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... nd her hand. Hers is a false courage and from the Banquet scene onwards, she sinks further into despair. The misery they have suffered, while vexing her, has not made her truly repentant. However, as retribution draws ever nearer, she can no longer silence her outraged conscience or control the bloody horrors of her sub-conscience. Shakespeare does not permit the audience to see her in the process of decline, or in any contemplation of her guilt.
Her remorse is not for her misdeeds but for their ghastly failure. Her sorrow is not for her victims but for herself and her husband. The greatest blow is her recognition that she has made a criminal monster of herself for nothing. In an attempt to win happiness for herself and her husband she has only succeeded in destroying their mutual happiness completely. Sorrow and guilt begin to unhinge her mind but this is not apparent until she sleeps. No longer dominant or even 'his partner in crime' but subdued and saddened by the emptiness of their success.
In the sleepwalking scene, where she must have the darkness relieved by a lighted candle, there is a dramatic mingling of pathos and terror. She is driven to sigh and groan over spots on her hands that are visible to none but herself. She loses sense of herself, becoming a restless soul, tormented by agonies of remorse. The irony of her earlier statement 'A little water clears us of this deed' is fully apparent in the hyperbole 'Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. ' Just as she earlier aroused our terror with her ruthlessness, she now arouses our pity. Her death represents judicious payment for crimes committed.
Her sleepwalking scene in Act V reveals in full pathos the effects of denying one's true nature. To gain the throne, she comes to realise that they have squandered their happiness. Sample Student Essay Response 'For drama to be powerful as theatre, the central characters must evolve and change in response to conflict. ' Discuss with close reference to the central characters. To make a play or piece of drama, powerful, moving and successful, the central characters must evolve and change as a result of the conflicts and events they are forced to face. This is clearly shown and reinforced by the central characters from Macbeth.
The transformations in character are reflected in his actions, emotions and language. Throughout the play Macbeth the central character undergoes a series of fundamental changes. He is introduced into the play as being a 'worthy' and 'noble' character, a 'brave's order and is described as being 'worthy to his name. 's shakespeare uses his change in character to reflect and mirror the substantial changes in the play, as he is the pivotal point around which the events take place. Macbeth's initial personality traits are revealed in the opening scene, which opens on a setting of swirling fogs over a battlefield strewn with shields and fallen bodies. Strokes of lightning reveal three witches lurking in the shadows, speaking of their plans involving Macbeth. The atmosphere is filled with supernatural forces and fear.
Their dramatic function in this opening scene is to create a sinister sense of impending doom, which undoubtedly involves Macbeth as a key figure. His gullibility and weakness of nature is clearly reinforced by his reaction after first hearing the 'midnight hags' prophecy. He believes their every word and is totally unaware as they plant the seeds of greed and evil in his mind. The audience soon learns that with the right words and encouragement, these seeds will grow and flourish. The play follows the usual structure of Shakespearean tragedy.
It is based on two pivotal characters who become deeply interwoven in powerful forces, which are beyond their control. This as a result, leads to ultimate ruin and death. The character Macbeth is a stark example of this chain of events as he moves and develops, becoming increasingly polluted with evil. His character is portrayed to the audience as one that contained both negative and positive traits. The goading, taunting methods of his wife persuade him to carry out the murder of Duncan. His character is deeply disturbed by the thought of this crime and Shakespeare skillfully portrays this to the audience in his honest confession and soliloquy in the dagger scene.
This heightens the audience sympathy and reinforces the changes he is undergoing for he clearly acknowledges that his actions are totally unwarranted. The atmosphere of Act II is developed. It is night, the moon has set and there are no stars in the heavens. The time is after midnight, the witching hour, the time of evil deeds and unnatural occurrences.
