Macbeth - explain in an essay format how I would direct Act2, Scene1 and what I would change from how the play has been originally shown.

Macbeth is realizing that he is weaker than he thought and that he is making a mistake, he doesn’t want to commit the murder but his wife pushes and pressures him into killing his King. This shows the audience that at this time Lady Macbeth is stronger than Macbeth and in a better state of mind. He starts to imagine things and this is a sign of him being insane, and mentally unstable.

“Is this a dagger which I see before me,

The handle toward my hand? Come, let me

Clutch thee.”                                                p. 43

This speech is important in the understanding of Macbeth’s role in this scene. So I would want Macbeth to be sitting at the end of a table and to

… say this in such a way that the audience can see him turning mentally insane. I would want him saying the sentence slowly and negatively, emphasising “toward” as if he is surprised about it, also holding a dagger infront of him looking at it up and down with eyes that look blurred feeling the blade. Also I would want a low-angled shot showing him overcastting the camera to give that extra touch of madness during the first line. Then I would also have a close up of him holding the dagger to get his face and dagger in the same camera shot for the last two lines. To add to the tension of this speech there would be music playing in the background that would be farley heavy to give the impression of evil and what is about to happen. This will make the audience grasp his character and understand what he is going through at this time in the play.

After this speech I would have had Macbeth walking up the stairs with the dagger looking bedazzled and insane and then I would have him raise it above his head as he reached the top of the stairs. After he comes out of the room I would have him looking down at his hands ready to brake down and crumble at his knees. Once he reaches his room I would have him collapse onto the bed and lay there feeling guilty. Also when he looks at his hands I would have him start to shed tears to show that he is a wimp and insecure.