Alex Cresswell 10-01
How does Shakespeare manipulate the audience's view of Macbeth?
This depends on the audience, and their interpretation of a hero. Exactly what constitutes a hero has no doubt changed since 1600, although some of the core elements have remained the same. For example, in Shakespeare's time, a hero had to be - without exception - male. This, although perhaps not strictly true today - due to sexism issues - is usually the case with fictional modern day heroes. Macbeth's character can be interpreted in different ways, giving directors complete freedom when deciding how to portray the character. Shakespeare attempts to manipulate the audience into seeing Macbeth as a Machiavellian hero, although Macbeth's character sometimes echoes a Greek tragic hero - his ambition being his downfall.
Shakespeare has used imagery to get across the true feelings or personality of the characters or setting that it relates to. In Act 1 Sc 2, the Captain makes many references to nature, such as "Yes, as sparrows eagles; or the hare the lion." He is comparing the relationships between different animals to the present situation on the battlefield, to hammer the true meaning of the scene across to the audience. Relationships between animals in nature was mostly common knowledge at the time, and so Shakespeare has used this to create very clear cut parties - good or evil. In Act 3 Sc 3, the porter compares Macbeth's castle to hell itself, as he says, "But this place is too cold for Hell." He is referring to the fact that the castle has seen no less than two cold-blooded murders recently, and that there seems to be no limits to the evil of the place. This is another good example of Shakespeare using imagery to manipulate the audience's view of a character or setting, as the setting for the characters can often show their true personalities as well as their speech.
On stage, a director could choose to portray an evil character by dressing him/her in dark clothes and dimming the lighting when they are on stage - as black is often associated with evil. Macbeth is often set in a dark castle with thunder, lightning and rain, to build up the spooky atmosphere.
Shakespeare has used iambic pentameter to highlight specific words in the speech of the characters. This can help actors to 'stress' certain key words, and get the true meaning of their lines across to the audience. This is only effective on stage, as the play is designed to be acted out, not just read. An example of this would be Macbeth's soliloquy in Act 5 Sc 5, in which Shakespeare uses iambic pentameter so that keywords like 'death' and 'fury' are stressed. This gives the audience a clear idea of what Macbeth is thinking, and how his character has changed since the beginning of the play - from a good man to an evil dictator. Shakespeare also uses this technique as a means of separating different characters into different classes. Those who speak in iambic pentameter are often high in society, such as the King and Queen - and this idea is strengthened by the fact that less socially-important characters, such as the porter and maid, speak in blank verse. The unearthly witches, however, speak with three beats in a line, to separate them from the human characters in the play, and create a supernatural air about them. Even a simple technique such as iambic pentameter can aid Shakespeare in his attempt to manipulate his audience, by separating his characters into different groups, and perhaps even highlighting the differences between them in terms of good and evil.
How does Shakespeare manipulate the audience's view of Macbeth?
This depends on the audience, and their interpretation of a hero. Exactly what constitutes a hero has no doubt changed since 1600, although some of the core elements have remained the same. For example, in Shakespeare's time, a hero had to be - without exception - male. This, although perhaps not strictly true today - due to sexism issues - is usually the case with fictional modern day heroes. Macbeth's character can be interpreted in different ways, giving directors complete freedom when deciding how to portray the character. Shakespeare attempts to manipulate the audience into seeing Macbeth as a Machiavellian hero, although Macbeth's character sometimes echoes a Greek tragic hero - his ambition being his downfall.
Shakespeare has used imagery to get across the true feelings or personality of the characters or setting that it relates to. In Act 1 Sc 2, the Captain makes many references to nature, such as "Yes, as sparrows eagles; or the hare the lion." He is comparing the relationships between different animals to the present situation on the battlefield, to hammer the true meaning of the scene across to the audience. Relationships between animals in nature was mostly common knowledge at the time, and so Shakespeare has used this to create very clear cut parties - good or evil. In Act 3 Sc 3, the porter compares Macbeth's castle to hell itself, as he says, "But this place is too cold for Hell." He is referring to the fact that the castle has seen no less than two cold-blooded murders recently, and that there seems to be no limits to the evil of the place. This is another good example of Shakespeare using imagery to manipulate the audience's view of a character or setting, as the setting for the characters can often show their true personalities as well as their speech.
On stage, a director could choose to portray an evil character by dressing him/her in dark clothes and dimming the lighting when they are on stage - as black is often associated with evil. Macbeth is often set in a dark castle with thunder, lightning and rain, to build up the spooky atmosphere.
Shakespeare has used iambic pentameter to highlight specific words in the speech of the characters. This can help actors to 'stress' certain key words, and get the true meaning of their lines across to the audience. This is only effective on stage, as the play is designed to be acted out, not just read. An example of this would be Macbeth's soliloquy in Act 5 Sc 5, in which Shakespeare uses iambic pentameter so that keywords like 'death' and 'fury' are stressed. This gives the audience a clear idea of what Macbeth is thinking, and how his character has changed since the beginning of the play - from a good man to an evil dictator. Shakespeare also uses this technique as a means of separating different characters into different classes. Those who speak in iambic pentameter are often high in society, such as the King and Queen - and this idea is strengthened by the fact that less socially-important characters, such as the porter and maid, speak in blank verse. The unearthly witches, however, speak with three beats in a line, to separate them from the human characters in the play, and create a supernatural air about them. Even a simple technique such as iambic pentameter can aid Shakespeare in his attempt to manipulate his audience, by separating his characters into different groups, and perhaps even highlighting the differences between them in terms of good and evil.
