...Brief summary of Act 1 Macbeth is the famous play written by William Shakespeare. The play it takes place in Scotland. The king of Scotland is Duncan, and The Scottish army is at war with the Norwegian army. In act 1, scene 2, Duncan learns of Macbeth’s and Banquo’s trust worth and bravery in a battle against a Scottish betrayer who sided with the Norwegians. As Macbeth and Banquo return home from battle against the Norwegians, they suddenly meet three weird witches. The ugly and foreign witches predict that Macbeth will be thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland one day, and that Banquo will be the father of kings. Which gives Macbeth a lot to think about. After the meeting with three witches, Macbeth gets a new title as thane of Cawdor, as predicted. And therefore Macbeth sees an oppitunity to become king and he begins to contemplate the murder of Duncan in order to realize the witches' second prophecy. Duncan meets Macbeth and announces that he is going to visit him at his castle. Macbeth rides ahead to prepare his household for a big feast. In the meantime, Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth, which says tells her about the witches' prophesy and his new title. The news gives Lady Macbeth strength to lose her of feminine softness and values and thus prepare herself and Macbeth for the murder of Duncan. When Macbeth arrives, Lady Macbeth tells him about her plans of Duncan's murder. Macbeth becomes skeptic of the idea of killing Duncan, but Lady Macbeth taunts...
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...Macbeth Analysis Brian Williams English 125 Melissa Edison April 22, 2013 Macbeth Analysis The poem that I have selected is Macbeth written by William Shakespeare. I will identify three elements in this poem that I found very engaging/interesting. I will give insight on how these elements affected my personal opinion on this poem. Analyzing how these elements affected my response in its entirety will be the vocal point of my paper. Macbeth is a tragedy and is considered one of Shakespeare’s most powerful poems. Shakespeare introduces Macbeth as a strong, power wanting, and noble fighter. Macbeth talks to the witches in the start of Act 1 scene 3 by commanding them to speak to him and for them to tell him what they are. “Speak if you can. What are you” (Clugston, 2010)? Indicating that Macbeth talks with authority, that he has power over the witches, as he does not politely ask the witches. The way that Macbeth is speaking here is using imperative verbs. Shakespeare here uses language to show us what Macbeth character is like. He also tells us by using language that Macbeth is respected by others at the start of the play. In Act 1 scene 2 it states “O valiant cousin, worthy gentlemen” (Portman, 1995). Duncan expresses this about Macbeth. This reveals that people do respect Macbeth and his bravery proves he has a quite high status. Symbolism plays a prominent role to emphasize the theme of corruption of power. Throughout the play there are several main symbols repeatedly...
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...Title: Macbeth Analysis Instructor: Erin Schwartz English 125 Introduction to literature Amanda Manley 11/25/2013 Macbeth Analysis The poem that I have selected is Macbeth written by William Shakespeare. I will identify three elements in this poem that I found very engaging/interesting. I will give insight on how these elements affected my personal opinion on this poem. Analyzing how these elements affected my response in its entirety will be the vocal point of my paper. Macbeth is a tragedy and is considered one of Shakespeare’s most powerful poems. Shakespeare introduces Macbeth as a strong, power wanting, and noble fighter. Macbeth talks to the witches in the start of Act 1 scene 3 by commanding them to speak to him and for them to tell him what they are. “Speak if you can. What are you” (Clugston, 2010)? Indicating that Macbeth talks with authority, that he has power over the witches, as he does not politely ask the witches. The way that Macbeth is speaking here is using imperative verbs. Shakespeare here uses language to show us what Macbeth character is like. He also tells us by using language that Macbeth is respected by others at the start of the play. In Act 1 scene 2 it states “O valiant cousin, worthy gentlemen” (Portman, 1995). Duncan expresses this about Macbeth. This reveals that people do respect Macbeth and his bravery proves he has a quite high status. Symbolism plays a prominent role to emphasize the theme of corruption of power. Throughout the...
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...boy whose hand has been severed by a buzz-saw. “The poem was apparently based on a true story of a boy's death whilst working in New England.”(Wikpedia) The account though heart-rending is described in an objective manner by the poet. The fact that no personal comments are made on part of the poet, exemplify that he does not intend to emotionally drain the readers. Rather he intends on intellectually stimulating the readers into the inevitability of death and the futility of life. The title has been taken from Macbeth’s soliloquy in which he ruminates over the death of his wife. The hollowness and insignificance of life is hinted at in this soliloquy, by the eloquent image of the candle that mirrors the transitory nature of life: "Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing." Analysis: At the outset, the buzz-saw is shown to be snarling and rattling. The twin-sided aspects of life are echoed here .The buzz-saw at once transforms itself into the metaphor of the Giver of Life:it gives ,yet it takes. The verb ‘snarled’ echoes how it is animate, yet machine-like; human, yet devoid of emotions. The verb ‘rattled” sounds the rattle of the child and the rattle of the snake: innocence and iniquity at the same time. The first three lines emphasize how this metaphor is appealing to the three major...
