How does Shakespeare create dramatic tension in these scenes?
Macbeth
Act 2, Scene 1~2
How does Shakespeare create dramatic tension in these scenes?
Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare circa 1605, is one of the world's best-known plays. It is a tragedy set in medieval Scotland, based on the true story of a Scottish Thane, the eponymous hero Macbeth, whom is prophesised by three witches to become the Thane of Cawdor and King. When Macbeth is declared Thane of Cawdor, he ponders upon the truth of the witches' words and, along with his wife Lady Macbeth, plot to murder the King Duncan and become ruler of all Scotland.
The content of Act 2, scene 1 and 2 are of critical importance to the understanding of Macbeth. These are the scenes which follow the events, thoughts and emotions of all characters involved before, during and after the murder.
Before Act 2, Scene 1 begins, Shakespeare gives a rare stage direction ~ "Fleance bearing a torch." This is significant as it is to show the audience that it is night time and therefore is dark. Night time has sinister connotations; it is when crimes take place, so even before the characters speak, there is an uneasy atmosphere and the tone of the scene established.
The scene opens with an interrogative from Banquo (a friend and ally of Macbeth)~ "How goes the night, boy?" This interrogative creates a sense of mystery and confusion. From the start it seems as if the characters are uncertain, and the audience is given the feeling that things are slightly out of joint. The atmosphere of uncertainty continues through the former half of the scene.
Fleance (son of Banquo) speaks that he has "not heard the clock". The characters are unable to establish the exact time, though the audience can be sure it is later because of the darkness surrounding them.
Shakespeare implies to the audience that it is midnight, "she goes down at twelve". Midnight has certain clichés and conventions attached to it, such as the 'Witching Hour', thus giving an eerie and sinister atmosphere. In Shakespeare's time, the audience would have been thoroughly disturbed at the implication of witches, as most would have believed that they existed and were the cause of evil and horrific deeds. At this point, the audience would be preparing themselves for something unexpected to happen, a feeling reinforced by Shakespeare's use of dramatic tension only three lines into the play.
The idea of darkness and all of its clichés links again with "there's a husbandry in heaven". It appears to the characters that heaven is being economical, saving on lighting, due to the lack of stars in the sky~ "their candles are all out". Once more, Shakespeare wishes to convey the idea of pitch-blackness to the audience (the play would have been performed in mid afternoon), which in itself creates an ominous atmosphere.
The character Banquo speaks in a tone that suggests great weariness. He uses imperatives, such as "Hold, take my sword" and "take thee that too", as if he is lacks the strength to carry his own weapons. It is revealed that Banquo is unable to sleep~ "a heavy summon lies like lead upon, and yet I would not sleep", clearly implying that there is something bothering him. This turns out to be due to "cursed thoughts" or nightmares, that he has been experiencing. The audience begins to question the severity of this man's nightmares~ he is a brave, valiant and courageous warrior, not
one to be frightened of going to sleep. The idea of sleeping is a prominent one in Macbeth that arises later in the play when certain events come about.
An unexpected interrogative, "Who's there?" startles the audience with its abruptness. With the imperative "Give me my sword", it works to portray Banquo as anxious, tense and on edge. This shouldn't be so as he is in his good friend and ally's castle, and should be at ease. Could this be linked to his nightmares? Another point concerning this minor sentence is that it interrupts the iambic pentameter that Shakespeare maintains in his plays. It is only five beats; instead of a usual ten beats per line, and so jolts and distorts the rhythm. Iambic pentameter, as well as reflecting the natural pattern of human speech, also is used to resemble to human heart rate. This may also mirror the heartbeat of Banquo, which is out of rhythm too due to anxiety. The remaining beats are acted out on stage as a four second pause. This pause adds to the dramatic tension; the audience are kept in suspense as they try to guess who the mysterious figure is.
