...Cinematic Adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth Lady Macbeth and the entire sleepwalking scene have differences and similarities in both the film and book version of Macbeth. They are along the same lines and are very good works. They both follow a similar plot, and have a similar setting, but the way the scene plays out makes noticeable differences between the two. In the movie, the addition of Lady Macbeth being nude during the sleepwalking scene is something that might have been too controversial to be included in one of Shakespeare's actual plays, because public nudity was unacceptable at that time. In modern cinema, the addition of nudity might help to increase the sales and popularity of the film. Other details such as the doctor waving his hand in front of Lady Macbeth, might have been added into the film to show the audience that Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking, while this detail was just described in the book. The scene chosen for this adaptation is a scene which you can see significant differences that can be well explained. Lady Macbeth is joined by the doctor and a gentlewoman during this scene, while she is unaware of their presence. The scene has different characteristics in the book and in the film version, while some of them are not really noticeable, but some of them are highly visible. In the movie, Lady Macbeth has different characteristics in her appearance, than in the book. Lady Macbeth appears to the doctor and the maid as naked, with her long...
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...Granted, a few are taught in depth about past groups, and, likewise, have a better understanding of their arts and social relationships. Nonetheless, not all modern humans are trained to this capacity. Therefore, in creating a movie from an aged story designed to reach the masses, one must consider differences in cultural understanding and the strongest ways to communicate ideas from the past. Of course, those core ideas themselves must be timeless for this concept to work, even if surrounding methods of presentation must be altered....
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...Macbeth – Compare and Contrast Essay (Death of Banquo/Act 3 Scene 3) Directors, from James Stuart Blackton’s 1908 silent adaptation to last year’s Justin Kurzel film, have attempted to interpret William Shakespeare’s Macbeth in their own unique styles. The films are based on the original text but differences appear in the way each director decides to recreate the classic play to their audience. From the traditional style of Roman Polanski to the modern interpretation by Rupert Goold, no film is alike. In Macbeth, Shakespeare frequently uses the theme of death to portray the limits and emotions behind the main character’s thirst for ambition. The death of Banquo marks a significant moment in Macbeth’s continuing downfall as it reveals the increasing brutal nature of Macbeth’s greed for power. In Banquo’s death scene, the Goold’s version satisfies Shakespeare’s intended tension while Polanski’s version is flawed for being inaccurate....
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...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 plot, elements of the occult, modern characterizations...
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...To put Macbeth into perspective, you'll need to know a little about William Shakespeare and why the play is still so popular over 400 years after it was first performed. William Shakespeare William Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon in 1564. His father sold gloves and became an important person in the town. William, one of eight children, was the eldest son and was probably educated at the local grammar school. He married when he was only 18 and his wife, Anne Hathaway, was eight years older than him. They had two girls and a boy (who died aged 11). Nobody knows how Shakespeare began to write or when he entered the theatre, but we know that he became a leading member of the theatre troupe known as 'The Lord Chamberlain's Men'. The company proved very popular and later, when King James I granted them the right to perform at his court, the troupe became known as 'The King's Men'. Shakespeare wrote over 30 plays for 'The King's Men', making it the most important theatre company in the country, and he often wrote parts for particular actors. He was very successful and wealthy in his time, and his work has remained very popular ever since. The popularity of Macbeth Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's best known plays. There are all sorts of reasons for this but perhaps the main one is that the basic story still strikes a chord with modern audiences. It is a bloodthirsty tale of ambition, and the evils we will go to in order to get what we want. We follow the central character...
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...we are joined by one of the most credited screenwriters of our generation, Peter Moffat, to discuss his mesmerizing, gripping version of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. Throughout the film it manages to hold on to many important foundations of the text and also captivates an audience from young to old; thanks to his modernised and current adaption. Peter welcome to our show. It’s an honour. So what made you decide the setting of the story should be in a high-end restaurant? Yes! My team and I sat down thinking, how can we make this adaptation different from others? How can we add a contemporary spark into this gory story? And then we thought, “O yes a restaurant will be good” then we went from there. This is the era of TV chefs where all your family follow recipes from the likes of Gordon Ramsey and Heston Blumenthal. It is something easy to understand and show the story’s themes of blood which symbolizes the guilt like a stain on the Macbeth’s conscience. We thought there’s no other environment that can translate Macbeth in a modern way better than a restaurant kitchen as Shakespeare’s Macbeth was a soldier who slaughtered others at war, so we made a modernised scene of the chef, Macbeth chopping up a pigs head, showing the similarities. Peter, the audience and I realises you tried to answer one of the greatest Shakespearean mysteries, did the Macbeths ever have a child? Yes, I think the audience pick upon this whilst watching the film. I wanted to show both ends of the spectrum...
