Macbeth Assignment 4
. How does Shakespeare create tension and excitement in Act 2 Scene 2?
Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth' is set in the heart of Scotland. The king at the time is Duncan, a noble honest king. He has two sons and many nobleman's and thanes, one being Macbeth. Macbeth has fought his way up the ranks of the army to become one of Duncan's most trusted lords, but an encounter with three witches changes all that and puts evil into the heart of an otherwise noble and loyal man.
'Macbeth' was written in a period where there was a high interest in witchcraft and the supernatural, so the sign of three witches already tells the audience that the play will be full of evil and lies. We learn from the beginning scene of the witches and their predictions, this immediately begins the tension build up right through to Act 2 Scene 1 and the following scenes when the "will he? Won't he?" thought is displayed to the audience-
"Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee: I have thee not, and yet I see thee still"
Act 2 scene 2: It is a dark night and Lady Macbeth is impatiently waiting for Macbeth to return. In this opening scene you begin to see Lady Macbeth is starting to loose the plot, behaving rather strange and starts to act very distressed.
"What hath quenched them, hath given me fire"
[An owl shrieks]
"Hark, peace! It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman which gives the stern'st good-night"
. How does Shakespeare create tension and excitement in Act 2 Scene 2?
Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth' is set in the heart of Scotland. The king at the time is Duncan, a noble honest king. He has two sons and many nobleman's and thanes, one being Macbeth. Macbeth has fought his way up the ranks of the army to become one of Duncan's most trusted lords, but an encounter with three witches changes all that and puts evil into the heart of an otherwise noble and loyal man.
'Macbeth' was written in a period where there was a high interest in witchcraft and the supernatural, so the sign of three witches already tells the audience that the play will be full of evil and lies. We learn from the beginning scene of the witches and their predictions, this immediately begins the tension build up right through to Act 2 Scene 1 and the following scenes when the "will he? Won't he?" thought is displayed to the audience-
"Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee: I have thee not, and yet I see thee still"
Act 2 scene 2: It is a dark night and Lady Macbeth is impatiently waiting for Macbeth to return. In this opening scene you begin to see Lady Macbeth is starting to loose the plot, behaving rather strange and starts to act very distressed.
"What hath quenched them, hath given me fire"
[An owl shrieks]
"Hark, peace! It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman which gives the stern'st good-night"
