This video is a really good analysis of Macbeth's character, focusing on the good parts of his personality. If you're asked about Macbeth, things like this are good to call upon.
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What is the difference between language, form and structure?
How can I write about them in my exam? How can I even identify these things?! This video explains more.
Isn't it weird that Macbeth never does his own dirty work? He's always getting other people to do the deed for him. Funny, that.
Here, we see Banquo (or rather, we don't see - it is inferred) brutally murdered whilst out riding with his son, Fleance. He's jumped upon by three (three!) murderers, intent on ending his life... But they get it wrong, and Fleance escapes, unlocking the witches' final prediction of Banquo "[having] kings" - although we don't know that yet. It's sad that Banquo seems to understand the reasons for his death - he shouts "treachery!" - which tells us that he is clearly aware of his friend's ultimate betrayal. Whilst a small scene, this is an important one - it leads into the famous "dinner table" scene, which in turn begins Macbeth's final descent into madness.
This is an interesting scene indeed - we see an almost subverted dynamic between Macbeth and his Lady, as Macbeth begins to hide his dark and murderous intentions from his wife.
We see Lady Macbeth initially taking charge as she reminds her anxious husband that "what's done is done" - but then we see Macbeth taking the main role in this scene as his long-winded and wordy contributions take up stage time and swing control back to him. It could be argued, however, that this shift in dynamic doesn't hand Macbeth control at all, but instead shows that he is edging further into a loss of control as he begins to ramble and dribble (kind of like I am now). You'll notice Lady M's parts are short, sweet and succinct. Is she retaining control here by doing this, or are we seeing her influence over Macbeth being chipped away? It's debatable, that's for sure. What we do know, however, is that by the end of the scene, Lady M relinquishes all the power she has by almost giving control to Macbeth - "what's to be done?" - who then rebuffs her with a patronising "dear chuck" and an order to be ignorant of his future misdeeds. We also see a great shift in Macbeth's own language here - notice how, at the start of the scene and when referring to past events, his chosen pronouns are inclusive, but by the end of the scene and when referring to the future, suddenly it's all "me", "I, and "your" - separating the formerly close couple. I'll let Mr Bruff take it from here:
Remember Romeo and Juliet? If you do, you will remember the importance of Act 3, Scene 1 ("I pray thee good Mercutio, let's retire; the day is hot... now these hot days are the mad blood stirring"). We called it a "tipping point"; that is, we look at the scene as a massive turning point that ultimately drives the descent to the end point of the play.
Act 3, Scene 1 of Macbeth is no different. Banquo is starting to get suspicious of Macbeth, and in this scene, he voices his suspicions. This is what kick-starts Macbeth's ultimate descent, as his murder of Banquo and the subsequent scenes at the dining table with Banquo's ghost are what lead to his downfall. You'll notice in this scene that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are acting all nicey-nicey to Banquo, and him to them. This is a scene of hidden feelings, where no characters seems to say what they truly think. With hindsight, we can see Macbeth's intentions, as he speaks in puns and ambiguous language. There is also a sense of dramatic irony, as we can see that Macbeth is clearly going to kill Banquo, even if he can't. You'll also notice that in this scene, Macbeth's language begins to mirror his wife's sly talk, especially when he is talking to the murderers. There is even a call-back to Lady Macbeth's "are you man enough" speech from the Duncan days when he questions the murderers' masculinity.
This is a short one that spends just five minutes focusing on Act 2, Scene 4. It looks at the order of power in the time of the play, and the discussions about this order being upset. The scene itself uses extended metaphor, and it is more important than it first seems to be.
This is a key scene in terms of language and structure - especially due to the debate surrounding the use of this scene as 'comic relief' in the play. Remember - this is the scene with the (drunken?) porter...
This article from the English Works website explores the theme of power in the play thoroughly, looking at where the power lies, whose hands it passes through, and the role each character plays in relation to it. As it's highly likely you may be asked to look at this key theme in your exam, it's well worth a read.
Don't forget that power isn't just shown in scenes with Lady Macbeth - although we know her to be powerful at points, this does not mean that more incidental characters have their own powerful influence - in fact, this article goes as far as to assert that Lady Macbeth actually possesses no power at all (controversial!). When reading articles like this, it's a good idea to consider your own opinion of the writer's views - do you agree with what they are saying? Are they making points that you can consider to be true, or do you believe them to be misled? One of the key aspects of critical analysis is being able to determine the parts of an argument that you agree with, and which you don't.
Following on from my post about 'hidden' stage directions, this short video explains Lady Macbeth's descent into madness very clearly, showing how Shakespeare stages the scene to show, by way of pathetic fallacy and metaphor, the undoing of his once-controlling and once-powerful character.
When answering your extract question, remember, you are asked to look at language, form and structure - this means, often, you will need to look at stage directions. However, these aren't always obvious - you may not have an explicit stage direction to work with. This doesn't mean that you don't talk about it - the extract still wants you to explore structure, especially so if it is not explicitly shown!
This isn't always simple as it requires you to infer meaning from the text. What this means is that you must look at the words that the characters use and deduce, like Sherlock Holmes, the way that they are acting. This includes, but is not limited to: - References to stances/positions (I look up to you from my knees) - Overlapping lines - References to other characters' positions (what light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun) These subtle references can help you to figure out how the characters are positioned on the stage and how they interact with each other. This is especially useful when looking at Macbeth, where you are asked to look at things like control. This video explains a little more about 'hidden' stage directions and how to refer to them: |
In a Nutshell...After returning from war, Macbeth meets three witches who tell him that he is to become King. His wife persuades him to kill the existing King in order to win the throne - but this comes with a whole heap of problems, as Macbeth has to continually kill people - including his best friend - in order to hide the truth. ArchivesCategories
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