A Critical Account of Macbeth Act 1 Scene VII

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A Critical Account of Macbeth Act 1 Scene VII

Shakespeare is often considered to be one of the world’s greatest

playwrights,

using his own style to back this up. He writes with poetic diction

using eloquent

words and phrases, he also uses lots of irony and drama to create and

sustain suspense

throughout his plays. Throughout this essay I am going to look very

closely at Act 1

in his play Macbeth, paying particular attention to Act 1 Scene VII, I

will be looking

to see how Shakespeare’s use of language enables the reader to become

a part of the

play.

Macbeth was written in Shakespeare’s usual formal manner, although

while this

play was meant to be performed and spoken, he wrote the dialogue in a

poetic

manner. Through reading this act closely I began to see how

Shakespeare was using

metaphors and imagery throughout the dialogue, this enabled me to see

just how

highly educated Shakespeare was in the English language. He carefully

places each

word to enable it to fit an iambic pentameter rhythm. This is very

clear right at the

beginning of Act 1 with the Witches first words:

‘Witch 1: When shall we three meet again?

In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

Witch 2: When the hurlyburly’s done,

When the battle’s lost and won.

Witch 3: That will be ere the set of sun.’ [1].

It is almost impossible to look at any scene closely within this play

without looking

at this first speech in the play. The witches immediately set the mood

of the play. We

can tell that the witches are creating some unpleasant magic, which is

to involve

Macbeth, le...

... middle of paper ...

...and evil. The witch’s prophecies spark

Macbeth’s ambitions

and then encourage his violent behaviour, Lady Macbeth provides the

brains and the

will behind her husbands plotting; and the only divine being to appear

is Hecate, the

goddess of witchcraft. Arguably Macbeth traces the root of chaos and

evil to women.

While the male characters are just as violent and prone to evil as the

women, the

aggression of the female characters is more striking because it goes

against prevailing

expectations of how women ought to behave. Lady Macbeth’s behaviour

certainly

shows that women can be just as cruel and ambitious as men. Whether it

is because of

the constraints within society or because she is not fearless enough

to kill, she relies

on deception rather than violence to achieve her ends.

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