The uneasy atmosphere in the audience is dissipated when it becomes apparent that the mysterious figure roaming about in the dark is Macbeth. Banquo confides in his friend of why he cannot sleep~ "I dreamt last night of the weird sisters", meaning the three witches that prophesised he and Macbeth's futures. A Shakespearean audience would have empathised with Banquo's inability to sleep. They too would have been thoroughly disturbed at the prospect of witches; even King James I, whom Shakespeare was employed by, believed that Witches existed. He wrote 'On Daemonology' and personally devised and carried out the torture of witches.
When Banquo brings up the matter of the witches, Macbeth seems keen to change the subject ~ "I think not of them". The audience will already be aware that Macbeth has thought a lot about the witches and their prophesy, and so will also know that he is denying his feelings, and is lying to his friend Banquo. Suspicions of Macbeth will arise. The nervy, edgy feeling is shown in Macbeth by the way Shakespeare sets out the speech. "I think not of them" is directly underneath Banquo's last words, which tells the actor playing Macbeth that they must interrupt Banquo and cut across his words.
An atmosphere of conspiracy and secrecy is created by Shakespeare's use of Macbeth's bribe to Banquo~ "If you shall cleave to my consent when tis', I shall make honour for you." The Gunpowder Plot can historically account for this theme of conspiracy in Macbeth. It was a significant event, that also involved secrecy, plots and treason (a later theme in Macbeth), around the time that Shakespeare was composing Macbeth. Almost certainly Shakespeare would have has knowledge of the occurrence; he would have past the heads of the plotters on Tower Bridge on the way to work (which incidentally was for King James I..), thus perhaps provoking Shakespeare to involve similar themes in his work.
The soliloquy of Macbeth is of crucial importance to the understanding of what follows in the play. A soliloquy conventionally allows the audience to have unlimited access to the character's emotions; a character will never lie whilst they are soliloquising, thus providing an accurate and truthful insight into their mind.
Macbeth's soliloquy is of disturbing content, mirroring his obviously afflicted state of mind. It begins with an interrogative, "is this a dagger which I see before me?" This interrogative is extraordinary as there are no other characters on stage. Macbeth appears to be speaking with himself; he ...
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The soliloquy of Macbeth is of crucial importance to the understanding of what follows in the play. A soliloquy conventionally allows the audience to have unlimited access to the character's emotions; a character will never lie whilst they are soliloquising, thus providing an accurate and truthful insight into their mind.
Macbeth's soliloquy is of disturbing content, mirroring his obviously afflicted state of mind. It begins with an interrogative, "is this a dagger which I see before me?" This interrogative is extraordinary as there are no other characters on stage. Macbeth appears to be speaking with himself; he himself questioning his own state of mind unclear if he is imagining the presence of the dagger. Shakespeare creates speculation that there is something wrong with Macbeth's mind, possibly the beginnings of insanity, through Macbeth's apparent inability to distinguish reality. It is also striking that Macbeth can 'see' a dagger, "the handle towards" his hand. The dagger was the exact weapon that he was planning to commit the murder with... now he imagines the dagger in front of his eyes, it is as if something supernatural (maybe the witches making their presence felt) is giving him a helping hand with the murder, compelling him towards the chamber of Duncan with the dagger in his hand. The dagger is also part of the lexical set of weapons, for example "blade", "dudgeon", which links with the evident theme of violence and horror that Shakespeare creates throughout the scene.
Shakespeare continues the idea of Macbeth's severe emotional turmoil. Macbeth begins to talk to the dagger, using an imperative "Come let me clutch thee". "Thee" is a personal pronoun, not a term that is normally addressed to an inanimate object but nevertheless Macbeth personifies the dagger, a worrying action in itself. It is worth considering how this would have been set on stage. Macbeth would have been speaking to thin air. However, a Shakespearean audience would freely accept the idea of a ghostly dagger, as they would not have grasped the concept of hallucinations and how the mind works. Intriguingly enough, it seems that Shakespeare did. The idea of hallucinations is brought through in Macbeth by phrases such as "heat oppressed brain" and "I have thee not and yet I see thee still". This statement is contradictory, giving the audience the feeling that Macbeth is arguing with himself, clearly wondering how he can see the dagger and yet not feel it "in form as palpable". His contraction raises speculation of a split personality disorder, or indeed severe mental grievances.
