Act 1 scene 1 of "Macbeth" the Scottish tragedy.
MACBETH Throughout Shakespeare's life, witches and witchcraft were the object of much fascination. Although some people did not believe in these superstitions most people believed in witches. Witches were believed to possess extraordinary powers. They could predict the future, fly and bring on night in daytime. This leads me on to the scene we have chosen to examine. It is act 1 scene 1 of "Macbeth" the Scottish tragedy. The director of the version we have chosen is Roman Polanski. In this essay I am going to look closely at many aspects of the opening scene including setting and sound. The scene we have chosen that opens the play is a very short scene. Although it is short it is long enough to awaken curiosity, but it does not satisfy this curiosity. I think the reason why Polanski started with the witches is because this leaves us in no doubt about how big apart the witches will play. It also indicates that the play is going to be a struggle between good and evil. As the opening scene begins Polanski instantly creates a sense of terror and unearthly feelings. He does by using a burnt orange/red sky overlooking a bleak desolate bare beach. Then the sky quickly develops from sunrise to morning. We see the witches walk along the wet sand as they leave the beach. They leave no footprints behind, jut black shadows. In this way Polanski tries to show the dark powers of the
Critical Approaches to Shakespeare: Some Initial Observations.
Critical Approaches to Shakespeare: Some Initial Observations [This text was last revised on November 19, 2001] Introduction An earlier introductory note to some basic principles of literary interpretation ("On Scholarship and Literary Interpretation"), stressed that literary interpretation or literary criticism is, in many ways, an anarchic conversational activity with the practical purpose of enriching our shared understanding of a particular text. The value of any particular interpretative observations, or of a methodology upon which those observations are based, is judged by the results, as adjudicated by a group of intelligent conversationalists who have read and thought about the text under discussion. Hence, there is no one privileged way of organizing and presenting one's views. As that previous note mentioned, there are some basic rules about how the conversation should proceed, but these do not require a shared adherence to a single way of reading a text. In fact, the conversational basis for really useful literary interpretation finds its justification in the contrast between different ways of reading a text or some portion of it, because conversation is the best forum in which such differences confront each other and the participants profit from a discussion of the results of such different readings. However, in spite of the above remarks, there are some
How effective an adaptation of the play Macbeth is the film ‘Macbeth on the Estate’?
How effective an adaptation of the play Macbeth is the film 'Macbeth on the Estate'? Macbeth on the Estate is a modern adaptation of Macbeth. It is set on a modern, run-down housing estate in Birmingham. The major changes from the play are the setting and the characters. There are much fewer noble qualities about the people and places shown. Instead, the setting is very run-down and poor. The characters are also corrupt and indulgent. A lot of the blame for the bad things that happen in the play seems to be given to characters. For example, the possibility that the witches control Macbeth, and he is not in control is implied to be untrue by suggesting that the effects that seem to be supernatural are simply caused by drugs and the poor conditions. There are also some things done that cannot be done in a theatre, such as camerawork to direct the audience. I believe that the film is a reasonable good conversion of the play into a modern film. I believe that it managed to portray the meaning of the original in a modern way that is easy to understand for modern people, as well as making suggestions about the story. I like how every aspect of Shakespearean world was converted into something of the modern world, for example the castle being converted into a social club. What I don't like about it is the fact that the language wasn't changed from the original text. Although it is
GCSE Drama: Summative Task: Designer Option
Introduction I will be exploring the role of a designer in the play 'Romeo & Juliet' by William Shakespeare. The play is set in China but the storyline is slightly different although the ending is the same as in all tragedies. This is because of designing purposes as this will enable me to use different types of designs in costumes, the set etc and it will also fit in with the Chinese cultures and general circumstances which were very different to Shakespeare's Elizabethan setting. The Capulets are the governing body of China and rule the country The Montagues are British settlers who have, like many times in history, tried to conquer China. The prince is the governor of the French army who successfully conquered China before the English did. Despite hat, he has still given Capulet, the emperor of China, the responsibility of running the Chinese empire. All these changes will influence the design of the costumes as well as the set. The differences in make-up will be vast and will be clearly visible between the English and Chinese characters. Set Design I chose a rotating stage on which to put my set and created a set in which all of the four sides would act as a background in order to accommodate the scenes. The idea came from 'Our House' by John Godber, where the set is hanging from the ceiling and the stage is rotatable which allows for quick scene changes and quick set
Shakespeare as a Real Man in Shakespeare in Love
Pavlína Tejcová - 6th year Independent Readings Doc. Milada Frankova, CSc., M.A. 30 August 2004 Shakespeare as a Real Man in Shakespeare in Love Shakespeare has been presented in myriad versions, from the traditional to the almost unrecognizable. Directors and actors have adapted him as long as his plays have been performed. Some feel that without Shakespeare´s original poetry, audiences are robbed of the opportunity to experience the cleverness, poetry, and majesty of the language - Shakespeare´s genius. Others feel that modern adaptations don´t challenge viewers and offer weaker plots and less complex characters. Shakespeare in Love combines in a way both. The film applauds the brilliance of Shakespearean writing through the lines directly taken from Shakespeare, while at the same time exploring a fictional depiction of his true love and life. When you deconstruct the script, Shakespeare in Love is built in perfect Shakespearian form. Virtually a Shakespearean plot in itself, it mixes a great story with bits and pieces of history (whether fact or not); lies and deception; mistaken identities; a couple of swordfights; and of course a passion that can only end badly. For hundreds of years we have been hunted by the question: "Who was the real Shakespeare?" Literally thousands of pages have been dedicated to uncovering the facts about Shakespeare´s identity, but
How would you direct the characters in the yellow bird scene?
