The actors speak Shakespeare’s dialogue eloquently and beautifully which I can personally deem as poetry in motion. Having Macbeth interpreted this way; I believe that it makes it much more relatable and easier to understand. Often times, people have trouble when it comes to Shakespeare’s choice of words and how he lays out the discourse of his plays. In this film, that dilemma seems to be thrown out the window and the words paired with the actions, actors, and setting in the film, make it effortless to follow along. The acting is spot-on in this film.
Motifs in Shakespeare Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most important pieces of literature written in the 16th century. A play filled with laughter, happiness, and sadness, it was one that is still remembered and reenacted even in today’s time. Shakespeare’s Hamlet was a play that was not only a form of entertainment but also a story with moral values that the audience could take with them. A reason why this play is so well known and controversial is that it posseses an important element to it known as a motif. Motifs, commonly known as themes, are constantly represented throughout the play.
‘The Tragedy of King Richard the 3rd’ was a revolutionary play of its time due to its appeal of all classes ranging from the noblest Queen to the street pheasant. King Richard also explores the concept of what it means to be evil; Pacino’s film reflects this giving an insight on the faces, motives and free will of Richard. Shakespeare’s integrity lies in his accessibility to an audience and his ability to explore values within his plays. King Richard is a man who presents copious ideological characteristics and also throws into confusion many traditional values set into the mindsets of the Elizabethan and post-Elizabethan peoples. The opening lines of the play have Richard speak directly to the audience in the form of a soliloquy ‘Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious by this son of York,’ this metaphor is a direct link to the character of Richard, a man who is discontent.
What is dramatically most interesting about the opening scene of Hamlet? Within the opening scene of Hamlet (written in 1599-1600), the playwright William Shakespeare, incorporates numerous dramatic features to not only inform the audience of background information associated with the plot, but to also compel the audience as the scene progresses onto the next. The variety of forms in which the playwright creates in order to make the scene more dramatic, whether it be through the craft of words or the use of conflict, leave the audience feeling both ambivalent and certain about different characters from the opening scene, therefore allowing the playwright to manipulate the way the audience thinks further on throughout the play. The stylistic device of stichomythia is seen to be used throughout the beginning of the opening scene, a device that had commonly been used in ancient greek drama. The alternating, quick lines of verse exchanged between two characters had often been intended to preserve ambiguity in a play, an effect that Shakespeare commonly presents.
Relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare uses insightful language and structures his drama text immensely well, to entertain and engage the reader to the characters and show there relationships. Shakespeare uses prose throughout his drama text to help connect with the viewer. We also see a constant power struggle between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth in their relationship, this is clearly portrayed in Shakespeare’s script and Polanski's film adaptation of Macbeth, and however their relationships differ in both. In Act 1 scene 5, Lady Macbeth describes Macbeth to be “full of the milk of human kindness” Shakespeare uses this phrase to acknowledge Macbeths virtues, however lady Macbeth cunningly uses his kindness as a fault of his own, as she shays that he is “too full” of kindness.
Optical illusion and misconception are tools that are used to mask the truth and enhance a story. In “The Ways We Lie”, by Stephanie Ericsson, she touches on how individuals in society often fabricate the truth in order to achieve a good sense of life. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, fabricating the truth plays a prominent role in this drama and is continuously shown through the actions of Guildenstern, Claudius and Hamlet. These characters use dishonesty not only to create suspense in the play but also to create suspense in their every day lives. Guildenstern’s sympathetic needs are often confused with his sense of anger and wickedness.
Jared Gnyp SPBHS 5-27-12 ELA 1. Dramatic Irony- occurs when the audience or the reader knows something that a character in a play or story does not know. 2. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet has dramatic irony through out the whole play. Some of them were hard to point out but some were easy.
How people name themselves tells you a lot about their character. In William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of The Shrew,” characters’ names and meanings of words take on a particular level of importance. As a play that centers around people’s individual temperaments and attitudes, and the ability to morph them (or the lack thereof), their names become almost manifestations of their character. In addition to using characters’ names as crucial aspects of their personas, he also uses the multiple meanings of words and names to add a level of intellectual complexity to the play. The focus on names in the play falls second to the focus on patriarchal domination during that time.
Compare the techniques used by Shakespeare to develop the theme of guilt in key scenes in both Macbeth and Hamlet. Guilt is defined as the remorseful awareness of having done something wrong. It was not unusual for Shakespeare to feature a lot of conflicted emotion in his plays, a favourite emotion for Shakespeare to right was guilt and therefore features heavily in his plays; Hamelt and Macbeth included. The use of guilt is often used to make the audience feel sympathy for the character or to change their perspective on the character as a whole; it is also used to drive the plot of the play and to create an atmosphere within the play. Macbeth showcases a lot of guilt to change the tone and atmosphere of the scene and to show how guilt affects religion and beliefs.
In Shakespeare’s The Taming of The Shrew, role reversals and identity changes of the characters cover up an important part and lead the plot till the end. These role reversals, starting with Christopher Sly, generally contribute to the comedic extent of the play by creating paradoxical situations and conflicts between the characters. However Shakespeare also implies several social messages and underlines deeper issues through the role reversal theme. Pointing out the reversal of characters, socially or characteristically, Shakespeare reveals social hierarchies being imposed over people and the dilemma between the public and real personalities, arising from pure conformation to the society. In addition, he reflects his opinion over certain God-given attributes of people which will always remain unchanged no matter how much masked in front of the society.