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...Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” Theatre Review. There are many who do not know the famous tale of ‘Macbeth’ by the literacy mastermind, William Shakespeare. For those few who are not familiar with the story, it is one of pride, fate, deception and treachery. Macbeth, who returns from battle is confronted by three witches who have foreseen that he will become King of Scotland. The present king of Scotland, Duncan decides he will confer the title of the traitorous Cawdor on the heroic Macbeth. Macbeth makes the decision to murder Duncan, unaware of Duncan’s plan, and thus claims the throne for himself, placing the blame on the King’s guards. What follows can only be described as madness, as Macbeth and his wife become consumed with guilt, leading Macbeth on a road to insanity, which ends in a violent spectacle… I became excited to see this adaptation of Macbeth, as I had seen from its advertising was a darker and more modern take on the original play, after seeing a flyer featuring on it three hooded figures in a graffiti filled subway. Upon further inspection of the flyer I read that this production was described as a “darker, modern take on the Shakespearian story with darkly comic elements.” Well, as soon as I arrived in the lyric theatre and took my seat, I could definitely see I was in for a ‘darker’ version of the story by just looking at the greyish monotone set, resembling the inside of a castle on its ground floor, then just above it was an angled stage, giving the impression...
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...children: Hamlet, Susanna and Judith. Shakespeare has written many plays, and some have been re-made into famous movies such as Romeo and Juliet, McBeth and Hamlet. These show us that in today’s modern society, Shakespeare is still relevant, even if his language may not be heard or spoken. Characters We see supernatural characters in many modern movies today, such as Paranormal Activity, Wicked the musical and True Blood. Shakespeare uses Ghosts, Witches and Fairies as main stars of a few of his most famous plays: McBeth, Hamlet and A Midnight Summers Dress. With the use of these...
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...was the son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden (Shakespeare). Shakespeare was a huge influence for play writers, directors and poets this day, Shakespeare has touched the hearts of many artists, this has reflected in some artists making movies about shakespeare’s art. This includes many different versions that are made until this day about Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and even The Taming of the Shrew. Some of these plays have been turned into movies, for example 10 Things I Hate About You was adapted from The Taming of the Shrew and Gnomeo and Juliet was created from Romeo and Juliet. His characters and stories reveals truths about the human condition and in ways we have all heard about today. The characters from back then showed lots of themes in the art of plays, the...
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...Romeo and Juliet During the course of the past few weeks my group and I had been working on a modernized version if Romeo and Juliet. We had taken a scene from the book, and chose a theme to base our scene on. In order to make the scene modern we edited many lines, and made them similar to the way the characters from our theme actually spoke. We designed new props, and changed the characters clothing. Throughout the 1590’s Shakespeare wrote many plays and sonnets. Some of his work included Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, etc. His way of writing was, at that time, the way people actually spoke. People back then used to speak, what we call today, Elizabethan dialect. Elizabethan dialect is not very different from Modern English. With Elizabethan dialect, word order was pretty flexible. And Shakespeare wrote dramatic poetry, not standard prose, which gave some greater license in expression. However, Elizabethan remains a sibling of our own tongue, and hence, accessible. Although the Elizabethan dialect differs slightly from Modern English, the principles are generally the same. There are some (present day) anomalies with prepositional usage and verb agreement, and certainly a number of Shakespeare's words have shifted meanings or dropped, with age, from the present vocabulary. The English language has varied a lot since the beginning of time. Now day’s meanings of words have been changed. Many slang words have been created to adapt to the different cultures, and...
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...The key character in the poem Beowulf, is a heroic and a legendary character whose actions are embodied to the Anglo-Saxon culture. As a hero he has the accepted and the most ideal characteristics that are accepted in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The tale revolves around these characteristics to make up an epic tale. Beowulf is moulded to possess the virtues, traits and beliefs that were highly respected and requires in the Anglo-Saxon culture. Therefore, is displayed to have these virtues in his own actions and words during different circumstances in the tale. Reading Beowulf brings out lots of similarities with many pieces of literature from the Ancient Greek and the Modern literature. The Beowulf carries is similar to many Greek dramas that focused on a protagonist who was turned out to be a tragic hero. There was an element of belief in the gods who had super- human powers and had unique and ultimate special skills of their own, and overcame unsurmountable problems. However, in Beowulf, there is no Greek or Roman gods, but there are other supernatural beings defined as monsters that exist and are difficult to win over. Beowulf is extra-ordinarily strong, agile, and super intelligent. He is portrayed as one who overcomes many obstacles and was able to kill Grendel and his mother and the others in the sea. In addition, the wide character list and meaningful names is similar to those of other types of literature of the early eras. The story of Paradise lost opens in hell. Satan...