The emotional state of Macbeth that Shakespeare portrays creates mood and atmosphere. The insight that the audience has into his mind invents an atmosphere of fear and terror. A playwright traditionally must trigger two emotions in his audience in a tragedy~ pity and terror. These are definite in Macbeth. The audience will feel pity for Macbeth due to his state of mind and the fact that he has resorted to despicable means of achieving his goal (to be King). They may also sympathise with Macbeth's character as he has been manipulated by his wife, Lady Macbeth. They audience will already be aware that in earlier scenes Macbeth refused to proceed further in the business, but was convinced to go ahead with the deed by Lady Macbeth's emotive, persuasive and manipulative arguments. A feeling of pity can also be directed at Duncan, whom is about to be brutally slaughtered by his trusted kinsman and cousin. Duncan's trust lay heavily in Macbeth, a so-called "Worthy Thane", and now is about to be betrayed again (he was betrayed, ironically, by the past Thane of Cawdor) and slain.
The constant reference to vision in the soliloquy, for example "eyes", "vision", "sight", and could be stretched to the link with the lexical set of sleep that is also present, which included "rest", "bed", "dreams", and most emotively significant "curtained sleep". This metaphor suggests the closing of eyes and has a much stronger impact on the audience than the other words in the lexis. The issue of sleep is important and becomes increasingly predominant in later scenes of Macbeth.
Shakespeare provokes a feeling of terror in the audience through the continuous lexical set of violence and weapons, and atmosphere of horror that the scene is in essence of. "Blood" appears on several occasions, a word which emphasises the horror of the situation. He also uses blood as a modifier, "bloody business", to again convey this image of terror and atrocious circumstances. It also gives the impression that Macbeth is deranged and full of violence. The repetition of blood in his language does seem to portray him as a blood thirsty character, which certainly links with earlier scenes, such as 'The Battle', where Macbeth was referred to as a "valour's minion", "his brandished steel smoked with bloody execution..."
The tone of the soliloquy changes abruptly, as if a spell has been cast, from the atmosphere of panic and desperation to an even stronger mood of evil. Shakespeare creates this atmosphere of wickedness through the lexical set of violence, "nature seems dead", "wicked dreams abuse", conveying that Macbeth is ready for murder. Macbeth hints at the role of witches at the hour with the statement "Pale Hecate's offerings". Hecate was the goddess of Witchcraft, whom was referred to by the three Witches at the beginning of Macbeth. Macbeth is again echoing their words. The modifier "pale" gives the sense of ethereal, which adds to the implication of the supernatural and the calamitous atmosphere. "Offerings" provides the audience with the impression of sacrifices. Perhaps this could be interpreted that Macbeth believes he is killing Duncan as a sacrifice...
Macbeth personifies murder~ "withered murder". The modifier creates yet another image of witches, haglike and deformed. The word also has connotations of decay and corpses, which could fit in with the murderous aspect of Macbeth. Furthermore, another part of the lexical set of evil is "Tarquin's ravishing strides", which suggests that at this point Macbeth starts walking to Duncan's chamber. It is significant that Macbeth is associating himself with a mythological figure like Tarquin, a historical criminal who notoriously raped his hostess in the dead of night. This gives the impression to the audience that Macbeth's thoughts are packed with evil and horror, thinking of atrocities as if he is psyching himself up for the deed.
Shakespeare shows the audience that the circumstances are appropriate for evil. A wolf howls~ "sentinel the wolf whose howl's his watch". The wolf has connotations of terror and killing, the howl makes the scene more atmospherically evil. Linking with earlier themes such as the pitch darkness and the 'Witching Hour', it is Macbeth's window of opportunity to commit the atrocity. This thought is backed up by the phrase "now suits with it".
