Shakespeare was a great playwright. Many people are still big admirers of him even if it has been 500 years since his death. The main reason why people still do this is because they love the words Shakespeare uses so well in his plays. Shakespeare could keep his audience interested with the sheer power of his words. In the scenes mentioned especially Act 2 Scene 2 (Macbeth’s soliloquy), the dialogue that he used was particularly powerful. It consisted mainly of Macbeth’s word of regret and how he reacts before and after killing King Duncan. In Act 2 Scene 2 Macbeth says “I’ll go no more: I am afraid to think of what I have just done; Look on’t again I dare not”. Macbeth says this when Lady Macbeth tells him to smear the guards with blood. This shows that Macbeth is regretful after killing Duncan. An example of powerful words or dialogue is, “Still it cried ‘Sleep no more’ to all the house; ‘Glamis hath murder’d sleep; and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more- Macbeth shall sleep no more’.” Notice how Shakespeare repeats his words in this case “Sleep no more”. He uses this technique to make his point clear. This is another example of Shakespeare’s good writing. In Macbeth’s soliloquy (Act 2 Scene 1) the language used was quite different. It was written as if he was speaking his thoughts out aloud and also as if he was talking to the dagger. Macbeth says in his soliloquy “I have thee not, and yet I see thee still” and “Mine eyes are made the fools o’th’ other senses”. The first quote was Macbeth talking to the dagger and the second quote was Macbeth speaking his thoughts out aloud. This is how Shakespeare used language to keep his audience satisfied.
Another way Shakespeare kept is audience interested was with the use of good and innovative dramatic techniques. An example of a dramatic technique is irony. There were many new dramatic techniques introduced by Shakespeare in his play Macbeth, but I am going to concentrate and explain only the ones used in the 3 scenes which this essay is about. In my view the most effective technique was the use of the supernatural. There was a lot of the supernatural in the play Macbeth. That is one reason why it is so famous. The witches were the main supernatural characters in Macbeth. However, in these three scenes the supernatural was only introduce in Act 2 scene 1 (Macbeth’s soliloquy) and Act 3 Scene 4. In Macbeth’s soliloquy the supernatural was represented by the air drawn dagger that leads Macbeth to Duncan. In the banquet the supernatural was represented by Banquo’s ghost. This would almost certainly have captured the audience’s attention and keep them interested. Another good dramatic technique introduced by Shakespeare was the use of a soliloquy. A soliloquy is where a character from the play speaks his thoughts out to himself. Soliloquies let the audience know what is going on in the characters mind. In this case, Macbeth doubts his sanity and his state of mind. This would be known when he says, “Art thou not fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight? Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?”
Characters are always a point to consider when writing a good play. Shakespeare thought about the characters he was going to include in his play very carefully. Shakespeare also gave them each a very different and unique personality. In the 3 scenes which I recently studied, the main characters were Macbeth, his wife, Lady Macbeth, Ross and Lennox. Macbeth is a very brave character but he is easily influenced and does not consider the consequences to his actions. Lady Macbeth is a power hungry and greedy character. Ross and Lennox do not play a major role in this play. The way these characters interact with each other is also very unique. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth talk to each other as if they were conspirators. This is certainly the case when she Lady Macbeth says, “These deeds must not be thought”. Using interesting characters, Shakespeare had managed to keep his audience happy.
As I mentioned t the start of this essay, Shakespeare had a very good reason to include the 3 scenes mentioned. The main reason why he included these scenes was to make Macbeth seem guilty. This can clearly be seen in the three scenes. In his soliloquy, Macbeth sees an air drawn dagger, in Act 2 Scene 2, Macbeth talks to his wife about the voices he hears and how he has come to fear everything and in the banquet, he sees a ghost. These are all signs that Macbeth is in a state of overwhelming guilt and regret. The audience, after seeing these scenes, will start to doubt Macbeth’s state of mind. These are the reasons why Shakespeare introduced these three scenes. Having a good purpose and plot will keep the audience interested.
There were many ways with which Shakespeare kept his audience interested in his plays. The four main ones were, language and imagery, dramatic techniques, characters and purpose and plot. I have explained these in detail. Shakespeare had managed to put all these points into his writings and that’s what made Macbeth such a good play.
