William Shakespeare's Language use to Create an Atmosphere in Act 2 Scene 1 and Act 2 Scene 2 of Macbeth
The two scenes, one and two are based around the murder of King
Duncan. The plot, orchestrated by the three witches, to make Macbeth
and Lady Macbeth kill the king. The Three Witches did this to create
chaos and confusion and they help persuade Macbeth to fulfill his
ambitious intentions through their prophesies.
In Act 2 Shakespeare uses language to create a feeling of suspicion
and fear. This sets the scene and creates an atmosphere of foreboding
and impending doom, which continues throughout the play.
Act 2 is set at Macbeths Castle where Duncan is graciously received by
the "honoured hostess" Lady Macbeth. The scene is set at night,
although the play would be performed during the daytime through
suspension of disbelief. Words such as "night", "moon", "candles" and
"twelve", denote this. The audience senses an evil atmosphere through
the narrative, "The moon is down" and " their candles are all out"
which illustrates a feeling of darkness and malice.
In Act 2 scene1, Banquo's anxiety is immediately apparent. There is
nervousness about his conversation and he discusses his lack of sleep.
The words "A heavy summon lies like lead upon me, And yet I would not
sleep," suggests that Banquo is uneasy and predicts that something bad
is going to happen. Before Macbeth appears, Banquo says, "Give me my
sword", this action indicates uneasiness and tension. When Banquo
discovers Macbeth is still awake and restless, he feels suspicious and
this is expressed in his words, "What, sir, not yet at rest?" This
leads him to doubt and mistrus...
... middle of paper ...
...weak and nervous until
Macbeth has done the deed. After he has committed the murder she
becomes calm and organised, taking control of the situation.
In Act 2, scene 1 and 2, Shakespeare uses many forms of language to
create an atmosphere. He uses imagery related to sleep, blood, light,
dark and guilt. These images create a tense and anxious atmosphere
leading up to the murder of King Duncan. Shakespeare also uses rhyming
couplets and alliteration to keep the audience interested in the play.
It also creates an impression on their response to the events in the
performance.
In conclusion Shakespeare uses these conventions to suspend the
readers disbelief, creating a surreal atmosphere throughout the play.
His use of language and imagery helps to inspire and captivate the
audience in constructing the mise en scene.
Scene 2 act 2 is one of the most important scenes in the play. This is
direct Act 2 scenes 1 and 2 (the ones before and after the murder of
History has been filled with evil people doing evil things for power whether that means killing or putting other people down. The truth is everyone wants power and once that power is gained they will do whatever to maintain it. In the play Macbeth written by Shakespeare the main character receives a prophecy from witches (wierd sisters) telling him he will become king. Acting in response Macbeth kills the king and soon becomes the new king. The play follows his story as he struggles to maintain his power and battles against those threaten his rule. In Act 3 scene 1, Macbeth's’ soliloquy about Banquo, his best friend, expresses the tones of fear, jealousy, and anger through the literary devices of metaphors, repetition, and foreshadowing, which
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press New Folger Edition, 1992
The Impact of Act 2 scene 2 of Macbeth & nbsp; Act 2 scene 2 is the most violent and intense part of Macbeth, although we do not actually witness the murder of King Duncan. It is interesting that Shakespeare chooses to have Macbeth kill Duncan offstage. We can only guess why he wrote the scene that way, I think that Shakespeare wanted to focus not on the murder but on Macbeth’s reaction to it; the bloody details supplied by the audiences imaginations will be much worse than anything that could be done onstage. It is also the most crucial part of the play; it is the first of many murders. This scene takes place at night; I feel the darkness represents what is unnatural, cruel and evil.
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most popular and most intense plays regarding the action and portrayal of human relationships. The human relationships are portrayed by the way the characters act and the setting that they’re in. For instance, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s is strong as Lady Macbeth has control over Macbeth. However, the couple has a character arc and the duo switch in their personalities. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, direct characterization, tone and setting is used in both the play and the movie to convey the theme regarding human relationships.
