Month: May 2017

INTERNAL PRACTICE MATERIAL

Corruption of power and degenerating effects upon Macbeth.

In the Shakespearean play Macbeth, Shakespeare is using the main character Macbeth to communicate the degenerating effects which corruption of power can have on a person. As the play advances, more and more evidence of Macbeth’s degenerating mind.
Act 4 Scene 1.

Act 4 Scene 1 is the turning point of Macbeth’s logical sanity. This is the scene where The Three Witches are stirring a cauldron and Hecate enters followed closely by Macbeth. The witches give Macbeth his prophecy and he vows to himself that “From this moment, the very firstlings of my heart shall be, the firstlings of my hand.”. He is going to do whatever he likes whenever he likes. While losing his logic Macbeth is losing his hope. Macbeth began as a smart, gallant warrior and as the power has flowed through his veins and gushed into mind, he has become ignorant and foolish. The first act of Macbeths new found foolishness is killing his close friends whole family, Macduff’s family.

Act 2 Scene 1.

Shakespeare is trying to illustrate the effects of doing evil deeds upon a person such as the in Act 2 Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, Macbeth sees a dagger floating in front of him just before he is going to go into King Duncan’s chamber to murder him. He begins to talk directly to the dagger and tries to reach out to grab yet he cannot touch it because it is “a dagger of the mind”. This quote, through the use of metaphor, is telling us that by murdering King Duncan, he is stabbing his mind and usually, when we are stabbed we die. This could be signifying that the murder will eventually lead Macbeth’s death, either his sanity will drive him over the edge or everything that he does afterward will come back to bite him. Given that the play is a tragedy, dead is obvious throughout the play. At this stage of the play, it is becoming obvious that the idea of murder and prophecy from the witches is driving Macbeth crazy. This dagger of the mind is a “false creation” which Macbeth’s mind is tricking him into seeing into his mental state. This is Shakespeare showing the inner turmoil and feelings of horror about the murder he is about to commit. Us human beings experience the same when we do things which they are not comfortable with or things against our morals. The mind is such a complex thing that human can never truly forgive themselves, it rolls thoughts over and over and even subtle things can overwhelm a person.

Act 1 Scene 5

The first glimpses of the eventual annihilated Macbeth appear in Act 1, Scene 5. Macbeth is turning over thoughts and worries after encountering the witches and derived the prophecy. He writes ahead to Lady Macbeth, at this point in a wonder of what she will say. Macbeth’s inner turmoil is beginning to bubble and simmer. By the time he arrives home, his mind has shifted to dark ambitions.

Dramatic Irony

Dramatic Irony is a prominent effect which Shakespeare has used throughout the play to transfer insight into the play. It is the key to the suspence in the crowd, it is the way which Shakespeare captives the crowd. A example in the play is the

Act 5, Scene 5 Macbeth.

She should have died hereafter.
There would have been a time for such a word.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Simile – Shakespeare is comparing life to an actor with this extended metaphor. An actor which has their time in the limelight but once the show is over, they are irrelevant. He could be saying that people are so caught up with their own little lives and everything is so important yet untimely, their lives are irreverent.
Repetition – It is a language feature which is showing the considerable effect and maybe he is highlighting that there is always a tomorrow but you might not still be here for it. It shows the unimportance of time.
Metaphor – Shakespeare is comparing a unit of time to a unit of language, a syllable, which you could say that he is also comparing our lives to a script.