How Does Shakespeare Create Fear and Tension In Act II, Scenes I and II, Of Macbeth. What Advantages Would A Modern Director Enjoy When Working With These Scenes?

Authors Avatar

           

How Does Shakespeare Create Fear and Tension In Act II, Scenes I and II, Of “Macbeth”. What Advantages Would A Modern Director Enjoy When Working With These Scenes?

Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” is a tragedy set in 11th century Scotland, around the time at which the real Macbeth was alive. Shakespeare had at hand, during the period he was writing the play, Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland by Raphael Holinshed. Shakespeare had used this book in other history plays he wrote, in the book he found stories from Scotland, which he let his imagination run wild on. The book provided details of events, power, politics, characters and motivations. Shakespeare studied this text, altering and adding details to paint the overall picture that is “Macbeth”. Macbeth had a good ten years of rule in Scotland but Shakespeare makes Macbeth a tyrant and focuses on his tortured mind, making the play darker and more mysterious. He does this by using strong adjectives when describing the scene and mood. For instance in Act I Scene I the location is “A Desolate Place” and the weather is dreary and horrible when the witches are in a scene with “Thunder and lightning” and the dark connotations with thunder and lightning come to mind, of witchcraft and demonic actions. Whenever the witches are on stage they are almost in a trance chanting and singing as if casting spells for example in (Act I Scene I Lines 1-4) “When shall we meet again? In thunder, lightning or in rain?” and “When the hurly-burly’s done, when the battles lost or won.” The witches call upon their “familiars”, “Gray malkin” and “Paddock”, Gray malkin is a cat which helps witches so their evil deeds, Paddock is in the form of a hedgehog or a toad. Witches’ familiars were said to be “devils in disguise”. The period in which the play was performed nearly everyone believed in heaven and hell, and they lived in fear of eternal damnation, a punishment of witchcraft and demonic acts. People who went to see “Macbeth” saw in the play signs of two people demonically possessed. As we go into Act II Scene I Macbeth and Banquo meet three weird sisters who prophesise that Macbeth would be “Thane of Cawdor” and “King hereafter”. Macbeth then tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, of the witches’ prophecy and his coronation as the “Thane of Cawdor”. Now Duncan, King of Scotland, is coming to stay at Macbeth’s castle to celebrate their victory in battle. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are plotting to kill Duncan as Macbeth is next in line to the throne.

Join now!

       Shakespeare opens Act II Scene I on the dead of midnight, the point at which, all evils things can come into the world. Banquo is very nervous and on edge. He is talking to his son, about not being able to sleep because he was thinking of the weird sisters’ prophecy as they said that Banquo’s son would one day become king. Banquo is very defensive and on his guard as Macbeth comes into the room with a servant, “Give me my sword- who’s there” (Act II Scene I Line 9), he hastily asks for his sword ...

This is a preview of the whole essay