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Death as the Price of Power in Macbeth
Macbeth is a tragedy and a story of the struggle between good and evil. It is about a Thane of Scotland who murders the king in his quest for power. Macbeth commits these crimes partly because of his wife’s ambition and greed, in the end he is destroyed because he feels so guilty and is overtaken by fear and paranoia
The most important part of the play for me was the moment when Macbeth dies. This shows that the play was a complete tragedy and Macbeth's ambitions which were influenced by his wife were a failure. Not one of the main characters benefited by this terrible chain of events. All the pain and unhappiness illustrated in these scenes represent the play as a whole, it is a classic tragedy. This moment was so powerful as it is done off stage but with sound affect this left a lot more to the imagination which has a strong impact.
The acting was very believable and made me feel involved. I felt I knew what it’s like to be in such a human tragedy. The king of Scotland played his part well. I thought this because of his body language, in that he stood tall and mighty like an important person, a leader. The servant acted small and insecure. he kept his body in a ball and had his head down low, he never raised his voice but when people did to him he flinched . This illustrated that he was of lower status. When an important action was taken place the actor’s attention focussed on the event taken place and they exaggerated the major actions. For instance when Macbeth saw the images of a bloody knife he looked and reached out at something. Also when someone was talking or making a speech all the other actors looked at the actor who was speaking or showing something. If an actor was the center of attention they would be in the middle of the stage, as when Macbeth saw the ghost of his friend he had murdered. The table was in the corner while Macbeth was in the center looking at the table this made it very clear of the situation and who you were supposed to be looking at. When lady Macbeth rubbing her hand continuously to get the blood off, this symbolizes her fear and guilt. The fact that she is seeing blood on her hand shows that she is going mad, she is so guilty that she cannot rid herself of her crime, just like she cannot rid her hands of the blood.
The set was a table and chairs in the right hand corner with a big stage block, in then middle of the stage. On the block was hung a picture. When the actors walked off stage they walked behind the block. This block was affective as it served two purposes, it was used as a backdrop to set the scene of an old, dark, cold castle and it was a place for the actors to change behind.
The set was spacious, which gave the impression that they were in a large house or castle, while the picture gave the impression that they were in a grand place.
The costumes that were used were clever they reflected the status of the characters telling audience what kind of person and status a character had. For example Macbeth and his lady had grand expensive looking costumes, this told the audience they were rich and had a high status, the servants had old tatty clothes this showed they were poor and of a lower status. It was very grand yet gloomy. This gave the impression that the characters were in a cold dark castle but at the same time were wealthy. The costumes added to the sense of being there. They also made the actors seem more like their characters, more believable.
The lighting was only on the stage and it was dark in the auditorium this brings your attention to the stage and also added to the dark and gloomy atmosphere. This helped bring alive the murders off stage and the parts with a high amount of tension like the part where Macbeth sees the knife or the ghost. It does this by pulling your attention to the stage, when the murders were happening the lighting dimmed, this darkness filled the air with fear and suspense As they were a travelling theatre group, had limited lighting equipment. When murders were being committed they mainly happened off stage and used sound affects this, as I said before left a lot to the imagination and helped make the scene more powerful.
At the beginning where the evil witches come-on stage some music comes on and a sound like wind blowing on a mountaintop. This gives an Erie feeling and as if they are in a lonely and deserted area. This helps the feeling of evil, because it makes you feel all alone and the wind makes you fell cold and haunted. From this moment on the sound affects and lighting lets you know the mood of a scene. The sound also makes it feel more lifelike which draws you in to the play.
This play seemed like it was trying to ask the question whether being powerful is worth dying for and whether one can ever really get away with murder physically or mentally. This play made me think that theatre can have more of an impact on people than films because it was like being in the scene. It also made me think about how to show true human nature in a plays and why people make the mistakes they do.
SOURCE:123helpme.com
Macbeth is a tragedy and a story of the struggle between good and evil. It is about a Thane of Scotland who murders the king in his quest for power. Macbeth commits these crimes partly because of his wife’s ambition and greed, in the end he is destroyed because he feels so guilty and is overtaken by fear and paranoia
The most important part of the play for me was the moment when Macbeth dies. This shows that the play was a complete tragedy and Macbeth's ambitions which were influenced by his wife were a failure. Not one of the main characters benefited by this terrible chain of events. All the pain and unhappiness illustrated in these scenes represent the play as a whole, it is a classic tragedy. This moment was so powerful as it is done off stage but with sound affect this left a lot more to the imagination which has a strong impact.
The acting was very believable and made me feel involved. I felt I knew what it’s like to be in such a human tragedy. The king of Scotland played his part well. I thought this because of his body language, in that he stood tall and mighty like an important person, a leader. The servant acted small and insecure. he kept his body in a ball and had his head down low, he never raised his voice but when people did to him he flinched . This illustrated that he was of lower status. When an important action was taken place the actor’s attention focussed on the event taken place and they exaggerated the major actions. For instance when Macbeth saw the images of a bloody knife he looked and reached out at something. Also when someone was talking or making a speech all the other actors looked at the actor who was speaking or showing something. If an actor was the center of attention they would be in the middle of the stage, as when Macbeth saw the ghost of his friend he had murdered. The table was in the corner while Macbeth was in the center looking at the table this made it very clear of the situation and who you were supposed to be looking at. When lady Macbeth rubbing her hand continuously to get the blood off, this symbolizes her fear and guilt. The fact that she is seeing blood on her hand shows that she is going mad, she is so guilty that she cannot rid herself of her crime, just like she cannot rid her hands of the blood.
The set was a table and chairs in the right hand corner with a big stage block, in then middle of the stage. On the block was hung a picture. When the actors walked off stage they walked behind the block. This block was affective as it served two purposes, it was used as a backdrop to set the scene of an old, dark, cold castle and it was a place for the actors to change behind.
The set was spacious, which gave the impression that they were in a large house or castle, while the picture gave the impression that they were in a grand place.
The costumes that were used were clever they reflected the status of the characters telling audience what kind of person and status a character had. For example Macbeth and his lady had grand expensive looking costumes, this told the audience they were rich and had a high status, the servants had old tatty clothes this showed they were poor and of a lower status. It was very grand yet gloomy. This gave the impression that the characters were in a cold dark castle but at the same time were wealthy. The costumes added to the sense of being there. They also made the actors seem more like their characters, more believable.
The lighting was only on the stage and it was dark in the auditorium this brings your attention to the stage and also added to the dark and gloomy atmosphere. This helped bring alive the murders off stage and the parts with a high amount of tension like the part where Macbeth sees the knife or the ghost. It does this by pulling your attention to the stage, when the murders were happening the lighting dimmed, this darkness filled the air with fear and suspense As they were a travelling theatre group, had limited lighting equipment. When murders were being committed they mainly happened off stage and used sound affects this, as I said before left a lot to the imagination and helped make the scene more powerful.
At the beginning where the evil witches come-on stage some music comes on and a sound like wind blowing on a mountaintop. This gives an Erie feeling and as if they are in a lonely and deserted area. This helps the feeling of evil, because it makes you feel all alone and the wind makes you fell cold and haunted. From this moment on the sound affects and lighting lets you know the mood of a scene. The sound also makes it feel more lifelike which draws you in to the play.
This play seemed like it was trying to ask the question whether being powerful is worth dying for and whether one can ever really get away with murder physically or mentally. This play made me think that theatre can have more of an impact on people than films because it was like being in the scene. It also made me think about how to show true human nature in a plays and why people make the mistakes they do.
SOURCE:123helpme.com