Literary Techniques in Shakespeare's Macbeth Essay

Irony, a key element to a tragic play like Macbeth, has the ability to make the tragic hero appear more villainous or the down-fall seem even more tragic.

The most obvious use of dramatic irony is in the prologue. The chorus summarizes the entire play in a fourteen line

of King Duncan's army. His personal powers and strength as a general won him the

It takes both the audience’s pity and fear to make a tragic and heroic character become a tragic hero. Macbeth earns both. The audience can fear Macbeth because they know that he is capable of murder. He lacks the ability to stand up to Lady Macbeth when he knows something is not morally right and that is frightening, but even after all the pain and suffering of other characters the audience

In the play Othello, Shakespeare uses many literary devices to help the reader understand the theme of the story. One of those many literary devices used in the play, is the wide range of irony. Throughout the pages of the book the reader will see the use of dramatic, situational, and verbal irony. Shakespeare does not use irony in an understated way, it is very direct, and can be found on almost every page of the book. The use of irony creates suspense, and adds interest as to what will happen.

The “Tragedy of Macbeth” by William Shakespeare tells a tale of deceit, murder, and ambition, beginning with a cutthroat rise to power, followed by calamitous downfall. At the start of the play, Macbeth is a brave and loyal captain in King Duncan’s army, but after three witches prophesize that he himself will become the king of Scotland, and that those born of a friend, Banquo, will be king after him, Macbeth is overtaken by ambition and gluttony. Instigated by his wife and his own lust for power, he murders Duncan, assumes the throne, and subsequently sends mercenaries to kill Banquo’s sons. While awaiting battle, Macbeth addresses the death of his wife in Act V, scene 5. Throughout the

-Shakespeare employs dramatic irony in many of his tragedies, so that the audience is engaged, and so they are able to witness characters errors in their action, predict the fate of the characters, and experience feelings of tragedy and grief.

Laurence Sterne once wrote, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” This passage embodies one of the over arching themes of Macbeth. The character Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, could easily identify with this passage due to the fact that he is pulled in opposite directions by both his desire to do what is right and his desire for power.

There are two parallel perspectives to the situation occurring in Act 1, Scene 2. There is Macbeth who has just assassinated Duncan. And to contrast, there is Banquo who is blissfully unaware that Macbeth has just assassinated Duncan. Banquo asks Macbeth why he is not asleep and states that Duncan is (1.2.14). The audience knows that Duncan is actually dead. Even so, Banquo is oblivious, thus this scene is an example of dramatic irony. Regardless, knowing and practicing are two different things. While a student may know of it, spotting dramatic irony is a skill that Macbeth puts into practice. Dramatic irony can also be spotted outside of Macbeth in movies such as Jaws and the Lion King. Macbeth also effectively uses nuances. Subtext can change depending on the thoughts the characters are having. A nuance is the variation in how a character delivers a line. To illustrate, during Act 3, Scene 1, Macbeth is asking Banquo questions such as where he is going, who is he taking with him, and when will he be back. These questions could come across as casual, interrogative, cautious, or some other variation. Nuances are especially important in texts such as Macbeth where the whole tone of a scene can be determined by the

Analysis of Macbeth Macbeth, is one of the greatest tragedy plays written by William Shakespeare. It is a rather short play with a major plot that we had to follow it carefully to understand its significance. The play is a tragedy about evil rising to power, which ends up corrupting the main characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In the opening of the play Macbeth is introduced to the audience as Thane of Glamis and is respected. The witches also play a major part in the play, as they predict the future.

Having a lust for power can cause a loss in many things. It’s as if you’re in a win-lose situation. In this case, the play Macbeth written by Shakespeare has scholars sayings, “The lust for power by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth led to a loss of humanity.” With that said, I totally agree with their view. Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth went out of their way to even killing King Duncan and burdening the murder on his guardsmen. Even though that’s a common human act, you just don’t do something like that. It’s just so wrong. The acts of both these people are very evil and violent, in which causes Macbeth to move from one act of endangerment to another just to protect himself from a great disaster which I likely

Lady Macbeth is the most interesting and complex character in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. She is, in fact, the point on which the action pivots: without her there is no play.

In the beginning of the play Macbeth and Macduff are very similar in many aspects including rank, leadership, belief, and loyalty. But as the play unfolds, Shakespeare reveals these two characters are as different as night from day. In this essay I will compare and contrast the characters of the murderous Macbeth, and the forthright Macduff. I will consider their status within the Scottish society and the depth of their intelligence. I will also evaluate their actions and their relationships with other characters, including their families and I will discuss their degrees of ambition.

In this essay I will be analysing in great detail how William Shakespeare the writer of a variety of plays, describes the range of different features and techniques that he has used in both Macbeth (Act 2 Scene 2), and Capulet (Act 3 Scene 5), and how he Shakespeare has represented the main characters of each play to be shown as disturbed emotionally, physically, and psychologically during the plays.

Irony is present throughout the second scene of Macbeth Act two. The scene begins with Lady Macduff wondering why Macduff left to England. She proceeds to call him a traitor saying, “Our fears do make us traitors.” (line 4 pg. 385) She