How would you direct the characters in the yellow bird scene? 'The Crucible' is a exhilarating play, which is based on the true events that happened in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 when a group of teenage girls started to mess with witchcraft and faked being caught by the 'devil'; the girls created a horrific witch hysteria. It shows how the courts where run unfairly in the 17th centaury, and it shows how the court has such a big affect on the village's society. Arthur Miller has written the play in an effectual way and uses factual events to show the audience what really happened and how Salem and McCarthyism are parallel. Act 3 pages 86-96 is set in the courtroom, where the characters, Mary Warren, Parris, John Proctor, Danforth, Abigail, Mercy, Hathorne, Suzanna, Herrick, Cheever, and Hale are present. These characters are all present in the courtroom because they are all part of the village society affected by the lies caused by Abigail and her followers. The page starts with Danforth asking Mary to faint to prove that she can faint whenever she wants, to prove that Abigail and her followers can also pretend to see spirits. Mary is torn whether to tell the truth about Abigail lying about seeing the spirits, with this she may be facing a death sentence and she would go through the torment of Abigail getting revenge on her, or to go along with Abigail and not face a death
William Shakespeare and his life.
Question 1: William Shakespeare and his life Very little it known about William Shakespeare's early years. There is no record of this live birth, but all that is known is that he was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April of 1564. But there is record of him being baptized on the 26th of April, and since he died on the 23rd of April, most historians say that he was born on April 23rd, the same day he was born. William's parents were John and Mary Shakespeare. His father held very high position in the little town. He was a whittawer and was a member of the city council, then constable, chamberlain, alderman, and the high bailiff (almost town mayor). A record of steep debt pulled John out of the high position and was kicked out of church for not paying his debts. Mary mothered 8 children, including William. William was the 3rd child and the first son. He would have attended Stratford's grammar school, of course, like all other records of the time, any documents proving his attendance have been lost. On November 28, 1582, a town bishop issued a wedding bond for William "Shagspeare" and Anne Hathaway. Anne was three months pregnant at the time of the wedding and 8 years his senior. On May 26, 1583, Susanna, their first child, was baptized. Two years later, Anne gave birth to twins, Hamnet and Judith, Hamnet wouldn't live past the age of 11. Their isn't any record known record
Imaginary Story
Imaginary Story Inspector Dixon could recognise slight scratch on the victim's bracelet. Now he discovered the murderer of Mrs Watson. The only person who could make this scratch was... 'NICKY!' My name is Nicky, a seventeen years old college girl, who wants to be a detective in the future. It was a sunny and cloudless day. The library was very quiet. There were about sixteen people in library and two of them were looking for some books on the shelf beside me. My schoolmate, Sally Looney was looking at me in a dull and bored look. Her eyes were half closed and her ginger hairs were stuck to the end. No one might imagine she was a clever girl, who has achieved 12 A* grades in her GCSEs and 5 A grades in her AS-level. 'Sally, Inspector Dixon was just about to say the name of the murderer, because he just discovered a scratch on the...' 'Nicky! I have called you more than three times! Are you listening to me?' Sally replied in a bored voice and a girl from the other desk raised her head to find out the origin of disruption. 'I am really bored. We have been in here for nearly 4 hours! I am hungry now.' Sally was shouting at me with an eager look. There were nearly seven ridiculous books on Sally's desk such as 'Collection of classic novels' and 'Yellow Pages'. 'Oh Sally, it's because you are choosing boring books. Why are you reading Yellow Pages?' I asked. 'I like finding funny
A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
A Midsummer Night's Dream. Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a play of romantic comedy. It is one of Shakespeare's more famous comedies and has been performed by many different actors. The production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' that I watched was performed in London's Regents Park by the Open Air Theatre Company. The play was successful because of the dramatical techniques and acting shown by the performers. This essay explores the techniques and acting, and compares them to a cinema production of the same play. The play takes place in the Greek City of Athens, about the same time as Shakespeare. There are three main groups of people in the play, the fairies, the lovers and the mechanicals. Each has a specific role in the plot of the play, and their separate worlds get intertwined during the middle section of the play. All the groups meet in the woods just outside of Athens, and it is here that the main section of the play happens. The fairies accidentally put a love potion into Lysander's eyes, making him fall in love with Helena. They then put the love potion into Demetrius's eyes in an attempt to rectify the situation. While this is happening the mechanicals have come to the woods to rehearse their play. Puck, one of the fairies turns Bottom into an ass, and makes Titania, the Queen of the fairies fall in love with him by using the love juice. Each of the
EN2372 Shakespeare:
EN2372 Shakespeare: Genre, text and performance. Registration Number 0345709. Performance Review: 'O' (2001) Directed by, Tim Blake Nelson. The 1995 release of the film 'Clueless', based on Jane Austen's 'Emma', saw a new trend emerge in Hollywood. By adapting classic literary texts into modern day 'Teen Dramas', the film industry and those working in education may argue that such films allow youngsters an insight into plays and novels written hundreds of years ago. In effect, the work of Shakespeare and others is made accessible to the young, and in a world where reading is now perhaps considered secondary, many may well relish the fact that classic stories are still being presented and enjoyed in this ever evolving and advancing society. As Lynda E. Boose and Richard Burt argue: "...this shift to a cultural studies approach opens new possibilities for a kind of Shakespeare criticism with wider appeal to a non-academic public (which presumes, of course, that the Shakespearean academic necessarily wants such a popular audience).1 It could be argued that this new trend in making Shakespeare accessible to teens through film, is merely a moneymaking commodity. Indeed many of these adaptations pay little respect to the script they are supposedly based upon. However, because the tag line of the film hails itself as being, for example: "an exceptionally intelligent and powerful