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...William Shakespeare was notoriously famous for the amazing stories he told through his plays, from Romeo and Shakespeare to Macbeth. Most of his plays have and element of Romantic Comedy associated in the story line. This is no different in Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night. Twelfth night was written around 1601-1602 and officially published in 1623. The first performance of the Twelfth Night is believed to occurred on February 2 1602. The Twelfth night is a romantic comedy for the ages, It revolves around a love triangle. But saying love triangle doesn’t even do it justice, essentially all the characters are in love with each other. it’s a story that I think could hold up in a modern day version. The story is about a girl name Viola who was in a shipwreck with her brother Sebastian, Viola is rescued by a captain and his ship. On the ship she is informed about a duke name Orsino, she learns that he is single and this intrigues Viola so she wishes to meet him and eventually marry him. So when she arrives she feels that in order to meet Orsino and get close to him she has to develop a disguise. So viola cuts her hair and becomes a young teenage boy name Cesario. Violas plan to marry the duke has one problem in it. The duke is madly deeply in love with lady Olivia. Lady Olivia is a pretty Nobel women, that every one has feelings for. The duke wishes to marry Olivia, but Olivia hates the idea and has denied the duke numerous times. And also chasing and competing for Lady Olivia’s...
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...On one hand, it can be argued that Shakespeare’s plays are today, more popular than ever and they occupy a large role in modern theatre. However, perhaps a more interesting facet of Shakespeare’s work is that although it was written over centuries ago, many of the ideas and critiques of society and culture are still valid today. Shakespeare was an English man who wrote plays that carried many similar themes such as love and betrayal but he often incorporated many critical undertones in which he offered what could be viewed as his own opinion on many social and cultural realities. Many of these ideas are still applicable today and this is perhaps one of the reasons that Shakespeare’s plays have managed to not only stay relevant, but also gain popularity. An important issue in the Arab world is the idea of post colonialism. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, many...
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...were engaged in an ancient feud, which sadly nothing but the death of their children could stop. Romeo and Juliet two adaptations. Franco Zeffirelli [1968] Original version Baz Luhrmann [1996] Hollywood version Luhrmann chose Leonardo Di Caprio to play Romeo and Claire Danes as Juliet. * The updated Luhrmann picture best captures the essence of Shakespeare for the present-day viewer. Through the ingenious use of modernisation and location, while preserving Shakespearean language, the spirit of Shakespeare emerges to captivate a large audience. * Luhrmann modernises "Romeo and Juliet," through constant alterations of the props, which entice the audience into genuinely feeling the spirit of Shakespeare. * First, the movie starts with a prologue masked as news broadcast on television. This sets the scene of the play by illustrating the violence occurring between the two wealthy families, the Montagues and the Capulets. * In Luhrmann's film, the actors, instead of carrying swords with them, hide guns in their shirts and wield them expertly. * The death of Romeo and Juliet is (as always) blamed on the post office, for not delivering the letter properly. And, to be politically correct, Mercutio appears at the Capulets' ball dressed as a large woman. * In Luhrmann's version of the play, the Capulets and Montagues first meet in a gas station, where they exchange insults. * Romeo and Juliet meet, as if attending a fantastic high school dance...
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...The History of Theatre Alanna Leon Effective Essay Writing/COM/150 May 27, 2012 Michael Macbride The History of Theatre Theatre is a fantastic, entertaining, and very old art form. An evolution of storytelling, theatre is an expression of life. The history of theatre can be traced all the way back to the time of Ancient Greece. The art of theatre has survived many years and has evolved greatly during those years. A performance you would have seen in Ancient Greece is not at all what you would see in a performance today. Many things in theatre have changed, from the dialogue and costumes, to the sets, themes, and the playwrights themselves. Just as the human race has had to adapt to changes in order to survive over the years, theatre has done the same. There is one thing that has not changed all that much and that is that people still use theatre as an escape. While theatre was originally used as a form of worship to the Greek god Dionysus, the art of theatre has greatly evolved over the years and is now mainly used as a source of entertainment. There is not much history pertaining to the origin of theatre. Most research comes from wall paintings and hieroglyphics. One of the first dramas was performed in Egypt and is said to be the beginning of theatre. This drama was the Abydos passion play, involving the story of Osiris (Robinson, 2002). Most of the first recorded examples of theatre come to us from Ancient Greece. Ancient Grecians had four festivals honoring...
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