Noah Webster, author of Webster’s Dictionary, defines mood as the “temporary state of the mind in regard to passion or feeling“ and “a morbid or fantastic state of mind.” E. L. Thorndike and Clarence L. Barnhart, authors of Scott, Foresman Advanced Dictionary, define mood as “the overall atmosphere or prevailing emotional aura of a work.” Shakespeare’s Macbeth, especially the pivotal and ominous second act, exemplifies both denotations of mood. The act has an “overall atmosphere,” even though the mood shifts, while this mood places a sense of cliff-hanging anxiety at the beginning, an ambiance of hysterics towards the middle, a feeling of tragic realization directly following, and an unsure aura of occult extractions. Shakespeare cleverly uses six key elements to further shape and add to the mood: the characters, the imagery, the setting, the sounds, the characters’ actions, and the characters’ dialogue.
In Act 3, Scene 4 of Macbeth we are able to identify the disintegration of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s characters in the overwrought scene. Throughout this scene Shakespeare uses a range of techniques to present their conflicting characters, creating dramatic tension. From the darkness of Banquo’s murder in the previous scene, there is a sudden tonal shift, as the scene abruptly changes to the bustle of the banqueting hall. The “Banquet Scene” is one of the most engaging scenes as it may be considered to be the pivotal point of the play. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth need the banquet to be a success as this is the first time they will be presenting themselves as monarchs and the rightful successors to the throne before society. However, this creates a sense of fundamental irony as the audience is aware that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are illegitimate figures and falsely usurped the crown. There is also a sense of comic relief as Macbeth publicly humiliates himself when he is confronted supernaturally by his sins. It is interesting to observe the changes within the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and their shifting relationship after the appearance of Banquo’s ghost.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a play about an honest and brave Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that he will be made Thane of Cawdor and one day King of Scotland. As the first prophecy comes true, Macbeth becomes consumed by ambition and greed leading him to murder King Duncan and taking over the throne. Afterwards he is filled with regretted and guilt yet continues on killing as a means to protect himself, losing sight of the honourable man he once was. Throughout the play Shakespeare uses many stylistic features and language techniques such as imagery, paradoxes and soliloquies to engage his readers, both those of his time and today, as well as highlighting important issues.
In a world where murder is seen as a way to check if the prophecies of the witches are real, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth get caught by greed, the only escape seems to be a murder that will stop the nightmare of the killings. Once the murder has been committed, the revolt against it becomes very absurd and very illegitimate, making Macbeth a tragedy of the dark that develops in the night. In Act II scene II, Shakespeare uses tension and dramatic interest along with stage effects and language techniques to illustrate how Macbeth, with the help of Lady Macbeth influencing him to do so, commit the dreadful murder of King Duncan, and the after effects of this deed.
Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century.
In Acts 2 and 3 of Macbeth, the tone of the story is developed through the use of many phrases and words throughout the acts. The major tone of these acts is a foreboding one. Foreboding tone essentially means that the author is writing with a strong sense of fear of future problems. This foreboding tone is developed especially in Scene 1 of Act 2, and Scenes 2 and 4 of Act 3. This tone is used to advance the plot, build suspense, and reveal the feelings of the characters.
turn into animals but when one of them turns into a rat it has no tail,
of the 'evil' witches as he was sure that witches were out to get him
The scene I chose was act 2 scene 2 of Macbeth written by Shakespeare. It was between two characters, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. I played the role of Macbeth. In the scene, Lady Macbeth celebrates her plan being a success. Lady Macbeth waits for Macbeth to come with news that he has killed Duncan. Macbeth announces that he has committed the murder but he is so afraid that he brings the bloody daggers with him and Lady Macbeth takes them from him, to place them with the sleeping guards. Macbeth hears knocking sounds which frightens him so his wife comes to lead him away, they then wash the blood from their hands before they get caught. My character was challenging because I had to understand his emotions and find ways of interpreting that on stage. I chose to perform this act because Shakespeare was able to create tension, build the right atmosphere to show them Macbeth’s reaction to Duncan’s murder but also show the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Shakespeare’s use of imagery, dramatic irony, rhetorical questions helped emphasise the guilt Macbeth felt after the murder.