Macbeth Media Text Essay, Research Paper
Macbeth
Media Text In
the scenes leading up to Act 5 scene 8, we see Macduff and his army making
their way to Dunsinane, ready to fight Macbeth. On their way to Dunsinane they
stop at Birnam wood. They cut it down and hold branches above their heads, so when
Macbeth looks out of the castle it looks like Birnam wood is coming towards the
castle. This is the first of the prophecies ? Macbeth shall never vanquished
be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him?to
come true In
Act 5 scene 8, it opens to the battleground, in the book. In the video, Macbeth
is on a balcony in his castle looking down at a crowd of people, who are there
to fight him. In the book we may get the idea that Macbeth is very angry and is
shouting, but in the video it is portrayed very well, Macbeth is literally
going mad- Macbeth still wants to kill people so why should he die? ?Why should
I play the Roman fool, and die of mine own sword? Whiles I see lives, the
gashes Do better upon them.? At
this point Macbeth seems undaunted by the first prophecy coming true, and he
still believes in the prophecy that he cannot be harmed by any man born of
woman. There is not a hint of nervousness shown by Macbeth. When
Macduff and Macbeth begin to fight, Macbeth explains to Macduff that it is not
worth fighting because he cannot be harmed by anyone born from woman and
Macbeth is in a way boasting about it. That is until, Macduff tells Macbeth how
he was born prematurely and was delivered through a caesarean, so Macduff was
not considered to be born of woman. On hearing this Macbeth is stunned and it
is like a bomb has been dropped, it is a very intense moment, perhaps the most
intense moment throughout the whole of the play and I think Shakespeare did a
brilliant job in portraying this across to the audience. It is not just because
Macbeth has found out the truth about Macduff, but he has also realised that
the witches had just been playing with his mind the whole time and he has
realised what they have done to his life. This is very dramatic and we can
almost feel the silence that comes after Macduff tells Macbeth. After
this Macbeth is disheartened and refuses to fight, until Macduff calls him a
coward and tells him he will be the spectacle of the age ?Then yield thee,
coward And live to be the show and gaze o? th? time.? At
this, Macbeth changes his mind ?Yet I will try the last?. The
ending of the scene is not very dramatic, we are just told that Macbeth is
slain, Shakespeare did not want to make the killing any more dramatic, I
suppose because it is already a dramatic scene and he does not
on the killing of Macbeth. In
the script, Act 5 scene 8 is a dramatic scene, but we have to use our
imagination, whereas in the video we have a clearer picture of what happened,
although it is slightly different to the book. The realised
form of Macbeth that I watched was the Polanski film. It was quite similar to
the book, and it was directed in close reference to the book. In the
video, from the very start of the scene we can see Macbeth shouting and
screaming at the crowd, showing his madness. When
Macduff enters there is complete silence, I think this is appropriate and
Shakespeare would have approved of this, as it is the meeting of the two
rivals. After
a brief conversation they begin to fight. Macbeth has the opportunity to kill
Macduff but feels a twinge of guilt ?my soul is too much charged with blood of
thine already?. I think this is a strange twist because I thought Macbeth would
have killed Macduff at the first opportunity he got, it would not have been in
co-ordinance with the prophecies though. ?When they start fighting Macbeth tells
Macduff about the prophecy that ?none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth?. When Macduff
replies we see the fear in Macbeths face, and we see the flashbacks from the
time when Macbeth was with the witches and the apparitions were revealed to him,
this is quite good because in the book we have to use our imagination for this.
After
this Macbeth doesn?t show much fear but in the book it is portrayed that
Macbeth is very afraid, whereas in the video, he starts to fight again more
quickly, and does not show fear. During the fight we can see that Macbeth and
Macduff are evenly matched. As they
are fighting Macbeth holds on to his crown, as if it was the sole determination
of his being king. Then
during a tense moment Macduff puts his sword under Macbeths arm through to his
chest. Then there is a dramatic moment with scary, eerie music as Macbeth
staggers up the steps to the balcony and as Macduff goes of after him and chops
Macbeths head of. ?Macbeths head is then mounted on a pole and
carried around like in the third prophecy. I think
this scene was acted out well and it was directed very well, there were good
special effects used and it turned out to be very realistic. I liked this scene
and I think that it is better in the realised form, due to the special effects
used. ?Macbeths head is then mounted on a pole and
held above the crowds. I think it made a more dramatic ending to the scene and I
think it was appropriate for the video, as you would have had to have a vivid
imagination to imagine something like that from reading it in the book. ? ? ?