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Media Macbeth Media Text Macbeth Media Text In the scenes leading up to Act 5 scene 8, we see Macduff and his army making their way to Dunsinane, ready to fight Macbeth. On their way to Dunsinane they stop at Birnam wood. They cut it down and hold branches above their heads, so when Macbeth looks out of the castle it looks like Birnam wood is coming towards the castle. This is the first of the prophecies? Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him? to come true In Act 5 scene 8, it opens to the battleground, in the book.
In the video, Macbeth is on a balcony in his castle looking down at a crowd of people, who are there to fight him. In the book we may get the idea that Macbeth is very angry and is shouting, but in the video it is portrayed very well, Macbeth is literally going mad- Macbeth still wants to kill people so why should he die? ? Why should I play the Roman fool, and die of mine own sword? Whiles I see lives, the gashes Do better upon them. ? At this point Macbeth seems undaunted by the first prophecy coming true, and he still believes in the prophecy that he cannot be harmed by any man born of woman.
There is not a hint of nervousness shown by Macbeth. When Macduff and Macbeth begin to fight, Macbeth explains to Macduff that it is not worth fighting because he cannot be harmed by anyone born from woman and Macbeth is in a way boasting about it. That is until, Macduff tells Macbeth how he was born prematurely and was delivered through a caesarean, so Macduff was not considered to be born of woman. On hearing this Macbeth is stunned and it is like a bomb has been dropped, it is a very intense moment, perhaps the most intense moment throughout the whole of the play and I think Shakespeare did a brilliant job in portraying this across to the audience. It is not just because Macbeth has found out the truth about Macduff, but he has also realised that the witches had just been playing with his mind the whole time and he has realised what they have done to his life.
This is very dramatic and we can almost feel the silence that comes after Macduff tells Macbeth. After this Macbeth is disheartened and refuses to fight, until Macduff calls him a coward and tells him he will be the spectacle of the age? Then yield thee, coward And live to be the show and gaze o? th? time. ?
At this, Macbeth changes his mind? Yet I will try the last? . The ending of the scene is not very dramatic, we are just told that Macbeth is slain, Shakespeare did not want to make the killing any more dramatic, I suppose because it is already a dramatic scene and he does not need to emphasise on the killing of Macbeth. In the script, Act 5 scene 8 is a dramatic scene, but we have to use our imagination, whereas in the video we have a clearer picture of what happened, although it is slightly different to the book. The realised form of Macbeth that I watched was the Polanski film. It was quite similar to the book, and it was directed in close reference to the book.
In the video, from the very start of the scene we can see Macbeth shouting and screaming at the crowd, showing his madness. When Macduff enters there is complete silence, I think this is appropriate and Shakespeare would have approved of this, as it is the meeting of the two rivals. After a brief conversation they begin to fight. Macbeth has the opportunity to kill Macduff but feels a twinge of guilt? my soul is too much charged with blood of thine already? . I think this is a strange twist because I thought Macbeth would have killed Macduff at the first opportunity he got, it would not have been in co-ordinance with the prophecies though. ?
When they start fighting Macbeth tells Macduff about the prophecy that? none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth? . When Macduff replies we see the fear in Macbeth's face, and we see the flashbacks from the time when Macbeth was with the witches and the apparitions were revealed to him, this is quite good because in the book we have to use our imagination for this. After this Macbeth doesn? t show much fear but in the book it is portrayed that Macbeth is very afraid, whereas in the video, he starts to fight again more quickly, and does not show fear. During the fight we can see that Macbeth and Macduff are evenly matched.
As they are fighting Macbeth holds on to his crown, as if it was the sole determination of his being king. Then during a tense moment Macduff puts his sword under Macbeth's arm through to his chest. Then there is a dramatic moment with scary, eerie music as Macbeth staggers up the steps to the balcony and as Macduff goes of after him and chops Macbeth's head of. ? Macbeth's head is then mounted on a pole and carried around like in the third prophecy. I think this scene was acted out well and it was directed very well, there were good special effects used and it turned out to be very realistic. I liked this scene and I think that it is better in the realised form, due to the special effects used. ?
Macbeth's head is then mounted on a pole and held above the crowds. I think it made a more dramatic ending to the scene and I think it was appropriate for the video, as you would have had to have a vivid imagination to imagine something like that from reading it in the book. ? ? ?
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Research essay sample on Act 5 Scene Born Of Woman
