Identify At Least Three Ways In Which Shakespeare’S Drama Differs From Its Major Source: Holinshed’S Chronicles.

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IDENTIFY AT LEAST THREE WAYS IN WHICH SHAKESPEARE'S DRAMA DIFFERS FROM ITS MAJOR SOURCE: HOLINSHED'S CHRONICLES. DISCUSS THE DRAMATIC IMPACT OF HIS ADAPTATIONS

Holinshed's Chronicles is the source of Shakespeare's play "Macbeth". The Chronicles illustrate Scottish history and Shakespeare has adapted these simple stories into a dramatic masterpiece. However, Shakespeare has selected various parts of the Scottish history and adapted them to give dramatic effect. This essay will cover three areas of difference between Shakespeare's Macbeth and Holinshed's Chronicles and how they affect the dramatic impact of the play; Shakespeare's portrayal of Duncan, Shakespeare's introduction of the banquet scene, and Shakespeare's introduction of the cauldron scene.

The first example of these differences is the way Shakespeare portrays Duncan, the King of Scotland. In Holinshed's Chronicles Duncan is portrayed as "so soft and gentle of nature" (p.167). Shakespeare, however, describes Duncan as an old and mighty king. This is visible in Act 1 Scene 4 where Duncan says, "The swiftest wing of recompense is slow to overtake thee". The reason Shakespeare does this is to add dramatic impact in that if Duncan had been portrayed as weak, feeble, and too soft as in Holinshed's Chronicles, the murder Macbeth commits would have seemed so much less dramatic, and therefore portray Macbeth in a much less favourable light and attribute him much more evil and sinister personality traits. If an inadequate king, who could not rule a country properly, was killed, nobody would care; most people would want a new, more powerful king who would rule Scotland fairly but firmly. Therefore, if Shakespeare portrays Duncan as a wise, fair, and good king, the murder will seem all the more senseless to the audience of the play. It would have seemed that Macbeth had committed a serious crime as opposed to just removing an ineffective monarch. This additional dramatic impact adds tension to the play. It also allows Shakespeare to dwell on the physical and psychological effects the murder has on Macbeth. This makes way for the banquet scene which Shakespeare created from fiction in order to display the madness of Macbeth and his lady. Also, the seriousness of Macbeth's crime allows Shakespeare to place more emphasis on his guilt had Duncan been a weak monarch, Macbeth would not have suffered from guilt. Shakespeare also strengthens this point further by mentioning Duncan's saintliness and virtues directly before the murder. This makes Macbeths crime a particularly heinous crime. Furthermore, this crime is a direct attack on God due to the "Divine right of kings", which states that monarchs are appointed by God and not by birthright.
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My second example is the banquet scene. This scene is not mentioned in Holinshed's Chronicles, therefore this has been fictionalised by Shakespeare. Once again, this adds dramatism to the play by demonstrating to the audience the effect that murdering Duncan has had on the new King and Queen of Scotland. This scene is not chronicled in Holinsheds chronicles. The scene is completely fictitious - it is Shakespeare's creation. Had the banquet scene occurred in real life it would have been seen as unimportant by Holinshed as kings and queens regularly held banquets. Why should this banquet be different ...

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