obey his every demand, he shows all of this in rude speech to the witches calling them 'midnight hags'. You can see Macbeth is desperate for this information that will tell him his future. Macbeth goes about this information in a demanding way rather than a grovelling way, he will stop at nothing even if he has to get the information from the devil himself! I think that Macbeth soon realises that he should be humble when the apparition came, the higher power. He doesn't talk in the same rude tone, he says thank you and is rather humble, I think he is rather scared as well. But as the information is delivered Macbeth's confidence grows as the apparitions tell him what he wants to hear and what he thinks will never happen. One apparition says that 'no man born of a woman' would harm Macbeth, and Macbeth clearly thinks that every man is born of a woman. Another of the apparitions told him that Macbeth wouldn't die until the Great Birnam wood came up to Dunsiane. The wood moving? Macbeth doesn't believe this, ' this will never be.' This makes Macbeth think he is invincible his confidence and ego has a boost. He asks the witches if the
Shakespeare: Macbeth Act 4 scene 1
Shakespeare: Macbeth Act 4 scene 1 Macbeth is a dramatic play consisting of five long acts, written by Shakespeare. It is based on the career of King Macbeth. Possibly performed as early as 1606, the play was first printed in the edition of Shakespeare's works that was published in 1623 and is known as the First Folio. The principal source used by the author for this work was Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1577) by the English chronicler Raphael Holinshed. The tragedy is a penetrating, concentrated, and harrowing study of ambition. In the characters of Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, the play provides two strong roles long regarded as attractive vehicles for the leading actors of the world. Shakespeare's tragedy also provided the basis for the libretto of the opera Macbeth (1847) by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. Macbeth is set around the 11th century. During this period witches were believed to have special powers making it possible for them to speak to the devil and even the deceased. Supposedly some could even see into the future. People believed they could make people fall ill by using spells and potions, as well as killing from long distances. They could fly through the air and turn invisible at will. Cause bad weather and storms, powerful enough to effect ships and even spoil crops. They would also use animals such as cats and dogs as disguises
Macbeth: Act 3 Scene 4.
Macbeth: Act 3 Scene 4 The very start of the scene begins with order, commencing with a banquet. The director might choose to set the stage as a grand hall with a large banquet table accompanied with a majestic feast. The room would appear grand and formal. Overall the scene is set with a sense of perfection. Macbeth enters and addresses his guests, "You know your own degrees, sit down. At first And last the hearty welcome." Macbeth acts extremely noble and would be regally dressed. He has become accustomed to fitting into his role as King. The atmosphere is light hearted the lighting would be gentle. As the first murderer appears at the door, tension and suspense begins to rise as Macbeth says, "There is blood on your face," At this point the audience is aware that a murder has been committed. The atmosphere suddenly darkens, the director could show this by dimming the lighting and changing the music to reflect the tension. Macbeth and the murderer are talking secretly while his guests are still enjoying the feast; the director could show this by having them talking in the shadows creating a sense of unease. Macbeth appears firm and untouched by this news as he says calmly "'Tis better thee without than he within." The mood of horror continues as Macbeth discusses Banquo's murder. The tension decreases by the way Macbeth dismisses the murder and seems unaffected by the
Directing Macbeth act 4 scene 1
Macbeth act 4 scene 1 The scene I have chosen to direct is Act Four Scene One. I have selected this scene because I feel it has significance to the rest of the play. The events leading up to this are; Macbeth kills king Duncan of Scotland, Macbeth hires three murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance, Fleance gets away and Macbeth is haunted by Banquo's ghost at a banquet. Three witches meet on a desolate heath and predict that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor and then king, much to Macbeth's amazement these predictions come true. (Thane of Cawdor in Act One Scene Three) "Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?" This makes one assume that the witches can predict the future. William Shakespeare wrote the play in 1601 when England and Scotland were under ruler ship of king James I of England and VI of Scotland. James I was very interested in witches and witchcraft, during his reign many women were wrongfully burnt at the stake and hung because they were believed to be witches. The people of this time were very superstitious and believed in witchcraft so the effect this play had on the audience would have been more powerful then when it was written, as opposed to now when the belief in witchcraft just isn't as strong. So therefore the effect would not be the same on a modern day audience. The witches do not play a main character role in Macbeth (they don't appear on
