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Macbeth Comparison Essay

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Caylee Penka Ms. Dodd English 12 May 3, 2023 Macbeth Scene Comparision Essay Every choice has a consequence, every action has a reaction, every cause has an effect. This ongoing cycle is made clear with the characters in William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth. Act V, scene i of Macbeth holds particular interest for the character Lady Macbeth and her dramatic change from who she is early in the play, to who she is by the end. The 2010 movie version of the play, directed by Rupert Goold, starring Patrick Stewart as Macbeth and Kate Fleetwood as Lady Macbeth, stays true to the story even with differing artistic choices. Shakespeare’s original intent for act V, scene i was to display Lady Macbeth’s increasing insanity and create a regretful …show more content…

In the play, the Gentlewoman tells the Doctor about what she observes each night as the Doctor asks questions. However, the voice and facial expressions of the Gentlewoman in the movie are scared and nervous, and the Doctor is visibly perplexed, creating an unsettling mood about what is happening with Lady Macbeth. Moreover, Shakespeare intended to use this first third of the scene to develop Lady Macbeth’s character as insane. When Duncan dies in act II, it is because of Lady Macbeth’s crazy insistence for Macbeth to take action. Lady Macbeth is constantly trying to get a nonexistent spot of blood off her hands when she sleepwalks and she says to it, “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” (V.i. 25). The exclamation marks mean that Shakespeare intended for both of those lines to be loud, but in the movie Fleetwood starts them quietly and then yells like a psychotic character in a horror film. Her face becomes twisted and angry at the spot of blood, adding to her already disheveled appearance in her nightgown. Her sleepwalking and reaction to the imaginary blood on her hands proves that there is an unsettling tone, and Lady Macbeth is not in a sound mental …show more content…

Whereas the play portrays Lady Macbeth as feeling depressed and guilty about her involvement in the murders, especiallly Duncan’s, the movie puts more emphasis on her insanity that comes from her reliving the past each night. She switches between tones with the lines, “A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who / knows it, when none can call our power to / account?—Yet who would have thought the old man / to have had so much blood in him,” (V.i. 27-30). Her lines are inconsistent and dramatic as she goes from repeating what was said in act II to speaking about Duncan in a conscience-striken way. This creates a tense, troubling mood. In contrast to the play, the flim makes it easier to understand that she is reliving the moments surrounding Ducan’s murder with the setting being in same corridor with the same sink from act II. Lady Macbeth has a confident look for the first part of the quote and then her face changes to that of pain for the switch in it, leaning a lot on her insanity. The movie is more dramatic with the internal unrest of Lady Macbeth’s mind, but both versions detail how she tortures herself with the thoughts of her past actions every

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She towers over the seemingly small and frail Macbeth, whose face appears to display utter terror. Upon a closer look, we can see Macbeth is being ordered to silence himself, similar to when Lady Macbeth says “These deeds must not be thought/ After these ways; so, it will make us mad. ”(Macbeth Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 45-46). While the painting seems to use physical appearance to display the rather abusive relationship between the two characters, the film uses language to display distaste and disdain. A prominent example of this is when Lady Macbeth utters “Infirm of purpose” (Macbeth Act 2 Scene 2 Line 68).

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669 Words | 3 Pages

Two Scenes later Macbeth is having doubts about if he should kill Duncan and Lady Macbeth starts manipulating him to get him to do it. “From this time, Such I account thy love.” (Shakespeare 1.7, 41-42) she is questioning his love for her because he will not kill Duncan. After the crime is committed she is the one that takes the dagger from Macbeth and wipes blood on Duncan's attendants, “My hands are of your colour, but I

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317 Words | 2 Pages

Matt Chamberlain English 10 3-22-23 Macbeth Essay Macbeth is a play written by Shakespeare that's storyline is a major tragedy. Through the reading of the book I have been looking deeply into blood and the meaning behind it. The word blood in Macbeth is a tell to what the characters mood is at the time that they are speaking about the word blood. Lady Macbeth is showing her mood using the word blood in this next quote.

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1422 Words | 6 Pages

— Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.” After analyzing the play, when Lady Macbeth says those lines she is sleep walking and seems to be distressed because of all the things that happened. She thinks it's all because of her that many lives have been cut short. She thinks Macbeth is afraid of people finding out the truth but the one who is truly afraid is her. She's afraid she will be blamed and caught for her actions because she knows she is one of the reasons why most of the people are dead due to her encouraging Macbeth to kill all those in his way to become more powerful and eliminate those who threaten his power.

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973 Words | 4 Pages

The change of Lady Macbeth is best seen in the way Ari Mattes’s review describes it stating , “About a third of the way through the film, she suddenly becomes a profoundly sympathetic character” (Mattes

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966 Words | 4 Pages

In act 1, scene 7, “ When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man”, this quotes tells the audience that lady macbeth is questioning Macbeth manhood, it remind present audience not only about the present, but this more of the past, due to view changing over time. This quotes reflects both the Elizabethan era, and Jacobean era, due to it still being in the period of time that England was still prioritizing men over women, and due to the fact that they believed that men were more stronger than women, they believed that men should not be ruled by emotion, rather ambition. In act 1 scene 5, “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop up th' access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between Th' effect and it.

