Shakespeare uses specific language throughout the play to portray the feelings of the characters. During act two, scene one he uses language to put across the atmosphere of the scene. You can tell there is tension as soon as the scene begins; Banqo draws his sword - a sign he is nervous. His words, “a heavy summons lies upon me like lead, and yeti would not sleep” shows there is something on his mind that is stopping him from sleeping even though he is tired.
Banqo and Fleance his son also talk of the time, saying that “All the candles are out.” This implies that it is very dark, helping to add to the atmosphere. When Macbeth enters, Banqo asks his son to give him his sword. This is also a sign that Banqo thinks there is something wrong as he is in a the castle of a friend surrounded by people he knows, yet he draws his sword as if there could be danger around. This adds tension to the scene as it shows that Banqo is nervous and thinks something is going on. The tension then carries on during the conversation between Macbeth and Banqo about the three witches. Macbeth seems reluctant to talk about them, saying that, he does not think of them, when we have seen that they are playing on his mind as they are the reason Lady Macbeth formulated the plan.
Macbeth then performs a soliloquy. The language Shakespeare uses in this passage creates an atmosphere, as you can tell that Macbeth is disturbed by the vision from what he is saying. Shakespeare uses phrases such as “fatal vision” , “heat oppressed” meaning disturbed, “gouts of blood” and “bloody business” to build a picture of death, danger and mystery. Macbeth ends the soliloquy by hearing the bell which his wife rings as a signal and saying “hear it not, Duncan for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell.” This is an important statement as until now we have not yet heard whether Macbeth intends to kill Duncan. This tells us his decision has been made.
At the beginning of scene two, Lady Macbeth has a short soliloquy in which Shakespeare uses language to show that she does not have any remorse for what her husband is about to do. It is clear that she has no conscience when she states “death and nature do contend about them whether they live, or die”, showing that she did not care if the servants died. When Macbeth re-enters the scene he is already regretting what he has done. Dwelling on the fact that when he heard somebody in the next chamber praying before he went to sleep Macbeth could not say Amen at the end “I had most need of blessing and ‘amen’ stuck in my throat”. Lady Macbeth tries to stop him thinking of these things, saying “consider it not so deeply.”
Shakespeare uses language here to portray the characters showing how calm and focused Lady Macbeth is while using words such as “ravell’d” to display how tense and distressed Macbeth is.
During the rest of the scene as Macbeth becomes even more remorseful. Shakespeare uses the phrases “Macbeth shall sleep no more” and”wash this filthy witness from your hand” to Lady Macbeth to show she has not lost a grip on what she knows they must do to get away with the murder.
Shakespeare also uses the characters to put across the feeling of a tense and dark atmosphere. He gives the character of Lady Macbeth a dark edge. She is an unlikely suspect for the plot of the murder as far as anyone is concerned. However she was not only the one who came up with the plan in the first place, but also the one who coaxed her husband into carrying out the crime. At first, the character of Macbeth appears to be a strong forceful man. However, during act two, scene two, we start to see the vulnerable side to Macbeth, as he is after he has committed the crime. He lets his doubts creep in and suddenly we get to see a whole different side to him as he loses all control and has to rely on Lady Macbeth to be strong and support him. During this scene Lady Macbeth shows her real character by saying “a little water should rid us of this deed” with no thought for the person her husband has just killed.
Although King Duncan does not play one of the largest parts, his is one of the most important, not only because is he the murder victim. Shakespeare adds atmosphere by making the audience aware that while the king was alive, Macbeth and his wife could not cause much trouble, but with the king gone, a murderer is planning to take over the throne with no-one to stop him. This gives a sense of vulnerability to the characters in the scenes and also builds tension.
Shakespeare uses imagery quite prominently in these scenes. At the beginning of scene one in act two, we see the imagery begin with Banqo and his son Fleance discussing the night. The words “the moon is down” and “the candles are out” instantly gives the image of darkness. Also the dramatic talk of weapons mentioned in the lines ”give me my sword” and “Hold, take my sword” conjure up images of danger.
During Macbeth’s soliloquy he has hallucinations, such as seeing a dagger in front of him covered in blood. This produces images of murder and death. Often it is what Shakespeare does not write that creates the image. He does not describe the murder at all, just the aftermath, so when Macbeth enters in the next scene with the daggers, covered in blood, the readers mind immediately begins to form pictures of the murder. When Macbeth and Lady Macbeth begin to describe the scene of the murder giving little bits of information like the fact that the two people in the next chamber had woken the picture becomes clearer.
After the murder has taken place, Macbeth expresses the extent of his guilt by asking “will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” The image created by Shakespeare of a vast ocean shows the audience how overwhelmed Macbeth is at what he has done.
Shakespeare creates atmosphere for his audience through the use of his characters, language and imagery. He describes things so well that the audience really feel the fear,tension, mystery and suspense of the play.
