With Close Reference To Act 2 Scene II of ‘Macbeth’ Explore How Shakespeare Creates Dramatic Tension and Anticipation.

WITH CLOSE REFERENCE TO ACT2 SCENE II OF ‘MACBETH’ EXPLORE HOW SHAKESPEARE CREATES DRAMATIC TENSION AND ANTICIPATION.

Act 2 Scene II starts with Lady Macbeth waiting for Macbeth to come and tell her that he has killed King Duncan. Macbeth brings the daggers that he used during the murder down with him when he meets up with Lady Macbeth, she notices how bad this is and takes the daggers off Macbeth to go and place at the murder scene of Duncan.

A lot of action happens in this scene and it is an important scene because it creates a high amount of dramatic tension and anticipation for the audience that is carried through the rest of the play. Shakespeare uses a number of different techniques to create the feeling of tension and anticipation in the audience watching the play.

The first example of how tension and anticipation is created can be found right at the start of scene. Lady Macbeth is in the courtyard listening hard for sounds of the murder taking place. She is very excited and this excitement is transferred to the audience. Act 2 Scene II opens with Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy as she waits to discover if Macbeth has murdered Duncan:

“That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold”. (2.2.1-2)

Lady Macbeth here reveals her need for ‘Dutch courage’ and the tension of the scene is developed as she delivers her soliloquy. We see Lady Macbeth in a highly nervous state as she jumps at the shriek of an owl. People at that time believed that a shriek of an owl meant that someone was going to die. Lady Macbeth has told the audience she is feeling very excited and bold because she has drunk some wine, and they are then wondering what she is going to do because she is feeling bold. This results in a high feeling of anticipation.

Straight after this Lady Macbeth thinks she hears something:

“Hark!

Peace!

It was the owl that shriek’d, the fatal bellman

Which gives the stern’st good night. He is about it”(2.2.2-4)

Dramatic tension is created right away by the first two words. Lady Macbeth tells the audience that she thinks that she has heard something and tells them to listen carefully. Using monosyllabic instructions makes the audience experience the same as Lady Macbeth and dramatic tension is created because everyone is listening for something but they don’t know what. The shriek of an owl in those times meant ...

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Straight after this Lady Macbeth thinks she hears something:

“Hark!

Peace!

It was the owl that shriek’d, the fatal bellman

Which gives the stern’st good night. He is about it”(2.2.2-4)

Symbolism is then used by Shakespeare to increase the dramatic tension within the audience. Shakespeare has linked an owl to the bellman. The bellman would have sounded the bell at the door of a prisoner who was to be executed, and by linking the sound of the an owl shrieking, which was believed to represent the death of a person, to the bellman Shakespeare has created a feeling that death has occurred or is about to occur. Lady Macbeth believes that the king has been made murdered but does not yet know for sure. Also the anticipation has been made higher because Shakespeare has used symbolism that the audience would have understood, as it was common to relate to death when you heard the shriek of an owl and the audience would have been anticipating who was murdered or who was going to be murdered.

Another example of how dramatic tension is created by Shakespeare is through referring to things that happen of the stage. Lady Macbeth has drugged the grooms and she thinks that they might have woken up because she hears Macbeth say:

“Who’s there? What, ho!”(2.2.8)

Because Lady Macbeth thinks that something has gone wrong tension is created because we wonder what will happen next. Will they be caught or not? The audience will want to know what happened so they will become involved in the play and will look forward to learning what really did happen.

Shakespeare also poses a lot of questions during this scene for the audience to answer themselves. This gets the audience more active in the play and creates anticipation because the audience want to know if they answered the questions correctly:

“I have done the deed.

Didst thou not hear a noise?” (2.2.14-15)

This creates a lot of anticipation because the audience are wondering ‘what if someone did hear a noise, what would happen to Macbeth’. The questions Shakespeare uses during the play are very significant because these create a lot of anticipation with in the audience and the play.

During ‘Macbeth’ sound effects create tension during the scene where Lady Macbeth says:

“A little water clears us of this deed” (2.2.67)

Knocking at the castle door that shows that they could have been caught washing the blood from their hands at anytime during the scene that brings in the tension and a lot of anticipation to the audience. This creates tension because the audience are wondering what will happen to them if they get caught.

Halfway through Act 2 Scene II after Macbeth has murdered Duncan It becomes very obvious that he regrets what he has done. This also brings a lot of tension into the play. This is how he shows his regret:

“To know my deed, ‘twere best not know myself,

Wake Duncan with thy knocking, I would thou couldst”. (2.2.70-71)

This shows regret for what he has done. It shows that Macbeth was only thinking of his actions when carrying out the deed. This creates tension as to whether or not Macbeth is in a stable or unstable state of mind because he can’t live with himself for murdering his own flesh and blood.

After the monosyllabic speech between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth there is something suspicious that builds up anticipation and tension:

“But wherefore could not I pronounce Amen” (2.2.27-28)

This shows that he was upset because he thought about murdering Duncan. Macbeth says that he could not say Amen when the guards said it. This shows that he has upset the natural order. It also shows that he has been taken over the devil. When people hear this they fear the worst because it is producing very high anticipation. This is suspicious because the audience are wondering what is wrong with Macbeth? Has he been taken over by the devil?

Throughout Act 2 Scene II Shakespeare creates tension by using the present tense when he describes something in the play. For example he uses present tense when Lady Macbeth is imagining what Macbeth is doing step by step while murdering Duncan.

Throughout the play of ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare creates tension and anticipation in many different ways. Each method is unique in it’s own way and works wonders for the play. Every part in Act 2 Scene II Shakespeare has tension and this builds up the anticipation throughout the play. At the start of Act 2 Scene II tension starts to build and this tension increases during every scene.

ANDREW HINDE 10C MRS HARWOOD 20/04/2007