The atmospheric qualities of the bell ringing (Lady Macbeth and Macbeth's pre-arranged summon for Macbeth) are unmistakeable, slightly eerie and foreboding. Then bell can be interpreted as a funereal bell; it clearly can be associated with death and as Macbeth says in the closing rhyming couplet of the scene, "it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell". Hell again is part of the lexical set of evil that has been evident throughout the scene. He then seemingly exits the stage to perform the deed.
Almost immediately after Macbeth's soliloquy and departure, Lady Macbeth appears on stage by herself. With no other characters on stage, it can be deduced that Shakespeare wants the audience to concentrate on her, instead of their minds wandering to what is happening off-stage, namely the murder. It is of crucial importance that Shakespeare sets the murder off stage, whilst Lady Macbeth is speaking, meaning it is never shown. Shakespeare leaves it to the audience's imaginations to deem the goings on inside Duncan's chamber; they will imagine the worst, their minds conjuring up brutal mental images of carnage, supported only by the language and atmosphere that Shakespeare offers in Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth opens her speech with reference to the guards, whom are to be framed as part of the plot. Shakespeare contrasts how alcohol has affected Lady Macbeth and the guards, "That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold" and "what hath quenched them hath given me fire", both quotes showing that Lady Macbeth feels strong and courageous. "Fire" also has connotations of hell, which links with the atmosphere of horror and lexis of evil from the previous scene.
An atmosphere of panic and tension is created by Shakespeare's use of minor sentences~ "Hark! Peace!" These interjections reveal to the audience that Lady Macbeth's senses are exaggerated; she is on edge and is reacting to sounds that would not usually affect her. The exclamation marks also contribute in giving the audience a clear sense of Lady Macbeth's alarm. Furthermore, the two-syllable line interrupts the iambic pentameter and leaves a pause, adding to the dramatic tension, as if Lady Macbeth is frantically listening out for evidence of Macbeth being caught. This disturbed rhythm continues for much of the following scene.
Death, pain and suffering are in essence of the scene. Lady Macbeth compares the owl that "shrieked" to a "fatal bellman". The modifier "fatal" conjures up the idea of death; the verb "shrieked" is also one associated with pain and suffering. The "bellman" links with the ringing of the bell to summon Macbeth to the murder.
Shakespeare use of caesura is frequent in Lady Macbeth's soliloquy, thus providing a lack of fluency to the rhythm, already distorted by the interruption in the iambic pentameter, and gives the sense that Lady Macbeth's thoughts and emotions are fragmenting.
There is much language of conflict present, such as life or death comparisons~ "live or die", "death or nature" ("nature" is a euphemism for life). These comparisons refer to the guards, whom Lady Macbeth has drugged~ "I have drugged their possets". These guards are the alibis for Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, as their plan totally relies on the guards being framed. Now, Shakespeare reveals to the audience that they are on the borders of life and death. The whole plan is flawed by the possibility that they may die, as it would be unlikely that they would commit suicide at the scene of the crime. At this point, the dramatic tension is reaching a climax.
From off-stage, a voice can be heard by the audience and Lady Macbeth, "Who's there? What ho!" It is unclear whom this person is, though it can be deemed that they are confused, disoriented and alarmed, shown by Shakespeare in the use of the interrogative, minor sentence and exclamation mark. The voice indeed startled and instils fear into Lady Macbeth, who becomes "afraid that they (the guards) have awaked". The use of an interjection, "alack", proves her apprehension, along with the frequent, distorting effect of caesura and minor sentences. Shakespeare stages Lady Macbeth's confusion and panic to allow the audience to empathise with her situation. They too are being subjected to the atmosphere of mounting tension; they are on par with her, anxiously awaiting Macbeth's arrival from the deed, which seems to portray Macbeth as a sympathetic villain.