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454 Words | 2 Pages

Lady Macbeth begins to demonstrate her insaneness as the scene progresses. Lady Macbeth talks to herself as she continues her sleepwalk while she recalls the murder scene and says "Out damned spot out" (5.1.33). Lady Macbeth in this scene shows how lost she is in her hallucinations when she tries cleaning the blood, believing that if the blood is clean, so is her guilt. This scene also occurs when she says, "Here's the smell of the blood still, all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand,". This portrays how Lady Macbeth's belief of cleaning her hand will make her less guilty, except for the smell of the blood still in

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740 Words | 3 Pages

Lady Macbeth feels responsible for the start of the murders and evil acts that caused her declining mental state. Her remorse for her actions is portrayed when she tries to wash the blood out of her hands while sleepwalking saying “Out damn’d spot! out, I say!” (5,1,29). In this scene, Lady Macbeth rinses Duncan's “blood” off her hands to try to rid herself of the consequences of her actions, showing how guilt often controls a person and alters their behavior.

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744 Words | 3 Pages

As the blood of Duncan stains his hand, Macbeth says, “I am afraid to think what I have done” (2.2. 65). Macbeth is shocked at what he has done and the blood on his hand represents the guilt he feels. The guilt for the murder he has committed and his bravery create a righteous Macbeth. However, contrastingly, Lady Macbeth is shown as a sinister figure as she hatches a nefarious plot to murder King Duncan. She uses blood to, “ gild the faces of the grooms withal, / For it must seem their guilt” (2.2. 72-73).

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802 Words | 4 Pages

The way that she says these lines with the crying and the agony and despair of her voice illustrates that Lady Macbeth is more upset than irrational and crazy. This emphasizes that she is more upset about her actions than mentally ill. In the text for this scene one can infer that Lady Macbeth is guilty, however in this version it is not seen that she is very guilty. It is not seen that she is guilty because Judi Dench emphasizes the lines talking about the murders and the flashbacks with a more shaky voice which illustrates that she is sad not that she is guilty. This version of Macbeth Act 5 Scene 1 was not successful in representing Shakespeare 's vision because of the lack of Lady Macbeth acting crazy and irrational, and because the tone is a tone

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453 Words | 2 Pages

However, blood is also linked to not only death but other emotions that affect all of the characters. Lady Macbeth is recognized in the beginning of the play as a determined woman who wants her husband Macbeth to become the king of Scotland. However, Lady Macbeth will do anything in her way to achieve her goal in making her husband become the king of Scotland which includes committing murder. Lady Macbeth’s desire for power is shown in the play in the ways that she manipulates her husband to commit cold hard murder. She turns a solider known by many of his acquaintances as a brave honored solider who played a big part in helping the Scottish defeat the Norwegians into a power hungry mortal who becomes acquainted with death.

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1578 Words | 7 Pages

This contrast immediately gives the reader an insight into the torment that guilt and regret can cause. There is a clear definition between Lady Macbeth before and after the murder of King Duncan. This character change emphasizes greatly the theme of the impacts upon a person due to the unnatural acts they have performed. In Lady Macbeth’s case the impact was guilt and regret both of which tormented her to point of serious mental illness, insomnia and ultimately a self induced demise. The author 's intention in bringing a once strong and evil character to the mercy of their own morality is to educate readers upon the impacts that guilt could have upon their own life if they were to perform the unnatural just as Lady Macbeth did.

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694 Words | 3 Pages

William Shakespeare places blame on many different characters in an array of various scenarios throughout his iconic play, Macbeth. Man Polanski directs a filmed version of the play which highlights key features with, close-ups, pans and birds-eye views. Shakespeare uses characterisation to portray the lead role of Macbeth, and justifies his actions through soliloquy. His anger is narrated which dominoes onto the following scene whether it be murder or a crime being committed. Continuing on from his thoughts the action that followed would show to be of his own doing no matter how reinforced it was from supporting characters.

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1118 Words | 5 Pages

Macbeth is now more violent and Lady Macbeth more docile. Both she and her husband are now having visions and hallucinations, “here had we now our country’s honour roof’d, / Were the grac’d person of our Banquo present;” (III,iv,40-41). Macbeth fears that anyone can take the throne from him, so he continues killing people. Theses violent acts cause Macbeth to be more alone and more distant. Nonetheless, Lady Macbeth still cares and loves her husband so much as to cover up for all the mistakes he is doing in front of other

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598 Words | 3 Pages

In the Shakespearean drama Macbeth, the protagonist, Macbeth, transforms from a respected warrior to a power-hungry, paranoid oppressor. Act III, scene iv takes place during a banquet, where Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo, whom he murdered. In this scene, Shakespeare utilises figurative language, motifs, and dialogue between Macbeth and his wife to convey Macbeth’s clear mental deterioration through his desire to gain power immorally. In the banquet scene, Shakespeare uses the unique dialogue of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to portray Macbeth’s declining mental state.

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