Macbeth coursework act 3 scene 4
Macbeth coursework act 3 scene 4 Macbeth is so important in this scene because it's all about him in this scene and every thing that happens is revolving round him. Before this Banquo was killed by Macbeths hired murderers. During this scene Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the lords are in the dining hall. They are celebrating Macbeth becoming king of Scotland, Macbeth starts to make a toast to celebrate the event when one of the murderers runs in and tells him that Banquo is dead. Macbeth then says,"to our beloved friend who will be greatly missed." After this Macbeth walks back to his seat to see Banquo sitting there in his seat reaching out to him drenched in blood. Macbeth is extremely shocked he drops his cup and gasps. Macbth starts to panic and walks back still staring at the seat where he saw Banquo's apparition and says, "don't shake thy gory locks at me." In this particular age people really believed in ghosts and the supernatural. They also believed that you really would go to hell if you committed mortal sins in your life .They also believed that only god could make a man into a king and only god could take his life and if anyone were to take it into their own hands would pay dearly. ` Everything was going considerably smoothly up until this point at the banquet. Everything before this was quite relaxed
Shakespeare's Macbeth Act 4 scene 3.
_______________________________________________________________________ Based on Act 4 Scene 3. (a) What comment does the scene make on leadership? (b) How relevant would this be to a contemporary audience? Refer to very specific examples from the text, and use examples of leadership from our world today. _______________________________________________________________________ (a) Shakespeare's Macbeth relates the story of a noble thane caught as a potential "victim of circumstance" in a relentless struggle with his vaulting ambition. External factors, namely the three witches and Lady Macbeth pose as reasons accounting for the downfall of the great and loyal thane of Cawdor. The longest scene in the play takes the audience's attention away from Macbeth, diverting it to Macduff with Malcolm in England. Act four: scene three opens with an air of heavy dramatic tension that sets the stage. Malcolm entertains Macduff, playing a pivotal game that tests his integrity, in the hope of separating the spies and the traitors from the loyal and sincere. In Malcolm's fear that Macduff may be on Macbeth's side he pretends he is even more depraved than Macbeth, illustrating he should not ascend the throne. Macduff's integrity is obvious in his refusal to accept Malcolm's account of himself - "Fit to govern - No, not fit to live." Malcolm outlines his vices before he paints a
Context Question Macbeth Act 4 Scene 1
Context Question Macbeth Act 4 Scene 1 At this point in the play many things have occurred. We notice Macbeth' state of mind, he is very disturbed and paranoid. The reason for this is that he has seen the ghost of Banquo at his coronation banquet. This was simply a hallucination and occurred after Macbeth mentioned Banquo's absence at the table. By this stage Macbeth had just found out that Banquo had been killed, while his son Fleance has escaped. Agitated and troubled Macbeth decides to see the three witches: " I will tomorrow (and betimes I will to the weird sisters". The reason Macbeth wishes to see the three witches is because he needs to know the future, he is also concerned about whether Fleance will be king or not. He also fears Macduff, who seems a threat to him, as Macduff did not accept Macbeth's invitation to the coronation. We also later, hear from Hecate the queen of witches she is angry: "Saucy and overbold? How did you dare? To trade and traffic with Macbeth" Hecate also says that later on that, if the witches have started the mess than Hecate will finish the game. The beginning of Act Four Scene One creates a creepy, "evil" atmosphere. The stage instructions state: "A dark cave. In the middle, a boiling cauldron"." Just from the setting of the scene, the audience can automatically interprets that Shakespeare is trying to give an evil and wicked effect to