The audience will already know that Lady Macbeth feels courageous enough to kill Duncan; she had ample opportunity, she "laid their (the guards) daggers ready", so the question arises why did she not commit the murder herself? The answer that Shakespeare gives creates much room for speculation~ "had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done't". Apart from showing that Lady Macbeth had obvious respect for her father and was clearly affected by the image of Duncan resembling her father, it may also link with the previous notion of Lady Macbeth being the fourth witch. Witches cannot kill, but create the right circumstances for murder to take place, much like Lady Macbeth.
A stage direction reveals that Macbeth has entered the scene. Shakespeare shows Lady Macbeth's relief through the exclamation, "My husband!" His opening words are "I have done the deed", a euphemism for the murder, which has been sustained throughout Macbeth. Crucially, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth never say the word 'murder'; they euphemise it or simply imply it.
Again, the idea of senses being exaggerated through an interrogative~ "didst thou not hear a noise?" and also much confusion, mystery and tension that is being created by Shakespeare. Verbs associated with pain and terror are spoken by Lady Macbeth, these are "scream" and "cry", which fits once more with the lexis of evil. The language has a 'deadly' affect on the audience.
Shakespeare uses a dramatic technique in the scene called stycomythia, which involves the playwright 'cutting' up lines and staggering them the page. The characters speak almost immediately after each other with no hesitation, in minor sentences, which breaks the iambic pentameter and creates a sense of urgency and tension. In Macbeth, the characters use interrogatives throughout this stycomythic part to reflect the panic of the situation and also convey confusion to the audience~ "when?" "As I descended?" Fear and a rush of adrenaline can be felt through these lines. A dramatic pause lasting four beats signifies much silence for the audience and characters to ponder upon the plight.
A clear sense of Macbeth's guilt, shame and remorse is detected through the use of the modifier "sorry". In less than a minute after the killing it seems as if Macbeth wishes he could turn the clock back. "Sight" links back with the lexical set of eyes as present in earlier scenes. Another stage direction by Shakespeare urges the character Macbeth to look at his hands, which the audience will note are dripping with the blood of the King. It hints at the carnage that took place inside the Duncan's chamber.
From here, Shakespeare portrays the character Macbeth in a sympathetic way to the audience; he is clearly shameful of his deed and later is implied to have a wish for redemption by God. However, the character of Lady Macbeth is portrayed by Shakespeare in a heartless light, shown in various ways, such as "a foolish thought to say a sorry sight". Her character is represented as much calmer than her husband's; she is in control of her emotions, which provides the suggestion of her dominance in their relationship. She is seemingly unaffected by events that follow.
Macbeth is portrayed as emotionally unstable once more by Shakespeare. The audience is given a taste of his emotional turmoil and possible hysteria through his wild ramblings, especially of his tales of hearing the guards shout "murder". It seems again that his senses are tricking him, making him paranoid and hysterical, plus the implication of his hallucinations becoming apparent through these lines. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the three witches are making their presence felt, as would be believed by the audience to create the image of the guards 'speaking'.
More over, Macbeth says he hears the guards saying 'God bless us" and "Amen", which is part of the lexical set of heaven and religion, that contrasts with the lexical set of evil from the previous scene. Repetition of such phases conveys hysteria and instability of Macbeth's mind.
Shakespeare creates the idea of sin, punishment and redemption as it is revealed that Macbeth cannot say "'Amen' when they did say 'God bless us'", a natural response in Shakespeare's time. Macbeth's mind, body and soul are in need of replenishment and forgiveness, yet he cannot redeem himself through the simple act of repeating amen. To a Shakespearean audience, who would have been horrified at the going's on would have been given a clear sense of Macbeth's punishment for killing the king, a necessary point made by Shakespeare as King James I would have been in the original audience when it was first staged. His inability to say 'amen' is a reminder to Macbeth of his sin~ Shakespeare creates the notion that Macbeth's conscience is telling him that he and God can speak no more, as they are strangers. Furthermore, the link with Witches and their role arises, as in Shakespeare's time the inability to say a prayer was thought of as a sign of being bewitched.