Macbeth is situated in a courtyard of his castle and has order for the bell to be rung. The imaginary dagger appears as he ponders the crime he is about to commit. The ringing bell 'invites' him to 'heaven or hell. ' After the murder, Macbeth's character changes and his sanity is questioned. From the Ghost scene on he begins to kill coldly, senselessly. He has turned from 'noble' and 'worthy' to a 'bloody tyrant', a 'butcher' and 'hell hound. ' He has developed a heart of stone and the audience realises this when he murders Macduff's wife and family in ruthless slaughter. The repetition of the words 'sleep' and 'amen' after the initial crime shows Macbeth's fears.
He was deeply affected by the murder and as a result 'shall sleep no more. ' The darkness, which was his saviour, is now his enemy. It is here where his nightmares come and his fears become an obsession. The blank verse and often jarring rhythm used by Macbeth shows his deep emotions and his reaction to his crime. Rhyme is used at the end of a scene to reinforce the finality.
As the play develops and Macbeth's character becomes more criminal, his dialogue is filled with images of blood and death and his similes and metaphors are based on negative images. It is through his speech and action the audience is able to see a pivotal change in the central character of the play. Macbeth's world evolves around the Scottish throne and men of high social and political status, their fate effects the welfare of an entire nation. The tragedy arises that a 'hero's uch as Macbeth can start a course of events however he cannot control them, and they ultimately lead to his death The audience witnesses his fall from greatness, he is first greeted by Duncan as 'O worthiest cousin' (I. iv. 15) Consequently in Macbeth as the order is disturbed, the culprits die and restoration is restored. The idea of transformation is intertwined with the characters, language and imagery to also engage in a discussion with life and death issues.
There is a marked difference in the personalities of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after Act III. The first account of Macbeth is through a captain's battle report of his valor 'brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name-' (I. ii. 16), ironically he had fought against a traitor, Macdonald. Once the savior of Scotland, he subsequently leads the country through sufferance from his endless cruelty. He murders Duncan then guards outside the King's room, he orders the execution of Banquo and his son France, also Macduff's wife and children are the victims of a sudden attack. The rightful heir to the throne, Malcolm remarks on the state of Scotland 'It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash/ Is added to her wounds' V.
iii. 40 - 1. Macbeth's transformation is paradoxical; the actions he believes will increase his control and power are the undoing of what he wishes to achieve. Lady Macbeth's position diminishes after Act III, from sublime strength to a figure of pathos. Upon reading the letter about the witches' prophecies she calls upon the spirits to 'unsex me here'.
She is full of ambition, therefore when Macbeth expresses he does not want to murder Duncan, she chides him 'When you durst do it, then you were a man' (I. vii. 49). However she is unable to cope with her active role in the murders, she dies in the midst of madness. Consequently an extreme awareness is juxtaposed next to an extreme ignorance. The Macbeth's are conscious of the repercussions of their actions within their society, however do not consider the consequences of their desires, particularly upon themselves.
The transformation of the hero and heroine during the play is a result of and affected by the world of nature. In Shakespeare's verse, this world is given an existence paradoxically independent of, and intimately related to, the character's status and worth. From the opening lines of the play it is apparent that the supernatural will participate and effect the world on stage. The witches declare 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair', this is repeated implicating Macbeth with his first words 'So foul and fair a day I have not seen'.
His actions unsettle the moral and natural order, consequently his authority is repudiated and overthrown. Macbeth's usurpation is not rewarded 'upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, / And put a barren sceptre in my gripe' (III. i. 60), he committed an unnatural act. Lady Macbeth's precipitation of these actions is punished accordingly, ironically after the murder of Duncan she suggests that 'These deeds must not be thought / After these ways: so, it will make us mad' (II.
ii. 33). The entire mood of the play is effected by the disruption of nature. Repeated images of darkness, blood, and violence contribute to this tone The vision of the dagger, the murder of Duncan, the murder of Banquo, the sleep-walking of Lady Macbeth, all occur in the darkness of night and evoke for Macbeth a feeling of fear and horror. Again the dramatic verse intertwines the language and themes. The theme of transformation was apparent in Macbeth, the hero esteemed by his peers, however through his desire for power he transformed into a man obsessed with his desires, his tragedy was his downfall
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Research essay sample on Murder Of Duncan Lady Macbeth