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...Macbeth Character Analysis Macbeth: At the start of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, Macbeth the main character is the "bravest" soldier and the honorable Thane of Glamis. His rank and nobility are of great value, and he seems to be fit for his status. But his encounter with the witches awakens in him a deep impatient ambition. Immediately after the first prophecy of being Thane of Cawdor becomes true the "horrid image" of the murder of King Duncan in order to become king himself crosses his mind. He is not totally cold and solely ambitious as shown by his terror of the murder image, which thoroughly defies his loyalty. There is love in Macbeth as shown by his letter to Lady Macbeth in which he calls her his "dearest partner of greatness." Macbeth is already thinking about being king but he is undecided about whether it is better to succumb to the temptation presented by the witches or to wait for Fate to crown him. Banquo warns him that at times evil forces "tell us truths . . . to betray's in deepest consequence." Even though he does not state it out loud, Macbeth does care about morality and religion, as demonstrated in his soliloquy (act 1 scene 4 line 12-28) where he lists the three reasons why he should not kill Duncan: he is "his kinsman," "his subject" and "his host." Macbeth adds that "Duncan hath born his faculties so meek, hath been so clear in his great office, that his virtues will plead like angels." Lady Macbeth knows her husband and feels that he is "too full o'...
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...Macbeth is presented as a suffering victim, who then plummets into a downward spiral where he becomes a symbol of evil. When we first encounter Macbeth, the witches have just foretold the three prophecies. Macbeth is enamored with the idea of becoming king one day. Looking for advice Macbeth confided in his wife, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth’s immediate reaction is that she has always pinned for the throne and was going to find a way to obtain it. Ultimately Lady Macbeth conjured up the idea to kill King Duncan. She later presents her matoltocal plan to Macbeth. At first Macbeth is not willing to go through with her plan. He thinks it is unjust and that there are other ways to obtain the throne. However Lady Macbeth uses her power of persuasion and lores her husband into a trap. She does this by stating, “When you durst do it, then you were a man.”(Shakespeare 1.7.49) Lady Macbeth tries to take away Macbeth sexuality by saying in the quote that if he does not complete this deed he will be less of a man in her eyes. She continues to go into more depth and say that she will no longer love him either. Lady Macbeth picks apart Macbeth until there is nothing left. She took away Macbeth...
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...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH LINDA NEAL UNDERWOOD S E R I E S E D I T O R S : W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth 2 INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare developed many stories into excellent dramatizations for the Elizabethan stage. Shakespeare knew how to entertain and involve an audience with fast-paced plots, creative imagery, and multi-faceted characters. Macbeth is an action-packed, psychological thriller that has not lost its impact in nearly four hundred years. The politically ambitious character of Macbeth is as timely today as he was to Shakespeare's audience. Mary McCarthy says in her essay about Macbeth, "It is a troubling thought that Macbeth, of all Shakespeare's characters, should seem the most 'modern,' the only one you could transpose into contemporary battle dress or a sport shirt and slacks." (Signet Classic Macbeth) Audiences today quickly become interested in the plot of a blindly ambitious general with a strong-willed wife who must try to cope with the guilt engendered by their murder of an innocent king in order to further their power. The elements of superstition, ghosts, and witchcraft, though more readily a part of everyday life for the Renaissance audience, remain intriguing to modern teenagers. The action-packed...
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...Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, and is widely regarded today as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet. As quoted in an article,” The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry"”. In the 20th century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance, and is currently an active part of education curriculums. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world. It is safe to say that although Shakespearean plays were set in the Renaissance Era, they are still the epitome of English literature and are revered by theaters, performers and audiences alike due to their remarkable credibility in portraying everlasting political, social and moral issues. http://www.neptunetheatre.com/content/Shakespeare_hat_trick His plays move from romantic to tragic, humorous to serious so much so that he not only caters to all tastes but also all times by portraying the political situation of his times as well as the way of living. Even Romeo and Juliet, considered by many as a die –hard romantic scripture actually highlights political issues. One of the main political aspects of the play was when count Paris uses...
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...Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Bloom's Classic Critical Views alfred, lord Tennyson Benjamin Franklin The Brontës Charles Dickens edgar allan poe Geoffrey Chaucer George eliot George Gordon, lord Byron henry David Thoreau herman melville Jane austen John Donne and the metaphysical poets John milton Jonathan Swift mark Twain mary Shelley Nathaniel hawthorne Oscar Wilde percy Shelley ralph Waldo emerson robert Browning Samuel Taylor Coleridge Stephen Crane Walt Whitman William Blake William Shakespeare William Wordsworth Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Edited and with an Introduction by Sterling professor of the humanities Yale University harold Bloom Bloom’s Classic Critical Views: William Shakespeare Copyright © 2010 Infobase Publishing Introduction © 2010 by Harold Bloom All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information contact: Bloom’s Literary Criticism An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data William Shakespeare / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom : Neil Heims, volume editor. p. cm. — (Bloom’s classic critical views) Includes bibliographical references...
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...Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 i RTNA01 1 13/6/05, 5:28 PM READING THE NOVEL General Editor: Daniel R. Schwarz The aim of this series is to provide practical introductions to reading the novel in both the British and Irish, and the American traditions. Published Reading the Modern British and Irish Novel 1890–1930 Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 Daniel R. Schwarz Brian W. Shaffer Forthcoming Reading the Eighteenth-Century Novel Paula R. Backscheider Reading the Nineteenth-Century Novel Harry E. Shaw and Alison Case Reading the American Novel 1780–1865 Shirley Samuels Reading the American Novel 1865–1914 G. R. Thompson Reading the Twentieth-Century American Novel James Phelan ii RTNA01 2 13/6/05, 5:28 PM Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 Brian W. Shaffer iii RTNA01 3 13/6/05, 5:28 PM © 2006 by Brian W. Shaffer BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Brian W. Shaffer to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and...
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