Macbeth essay

Macbeth cinematic/ thematic essay

1a) Lady Macbeth: “ I would, while it was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, and dashed his brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.” ( act 1, scene 7, line 61-64)

b) This quote by Lady Macbeth emphasizes the meaning of power corrupts. Lady Macbeth is so determined to have her husband become king, and have all the power. She is willing to harm the innocent in order to be in control, that’s how selfish she is. This also shows that Lady Macbeth is ruthless, and is chastising Macbeth for being a whimp. She knows how gentle  it is to love, yet she would fling the baby to the ground if she had to, just like Macbeth resolved to kill his uncle. She is starting to manipulate her husband, and slowly pick him apart.

c) In the movie Macbeth, this scene really focuses on Lady Macbeth. The close up of her face and seeing the meaning of the words she says in her eyes filling up with tears really sets the mood. Robert Goold also uses side lighting on Lady Macbeths face, which reallly brings out her evilness. Long shot is also used in this scene with Macbeth standing off behind her. This shows me that Macbeth is intimidated by her. I get the sense that Lady Macbeth is in control of him, he does as she wishes.

d) I really got a sense of Lady Macbeths characterfrom this qoute. Seeing this scene in the movie allowed me to see her true character, and see how evil she really is. Seeing her actions and hearing her voice rather than reading helped me understand who she really is. The film does a really good job of revealing the true characters.

2a) Lady Macbeth: “ Look like th’ innocent flower but be like the serpent under t’.” ( act 1, scene 5 line 60)

b) Lady Macbeth says this to Macbeth when she is trying to influence him to murder the king. This quote shows that things aren’t always as they seem because she is trying to tell him to be innocent, and to be pure in the eyes of the king. We know that Macbeth is not innocent, but Lady Macbeth wants him to fool everyone, and realy he has evil inside him. This shows that Lady Macbeth is driving her ambition onto Macbeth. She is much more ruthless and ambitious than her husband.

c) This scene in Macbeth also puts it’s focus mainly on Lady Macbeth. Again, the use of lighting on her face seems to be key. With the dark shadowing background, it shows her superior evilness compared to Macbeth at the time. Non diegetic sounds are also used to help potray her darkside, and make the audience be fearfull. A low angle made her appear strong, powerful, and threatening, which is just who Lady macbeth is. The film really trapped her evil apperance.

d) The effects Goold put in this scene really captured my eye. The clear picture of her pale face and piercing eyes explained to me how she corrupted Macbeth. She appears as a very powerful women. The tone of her voice also played a role in her character. Seeing the visual made a bigger impact on my understanding rather than reading from a book. I got to know the characters better, and see this evil women in action.

3a) Macbeth: “ Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more..” (act 1, scene 3, line 72-80)

b) This quote is from when Macbeth encounters the three witches. They start to tell Macbeth information, and he wants to know more. Their superstition affects Macbeths behavior. The witches are sneaky, and like Lady Macbeth quite decieving. Macbeth believes what they say, and this conversation is what begins the desire to kill and become king. It was foolish of him to listen to the witches.

c) This scene in Macbeth is what starts it all. The diegetic sound of suspense brings the feeling of trouble. The witches are dressed as nurses with direct high key lighting right above them. While the rest of the scene is low key, making the witches look superior. Their voices are loud and robotic like, also making them seem mysterious. Long shot is also used, as the witches walk away they become distant and vanish, leaving Macbeth flustered.

d) Although I’m not too found of the witches, I really liked this scene in the movie. It introduced the movie to me , and made me want to keep watching. The three witches are very blunt, loud, and intreging. I can get a sense of their strange vibe through the movie. All in all they are very devious characters that keep you thinking.

4a) Macbeth: “ Blood will have blood.” ( act 3, scene 4, line 144)

b) When Macbeth says this quote he realizes that he has killed, so he knows that he to will be killed. When he sees Banquos ghost in the dinning room he becomes frightend, and this is when I realized that blind ambition leads to ones dowfall. Macbeth was so driven to kill so that he could have the power, that he completely blocked out consequences or revenge one might have on him. He was very ignorant to both himself and his surroundings. He started to weaken, as well as Lady Macbeth.

c) This is a very important scene in the movie. Macbeths voice in the empty dinning room is very loud and abrupt as he screams in fear. Banqous ghost appears in this scene with lighting coming from above him, making his presence almost transparent. The room is also fairly high key lighting, clearly showing the expressions on the face of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Although Macbeth says this to himself, his wife is still in the room, with a worried look on her face. There is a high angle on Macbeth making him seem belittled and imperior to the ghost.

d) I feel somewhat satisfied during this scene. Macbeth finally realizes the chaos hes caused, and that he to will be put to death for it. He deserves whats coming to him, and I think he should of know better than to jump into something like he did with no thorough plan.