The Porter’s Speech
At the beginning of act two, scene three, we are introduced to a
drunken Porter, who gives a speech to the audience. Shakespeare
used the convention of the Fool or Court Jester to great effect,
especially in his Tragedies where the Fools are less identifiable and
can have major parts. Like more modern versions, the continuity
person on TV, the Fool offers relief from unbearable tension and keeps
us busy and amused during scene changes. Unlike the modern circus
clown, pantomime or stand-up comedian, as Shakespeare tells us
clearly, he is not a buffoon and has a serious job to do. His is an
essential and fast moving part in Macbeth.
There are many reasons as to how the Porter’s speech can contribute to
a production of Macbeth. The first one we may think of is that by
letting the audience laugh, having just seen Macbeth’s blood spattered
hands, they should be more able to accept further bloodshed and
revulsion in the following scenes.
The humour of having a drunken Porter in the middle of the play can be
thought of as a ‘laugh conductor’ and would prevent the audience from
doing this later on in the scene.
“Here’s a farmer that hung himself on the expectation of plenty”.
This links with the theme of nature in the play and how Lennox
describes the strange happenings and the brutality of the night when
nature seemed to have been in key with the violence of men’s doings.
Later on in the Porters speech, “Faith, here’s an English tailor come
hither for stealing out of a French hose”. This associates with the
image of clothing and how Macbeth is not worthy of, or comfortable
with, the robes of kin...
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... much in the witches’ half truths and he has ‘stolen’ the king’s crown.
Certainly, the porter gives a satirical picture of a dishonest world.
What with treachery, lying and unnatural events such as Lennox
recounts “strange screams of death” and “the night has been unruly”,
it is, for the audience at that moment, no surprise that people like
Macbeth rise to be kings. However, as in all good morality tales,
Nemesis is usually not far behind.
In conclusion, the comical Porter and his speech provide a ‘take’ on a
range of issues in everyday Elizabethan life. Shorter scenes in the
play are either a reminder of what has happened so far, or a
preparation for what is coming. This scene is light hearted and
relieves the tension of the last scene as well as contrasting with the
next, when Duncan’s murder is discovered.
I am reading the book Shooter by Walter Dean Myers. In my book the main character's name is Cameron Porter. He is a seventeen-year-old boy that attended a school called Madison High. There one of his closest companions Leonard, Len for short, has killed someone and maybe himself. I have only read about half of the book and only two of the five sections, so I don’t know exactly what led up to everything. But from what I’ve read, It seems like both Cameron and Len came from troubled backgrounds. Like both of Cameron’s parents are well off people and have lot’s of money but he doesn’t have a good relationship with his father because his father doesn’t treat him well and his mother doesn’t really notice him either. Cameron is bullied in school
the play, it is not really the fact that they get so drunk and out of
are meant to present a show at the fete. The play uses comedy as its
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The differences of these two plays, gives one a sense that any general idea can be broken into a distinct one and not sway away from its intended idea. This means, a comedy can be made into a tragedy, romance, and other themes, and yet still maintain the purpose of providing laughter to the audience. This shows the development of literature over the years, as many more subcategories result because of the contrasts.
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A lot of people look on the porter as just an interruption of the play, and that he should not even be there. But I disagree; I wouldn’t call him an interruption. I’d call him an Intermission; he came in the play when needed most. The audience needed a break from the play. The entire thing was filled with hatred, betrayal, and blood. The porter is Shakespeare’s transition period. Every play needs some comedy, but no more than this play, The Tragedy. The porter wasn’t just there to make the audience laugh; he was there for a reason. Shakespeare always had a reason for everything, it would be uncharacteristic for him not to with the porter.
The clown contributes towards the humourous entertainment of this play through his numerous puns and jokes. He is a source of laughter, not because we are humoured by his "foolery"; for he proves to be no fool at all; but rather because he amuses us with his brilliant wit. Having mastered the art of jesting, Feste is sensitive of his profession, always aware of the circumstances he is in and the appropriateness of this folly.