Shakespeare continues with the idea of Macbeth's emotional turmoil once more, suggested by the use of caesura, which dramatises his erratic thinking and panic. Now, the audience are told he heard a "voice cry 'sleep no more'", obviously adding to the thought of his possibly deranged state of mind. In this part spoken by Macbeth, there is an extreme repetition of sleep, the word itself is repeated seven times in total. In addition, Shakespeare uses a series of metaphors for sleep, conjuring up the thought that Macbeth is obsessing over sleep~ the idea that he will not sleep again is plaguing him greatly, he knows his guilt prevents him from doing so, and it terrifies him. The different images of sleep that Shakespeare invents are showing the comforting, nourishing properties of sleep, for example "balm of hurt minds", "sore labour's bath" and "chief nourishers in life's feast". By this, the audience are given the sense of Macbeth's punishment; his tormented mind will never be cured.
Lady Macbeth, who throughout has seemed unaffected by her husband's wild ramblings, but now begins to wonder if she knows her husband~ "why worthy Thane, you do your noble strength", referring to her husband's usual valiant character and strength, also his slaughter on the battlefield, as seen by the audience in Act1 Scene 1, where he cut his enemies in two with his sword, Now, he is in an incredible state over one murder. To Lady Macbeth, his turmoil is ridiculous, and she is unable to understand how he is displaying such emotion. The audience will begin to receive a clear picture of her heartlessness and potentially evil mind. Her conscience is clearly not troubling her in the way that Macbeth's is. Her stable state of mind and thoughts are shown by Shakespeare though the use of imperatives~ "Go, get some water" and negative tainted language such as "wash this filthy witness..". The audience can see that Lady Macbeth feels that water 'puts them in the clear'.
However, Macbeth has made an enormous error. He has brought the daggers from Duncan's chamber, that according to the plot must lie with the grooms. Lady Macbeth is furious with his mistake, marked by Shakespeare in the rhetorical interrogative, "why...bring these daggers from the place?" The commanding, controlling nature of Lady Macbeth is felt again by the audience through the use of the imperative, "go carry them...smear the sleepy grooms with blood". Macbeth refuses, "look on't again I daren't not". The brutality of the murder is hinted at due to his lack of willing to return to the scene of the crime. Though his obvious guilt and shame, Shakespeare also makes it possible for the audience to pity Macbeth. He has clearly suffered enough.
Lady Macbeth mocks his fear~ "Infirm of purpose!", her anger revealed in the exclamation mark, plus her remark that only a child would fear a corpse, "tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil". The lexical set of evil in her language becomes apparent once more, linking with her character portrayed by Shakespeare. Lady Macbeth exits to return to the scene of the crime, to right Macbeth's possibly condemning error.
As soon as Lady Macbeth departs, Shakespeare gives a stage direction, 'knocking within'. This knocking has unmistakeable atmospheric qualities~ it is enigmatic and has definite ominous connotations. Knocking at the dead of night is sinister as it usually means bad news, which therefore creates more dramatic tension.
Macbeth is immensely disturbed by the knocking. Shakespeare uses a series of rhetoric interrogatives~ "whence is that knocking?", "how is it...every noise appals me?" and "what hands are here?" As well as conveying the sense of disturbance, caesura mirroring his distorted thoughts again, it also seems as if all of Macbeth's fears are contained in the knocking. This would fit with the tradition of tragedies, in that the tragic hero has a Nemesis (the Greek God of Retribution). Effectively, the audience feels as if the knocking is Macbeth's Nemesis, his punishment for great sin.
Shakespeare makes a biblical reference to Matthew 18,9-11, 'if thine eyes cause thee to offend, pluck it out', as Macbeth would rather be blind than see the blood on his hands, the reminder of his sin. The extreme horror of the situation can be felt through this.
