William Shakespeare’s acclaimed tragedy, Macbeth, sometimes referred to as its euphemism ‘The Scottish Play’, is often thought of as one of his strangest and darkest plays due to its bleakness and interest in supernatural forces. However, there have been many films which have aimed to clarify the text to create meaning for students. Shanil Panchal discusses the 2005 BBC ShakespeaRe-Told film of the same name (directed by Mark Brozel), which successfully clarifies this unusual Shakespearean play through altering themes, the setting, and characters auspiciously creating meaning for students studying the play.
If you have ever watched BBC’s Macbeth, it is obvious that there are stark differences in terms of the setting compared to the original
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text. There is a reason for this. The setting of the original text is perfect for a tragedy as it contains a hierarchy based uptight atmosphere, where conflict is never too far away. For the film, the challenge was to adapt this type of setting for modern times. According to Peter Moffatt, who adapted the Shakespearean play, the “idea was to find a contemporary situation where you have a hierarchy, a killer instinct and a cut-throat atmosphere.” I believe that this film successfully fulfilled this idea.
The modern setting of a bustling Scottish restaurant and kitchen greatly captures the “cut-throat atmosphere” and the battles, successes and downfalls of Macbeth in the original play, while being more relatable for adolescent and even adult viewers providing a clearer view of the meaning of the play. It works like a mask for today’s viewers: it looks different, feels different and is more familiar for modern times, but it still holds the same purpose and “cut-throat atmosphere” of the original text.
In the play, Macbeth transitions from an honourable, introverted, ambitious Thane, to a tyrannical monster in a state of moral decay. The themes of ambition, power, masculinity, religion, the supernatural and fate resonate throughout the play.
The film adaption conveys the themes of ambition, power and fate, but omits masculinity, supernatural themes and religion. This is a purposeful decision that helps blend with today’s society more smoothly, as today people are becoming ever more secular and less paternal. It enhances the meaning of the play by making its themes more relatable.
Furthermore, the theme of jealousy was also implemented, a theme less explicit in the original text, and foregrounded by the negative representation of Duncan. James McAvoy, who plays Joe Macbeth, describes the film as “an examination of descent and psychosis,” which exactly describes the life of Joe and Ella Macbeth in this
film. It’s jealousy of the very unlikeable Duncan Docherty that causes this downfall and absence of morals and emotions, and this films contemporary setting illustrates the consequences of falling into “descent and psychosis” with greater relativity for modern adolescent and adult viewers than the original text itself. As a point of reason Billy Banquo also makes the important statement that it “doesn’t matter that no one knows it’s us [who cooks] or not, we know, that’s what counts.” What Billy is saying here is very important for real life, as you may not be recognised for what you do. However, if you believe in yourself, it’s the only thing that counts. Macbeth doesn’t understand this, further emphasising the theme of jealousy. If you’ve read the play, Duncan is represented as the “Lord’s anointed temple” (IIiii68) and Macbeth even describes him as having “silver skin lac’d with golden blood.” (IIiii113) Clearly, Duncan is thought of as the representative of god in earth, ruling by divine right. However, Peter Moffatt chose to completely change the character of Duncan in the film when adapting the script, converting him from an honourable King to a fraudulent celebrity chef, food snob and annoyingly successful restaurant owner. James McAvoy states that “he’s [Duncan] happy for Joe to do all the work, while he talks all the credit for it. He’s a Charlatan.” This statement is a brilliant description of who Duncan really is, and this characterisation helps foreground the theme of jealousy. In the play text, Macbeth’s motivations for killing King Duncan are questionable, because he did it arguably all out of ambition to become king. You can see that Joe’s motivations for killing Duncan however are much more understandable in terms of his emotions, as he has done it out of jealousy and because he has been silenced by Duncan. This helps to clarify the text to create meaning for students. To be brutally honest, the original play is not very relatable for viewers today due to its fundamental Christian values, supernatural themes and gender inequality. As an adaption of the play this film greatly succeeds in clarifying the meaning and values of Macbeth. So why not show this film for students? There’s no reason not to. Doing so may just help students understand ‘The Scottish Play’.
Often times, directors take timeless works of literature and make them more relatable to modern audiences. Creating a good adaptation is very difficult, the new product must be different from the original to make it relatable, however still be similar enough to recognize as the first edition. Due to changing times, many of Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted into movies. One of the most adapted plays by Shakespeare is Macbeth. This classic sets a high standard to live up to, however the film Scotland, PA comes close.
William Shakespeare, one of the greatest English play writers, has had a profound influence upon different societies globally since the fifteenth century, for his plays inspire many contemporary artists to present new scopes reflecting their societies. Considered as one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, Macbeth has a completely disparate interpretation of the movie Scotland, PA, which translates the original play into a black comedy. A Scottish royal and general, Macbeth the protagonist undergoes a demonic transformation in personality, in which he unethically takes the crown by murdering numerous characters. The director of the movie alters the plot while maintaining the basic semblance of power, ambition, and masculinity from Shakespeare’s work. In the movie, the alteration of the process Macbeth usurps the power of Duncan, including his internal and external incentives, gives the audience a fresh perspective on one of the English classical plays.
William Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Macbeth, is a tragedy brilliantly brought to the 21st Century by Rupert Goold. Although Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play set in 16th Century Scotland, Rupert Goold modernizes the play by changing the setting to a Soviet-styled country and implementing modern elements into the characters and theme. Although Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Rupert Goold’s film adaptation share many ideologies and a general storyline, a difference exists in the setting, the characters, and the overall ambience of the story.
“The Scottish Play”, or more known as “Macbeth” is a play set in medieval Scotland. It describes the life of Macbeth – a brave lord predicted by the witches to become the King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, his wife powered by ambition influences Macbeth into committing a horrendous regicide. Imagery is used widely throughout the course of the play, creating a three-dimensional image of the actions, almost as if we were present. Shakespeare in “Macbeth” uses imagery to create a more detailed image and emphasize the themes of violence, murder and darkness.
While I really like Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, and even though it is far from an easy read, I think that reading the book is a thousand times better than watching the movie “Macbeth”. Watching a movie is supposed to be an enjoyable experience. Watching “Macbeth”, not so much! It is rather a three hours long torture! Even though I think the dialogue in the movie remains pretty much the same as in Shakespeare’s original version, the setting itself has a very contemporary feel to it and it really ruins the play. In fact, when I started the movie, I almost thought I clicked on the wrong link. I thought I was about to watch a World War II movie.
The audience finds in William Shakespeare's tragic drama Macbetha number of developments and words and situations which are equivocal, unclear, unintelligible. This essay will explore and analyze these parts of the play.
The Shakespearean tragedy of Macbeth is one of the shortest of all his plays. The story of one man's determination to secure his position as king has become a literary classic around the world. Many critics have applied their input on what they believe to be the proper analysis of Macbeth. However Phyllis Rackin's interpretation of the play has become the counter balance to which I place my critique.
The essence of Macbeth lies not only in the fact that it is written by the universal talent William Shakespeare; the royal-conspiracy, the political unethical activity, the killin...
William Shakespeare’s usage of stage techniques and language effects in Macbeth are extraordinarily used in creating gradual tension from the moment King Duncan is killed by Macbeth, followed by a short relaxation period and then increasing it again until the climax point of the act of regicide. The reader and the audience are kept in suspense right from the beginning of the play until the final scene.
With the exception of the Bible, I contend, no other body of work has been more revisited and retold than William Shakespeare’s. In this essay I will analyze two scenes in Macbeth in terms of how the story is retold through the lens of film. Specifically, I will be examining Roman Polanski’s 1971 adaptation of Macbeth. I contend that the Polanski, while maintaining the spirit of Shakespeare, employs visual devices unavailable to Elizabethan era authors. My points of comparison and contrast will focus on Act III, Scene 4 and Act IV, scene 1.
Macbeth, on the other hand is feeling terrible about the crimes he's committed and is in turmoil.
William Shakespeare’s timeless work of art; Macbeth, is so intertwined in the fabric of our media landscape. The extent to which it touches so many people around the world, makes it a great piece to analyze because, every production is likely to be forced to be unique and entrancing. In 2006, Australian director Geoffrey Wright put together and directed a production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, but with a modern adaptation. In this essay, I will argue that the aspect of power in this film is shaped by the modernity of the film, the sexuality of the witches and Lady Macbeth, and the weapons that are used to commit the crimes. I will also analyze the cinematic choices made by Wright in producing the film.
Macbeth, unlike many other famous plays of the time, features a main character with elements of being both a protagonist and an antagonist, which takes this play to another dramatic level that has rarely been replicated. Readers usually struggle with hating a man like Macbeth by the end of the play because he was once so highly spoken of and suggested in the beginning. William Shakespeare’s use of Macbeth’s ambition allows readers and observers to see him change from the dignified, first-rate man he once was into the anti-hero he virtually becomes.
Macbeth is a very well-known play written by William Shakespeare about conflict between nobleman in Scotland. The play includes many plot twists that continues to engage the reader throughout the play. Because of its popularity Macbeth has been produced many times, with some productions representing medieval Scotland while others aiming to perfectly represent Shakespeare’s thoughts and others recreating a very different version of the play. The various representations of the play show that this play has a lot to work with, in the sense that Shakespeare leaves much to the imagination of the reader. As a reader, this play was fascinating to me because it did not end the way I expected, and it held my attention until the end of the play. I also
Macbeth from start to finish has the audience on the edge of its seats with powerful images and extraordinary events. This engagement with the audience is sustained from the moment the audience first meet the wild and evil witches to when Macduff enters with Macbeth's head and good is restored.