Macbeth Discuss the role of imagery in the tragedy Macbeth. How important is imagery to the play and in what ways is it depicted? Imagery is an essential technique in the evolving of the plot and characters in Macbeth. The importance of imagery to Macbeth is extremely valuable, as the technique is employed strongly throughout the play by Shakespeare. Through imagery, Shakespeare is also able to reveal Macbeth’s true character, most dominantly through clothing imagery, light and darkness imagery, and blood imagery.
Authors often use vivid descriptions and sensory enriched words to attract one of the five major senses (hearing, touch, taste, smell and sight) to convey an action, image or event; the lure of the imagery is what keeps the reader attuned. The sensory enriched technique of imagery also arouses the reader’s emotion creating a deeper connection between the world of the reader and the literary work. Threatening images, unnerving scenes, evil and death will prompt the reader to become attuned since these images provoke unsetting emotions. In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses imagery
Setting is achieved through the use of stage directions, characters words and their actions. For example the opening stage direction of ‘Macbeth’ is “thunder and lightning”. This sets a mysterious mood for the audience and also shows that evil things will happen throughout the play, this meets the expectations of the contemporary audience, as Shakespeare intended. On the other hand, Dickens’ ‘Oliver Twist’ is a highly structured episode of prose. Physical setting is achieved through detailed and interesting language choices, describing both the characters and time period.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1599-1601) has successfully continued to engage audiences through its dramatic treatments of soliloquies and asides. It has retained value as being worth critical study in both an Elizabethan and modern context – this may be said due to its mirroring of human nature in society, thereby depicting the thematic concepts of struggle and disillusionment. Shakespeare’s use of dramatic and language techniques, consisting of much great symbolism and metaphorical language, illustrates the dramatic irony and action of textual integrity in Hamlet. Thus these salient notions are achieved through Hamlet’s speech directed towards a society that reflects both an Elizabethan and modern contemporary context, whereby audiences reflect upon the depiction of humanity’s struggle in a disillusioned reality. In Hamlet’s third soliloquy, there are echoes of struggle and disillusionment which are illustrated as important concepts in dealing with Shakespearean language throughout the play of HAMLET.
Andrew Davies purposely used that technique to mirror Shakespeare’s thematic technique to create similar effect. I also noticed that the positioning of the character is quite interesting, in every conversation between Jago and Othello, Jago is always the one in higher position. This aims to symbolise Jago’s power, control and manipulation over Othello. This also gives an imagery of Jago being the puppet master who controls everything behind the scene. Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragedy so it is most crucial that the adaptation keeps the important aspects which make the play what it is.
He was writing about ideals and ideas that were still developing in the time in which he was living. It was as though Shakespeare could defy stereotypes of the era and address problems that were common and constant throughout society. Also his use of language, the rich and full words, some of which he created himself, are somewhat a measure of his own ability and work together in the creation of a new way of communicating ideas. 4. How did he enrich Elizabethan theatre?
Macbeth-Tyrant or Tragic Hero?… Discuss In analyzing whether ‘Macbeth’ should be considered a tyrant or a tragic hero I believe there is evidence throughout Shakespeare’s play to support both opposing arguments. In attempting to answer the question in greater detail I will focus in particular on the influence of the three Witches and of Lady Macbeth in shaping what takes place and what ultimately helps inform the actions and thoughts of Macbeth himself. As well as discussing these central characters and their roles I also intend to show how historical and social context can determine and elicit a potentially different response. I will also look at how the performance of the play itself is a key element in dictating whether an audience reacts to Macbeth as an essentially heroic figure or how they could be more inclined towards a more tyrannical viewpoint and understanding. At he beginning of the play Macbeth is initially portrayed as a great, noble and brave hero.
Shakespeare immediately started Macbeth with a supernatural scene. The three witches set the somber and evil tone of the plot. In Hamlet, Shakespeare also presented a supernatural occurrence close to the opening. The ghost of Hamlet's father presented
Language in Shakespeare's Tragedy The presentation of language in King Lear compliments Aristotle theory on the purpose of stylistic elements of language in a Shakespearean tragedy. In essence, these function in attaining a deeper insight in the action, feelings and motives of the characters. In the play, Shakespeare’s use of diction is crucial in creating a timeless dramatic world that has its own space, time, history and mythological background according to one critic. This world is a combination of both ancient Britain as well as the seventeenth century. This observation can be confirmed as factual as Shakespeare’s choice of words and sentence construction differ from the ordinary language.
They can be that his stories are amazing, dark and deep. That he shaped the English language we know today, and also that his writing style itself was so beautiful that other writers can recognize that as well. The question I think needs to be answered is: Why is Shakespeare so important, and why is he still relevant today? Shakespeare genuinely tried to write for his audiences. He wanted the plot to strike them even if it didn’t sit well with them.