Once more, the audience can sense Macbeth's guilt through a metaphor and interrogative~ "will all Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?" The language is showing exaggerated amounts; he feels as if all of the water in the world cannot wash the stain of blood. His hands will turn all of the seas red with guilt, proven by the statement "multitudinous seas incarnadine".
Lady Macbeth arrives on the scene with her hands dripping with blood. Shakespeare portrays her as feeling no remorse and no shame of the deed by the line "I shame to wear a heart so white", again linking with her evilness and previous desire for the spirits to "unsex" her, and arising the speculation that she is the Fourth Witch.
When the knocking returns, Lady Macbeth knows exactly where it is coming from, "I hear knocking at the south entry". There is no confusion in her language, no interrogatives, showing how in control of situation that she is. Shakespeare contrasts the characters and opinions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. She believes that water will put them in the clear~ "water clears us of this deed"; whilst he believes that no amount of water will make it better. The amounts are also contrasted; a "little" compared to "multitudinous", which reflects the emotions of the characters at this point; his emotions exaggerated and fearful and hers are toned down and unaffected.
Still, Lady Macbeth's control is sustained by more interrogatives, "Get", "Be".
More knocking provokes again feelings of reproach in Macbeth~ "to know my deed, twere best not know myself", showing that he wishes he had not gone through with the murder, and cannot bring himself to think of his sin. The horror of the situation has dawned on Macbeth; nothing he can do will now redeem himself.
Shakespeare creates much dramatic tension in these scenes from Act 2. The atmosphere is established in the first half of scene one, by the various dramatic and literary techniques that are used. He conveys a sense of pitch-blackness to the audience in his implication that it may be midnight ~ "and she goes down at twelve", which creates a sinister and eerie atmosphere, and promotes speculation at the role of the supernatural at the hour. An uneasy atmosphere is also provoked by the uncertain language of characters, their inability to establish the exact time, the use of interrogatives and the distortion of iambic pentameter through minor sentences.
Through Macbeth's soliloquy Shakespeare portrays the character as emotionally unstable, as he addresses the dagger and refers to himself as having a "heat oppressed mind", instilling fear and also pity in the audience. Adding to the atmosphere of terror is the lexical set of evil, coming through in Macbeth's tainted and sometimes horrific language. The turmoil of Macbeth's mind also arises once more in Scene two, after the deed is done Macbeth spends time talking at length of the guards 'awakening'. The audience will be aware that this may be an illusion of Macbeth's mind, as previously they were told the guards were on the borders of life and death. In this part, his thoughts are dominated by sleep, shown by the extreme repetition of the word and also various metaphors that convey the properties of sleep.
Whilst the murder is taking place, the audience is given a sense of Lady Macbeth's apprehension, panic and frantic thoughts through Shakespeare's frequent use of caesura, minor sentences, interjections and interrogatives, heightening the dramatic tension of the play. The dramatic technique stycomythia, which is put into action when Macbeth returns from committing the deed, also contributes to this feeling of panic and tension.
The character Macbeth is portrayed in scene two in a different light. In scene one he seems bloodthirsty and willing to kill, seen in his evil language, but in scene two, Shakespeare begins to portray him sympathetically, as he ready to be redeemed by God for his terrible sin. In comparison, Lady Macbeth is portrayed in oppositely to her husband. She, unlike Macbeth is in control of her emotions, and takes command of the situation, revealed by Shakespeare's use of many imperatives on her part. Her potentially evil mind is brought through by her negative language and feel of no remorse, which links with ideas that she may be the 'Fourth Witch'.
Enigmatic and perhaps sinister circumstances close the scene with the knocking of the door, once again adding to the dramatic tension felt by the audience. The knocking can be linked with Macbeth's need for redemption. The sound bothers him greatly; it sends his already disturbed mind into panic and fear. The audience will then be provided with a sense of his punishment, an idea that is in essence of the rest of the play.