Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Macbeth Essay

Luke Desmarais
1.  “Bear welcome your eye, your hand, your tongue, look likt’ innocent flower, but be the serpent undert’.”- Lady Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 5)
b. This quote shows how conniving Lady Macbeth really is. This quote is her telling Macbeth to act normal and innocent but to do whatever it takes to be king. This  shows how Lady Macbeth is trying to control Macbeth and tell him what to do. Lady Macbeth is the mastermind in the killing to make Macbeth king. She was very strong willed and almost wanted Macbeth to be king more than he actually wanted to be king. In this scene she basically brain washes Macbeth into killing Duncan and the guards.
c. In the movie this is a very dark scene, both in the lighting and in the content. This scene is about doing something evil so the visual grammar of the film portrays that. The lighting is dark which before anything else gives you the feeling that thy are going to do something that is horrible. The sounds are something else that brings out that dark mood. The music is very  ominous and kind of scary. The camera was straight on Lady Macbeth and you could just see the evil in her eyes. Just the thought of power was already corrupting her. The camera shot had a shadow right on her face really showing how bad the content of her conversation really was.
d. Many feelings arise after seeing this scene and reading this quote.The first thing i thought was that Lady Macbeth is insane. She completely had her own views of taking the thrown that Macbeth didn’t even want but she convinced him to do. I kind of felt bad for Macbeth because he was pretty much forced into doing this when he didn't want to.
2. “Be bloody bold resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man for none of women born will harm Macbeth.”-Second Apparition (Act 4 Scene 2)
b. This quote is a prophecy form the witches for Macbeth. This is an important quote because after hearing this Macbeth honestly believes that he can not be killed. Macbeth believes there is no man not born a women. This really shows how the witches were almost messing with Macbeth's head. They had him believing that he was safe.
c. In this scene there are three witches, three dead bodies, and Macbeth. As the witches give their prophecy’s the lighting is bright, almost god-like. As they give these prophecy’s the camera shows the faces of the witch  and the face of the dead body as they recite the prophecy. This along with the lighting create a very scary mood. Another method the director used was having the dead bodies start talking all of the sudden. This foreshadowed the impact those prophecy’s would have in the future. This quote shows how things aren't always as they seem. One thing that wasn’t as it seemed was the dead bodies sitting up and reciting the prophecy with the witches. Another thing was Macbeth thinking that he would not be killed and then it turns out that Macduff had a cesarean birth.
d. When i watched this quote ion the movie it was startling. I really wasn’t expecting that to happen and along with the loud noises it was a pop out. When i read it in the book I pictured it much differently. I couldn't visualize how scary these witches were. I was wondering if those were the types of prophecies that Macbeth was expecting because they had a couple interpretations that would make them true.
“ Good sir why are you so startled seeming to fear things that sound so pleasant.”- Banquo (Act 1 Scene 3 Line 53)
b. This quote is right in the beginning of the story before Macbeth really is craving the power. This shows that at one time Macbeth did not want to hear the witches prophecies because he was scared that he didn’t know how he would become king when there already was a king. Macbeth just had a bad feeling about this prophecy which is why he wasn’t really happy when he heard it.
c.In this scene the lights were dim and overall it was pretty dark. This created an ire feeling which went along with Macbeth not being happy about the witches news. The room also kind of echoed which kind of made it seem like it was the beginning of the end. The camera was eye level and going back and forth between Banquo and Macbeth. This allowed the viewer to see the expression on Macbeth’s face getting an idea of what he was thinking and how uneasy he was. After this point things just get worse for Macbeth.
d. Watching this scene you could just tell that it was not a good prophecy. Macbeth is not happy. It shows that superstition does effect human behavior. Before Macbeth heard the witch he was a happy guy and didn’t have too many worries, but after the prophecy he was worried and not very happy. This happened because Macbeth is superstitious and believed what the witches were saying.
“Tell thee Macduff was from his mother’s womb Untimely ripped.”- Macduff (Act 5 Scene 8 Line 19)
b. This quote is important because it shows that the witches prophecy was correct. Since Macduff’s mother had a cesarean birth, this means that he was not born of a women and therefore could kill Macbeth. This scene really shows how much Macbeth believed those witches. He really thought he couldn’t die but after he hears this he relizes he can.
c. When Macduff says this, he had just been shot by Macbeth and is laying on the table. Once Macbeth hear this he stops and thinks that he is going to die. The camera shows both of them and then it shows just Macbeth so you can see the expression on his face. There is also the giant flag with Macbeth's face on it in the back which i thought symbolised Macbeth and his reign that is now about to come to an end. this really shows ho things arnt always as they seem.
d. I felt like if Macbeth wasn't so superstitious  he could have killed Macduff when he had him shot, laying down in front of him. Macbeth really thought that Macduff could not kill him but when it came down to it he was going to die regardless because his whole fortress was taken over already.

4 comments:

  1. 1. I liked the way you really explained what was happening in the scenes. You used some great observations, but you may have wanted to use the vocabulary from the sheet that would exemplify your knowledge.

    3. The second quote used was very powerful. You can defiantly underlie the meaning. Shows the power of Macbeth and that he cannot be killed.

    4.Defiantly the second quote. When reading it, i can really portray whats happening. Visualize it very well. Really fits the way that the person was saying it. Overall a fantastic job Luke! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. 1) The last quote that he used I also had about Macduff telling Macbeth he was born through a c-section, and it was similar to mine because we each used the prophecy come true and that Macbeth believed in the witches prophecy. The cinematic explanation was very well written and descibed what was happening in the scene.
    3)The second quote was my favorite because it was a strong saying in the novel and movie because it showed the power that Macbeth had gotten and that he believed he could not be killed at all.
    4) The second one because it was very well written and I could visualize the scene and pictured it very well. Good job luke

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 1. I had the same quote as you (the last one). We basically analyzed them the same, macbeth not being able to be defeated by macduff because he was not "born a man"
    2. (skip)
    3. My favorite quote of yours was the second one; “Be bloody bold resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man for none of women born will harm Macbeth.”-Second Apparition (Act 4 Scene 2). I thought you did really well with the explanation and description, good detail.
    4. The quote that i thought was best portrayed in the movie was your last one; “Tell thee Macduff was from his mother’s womb Untimely ripped.”- Macduff (Act 5 Scene 8 Line 19. This is because it was so dramatic and the lighting/sound really made it work.

    ReplyDelete