The Contrast Between Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Roman Polanski’s Macbeth

When you finish reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth, you feel bad for the Macbeth for what he has become. Macbeth was a man with a great future ruined by outside sources. Throughout the play Macbeth changed from a noble soldier and turned into a memory of his past self. Every moral that Macbeth had at the beginning of the play changed in his rise and fall as a king. He was a great military leader but when he was promised the crown by the witches, and his demanding wife pushed him to the edge he began to make poor decisions. You can certainly feel sympathy for Macbeth based upon how he is treated throughout the play by other characters.

William Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Macbeth, is a tragedy brilliantly brought to the 21st Century by Rupert Goold. Although Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play set in 16th Century Scotland, Rupert Goold modernizes the play by changing the setting to a Soviet-styled country and implementing modern elements into the characters and theme. Although Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Rupert Goold’s film adaptation share many ideologies and a general storyline, a difference exists in the setting, the characters, and the overall ambience of the story.

”Macbeth retold” uses themes similar to the original play but uses a modified plot to appeal to the more modern audience. Retold utilises settings to create a controversial atmosphere. In contrast Shakespeare’s Macbeth uses an array of themes, a historical plot and language features that revolve around Elizabethan times. Even though the similarities are quite apparent, there are also some less obvious differences, the differences improve the sensitive response and the understanding that a modern audience may consume.

The original Macbeth is most notably a tragedy but also has comedic aspects to it as well. The film Macbeth really accentuated that tragedy aspect but eliminated all of the comedic relief from the original. Scotland,PA did the opposite and even though there were still factors of a tragedy they really used those scenes to make the fact that it was a black comedy abundantly clear. Even in the darkest and grimmest moments there was still an obvious sense of humour which really differed from the original play. Scotland, PA barely resembles its model Macbeth because it has been modernized and only contains a similar plot and similar character names. However, in contrast, the film Macbeth attempts to be faithful while intensifying the tragedy aspect of the play, adding their own interpretation, and adding details to places where the play itself was

There are many differences between interpretations of William Shakespeare's MacBeth. This essay wall contrast Shakespeare's original version and a movie version by Roman Polanski produced in 1970. Three major differences will be discussed.

In the play Macbeth, ambition, strength, and insanity play major roles in how the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth behave and react. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth present all 3 of these behaviors at one time or another during the play. However, there behaviors progress in very different ways. While Macbeth gets stronger and more ambitious, Lady Macbeth does the opposite. She starts out strong and ambitious, but becomes weaker and more reserved.

The music chosen for this film was wise and played a big role in the plot because it expressed and exaggerated what was taking place in the film. For example, the battle scene had little dialogue but the music added tension to the scene. I would describe the music in the scene as an orchestra playing fast and then slowing the music down to build the tension. In the film, Lady Macbeth is portrayed as the supporting wife of Macbeth. After Macbeth kills Duncan, he continues to commit multiple murders and Lady Macbeth goes along with it and encourages her husband. As the movie progresses you can start to see that both, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, begin to go crazy. In the film, Lady Macbeth starts hearing voices and she is being consumed with guilt and commits suicide by falling from a block of stairs. I personally think the play had more details and dialogue, which was easier to understand compared to the movie. However, the film is very well put together and I would recommend it, but only if you have read play

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth has always been considered one of the literary worlds most celebrated tragedies. It is arguably the darkest and most gruesome of his plays. The protagonist, Macbeth, is the poster child for tragic hero, “a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy” (www.dictionary.com). And until recently we were satisfied with that… At the Cannes Film Festival in 2001, a low budget comedy was unveiled. It was called Scotland, PA. This film was written by a first-time director, Billy Morrissette, and depicts the familiar story in a surprisingly different form.

Prior to deciding whether or not conflict is central to the dramatic development of MACBETH, one must consider all the dramatic factors that contribute to the Shakespearean play. The gradual decline of the protagonist , the role portrayed by characters and the order in which the events occur, greatly influence the direction in which the development of the play takes place. After reading the text MACBETH, by Shakespeare and viewing the film version, directed by Roman Polanski, it is logical to see that ambition and the deceptive appearances of what really is, is central to the dramatic development of

Macbeth, like any play, is open to interpretation by the performers. Each separate performance is unique. The different stylistic choices made in performances of the play change the way that viewers see the characters and events. This means that while the events of the Goold and Polanski films are the same, they tell us slightly different stories. It is interesting to look at the two films in terms of their faithfulness to, and their divergences from the original text, and the effects that these choices have on their viewers.

In the 2010 film adaptation of the tragedy Macbeth, Robert Gould - the director - takes a spin on the Shakespearean play and switches up the setting to add character to the film. While changing the historical setting is bold and risky, it alludes to a bigger theme: history repeating itself. In a sense there is a comparison of power struggles during the 11th century and early 1940s. It is not hard to make these connections within the 180 minutes of the film but some scenes tend to be slow and repetitive of the message being given. Power is one of the biggest sources of conflict in the film, as Macbeth (played by the talented Patrick Stewart) is continuously trying to protect his claim to the throne. Macbeth is clearly compared to Stalin when he goes on a hiatus for power.

In life, there are two types of people: those who do the right thing and those who don’t. In the play Macbeth, by Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth is given a prophecy by three witches that says he will become king; however, there is no descending line of kings of his own blood. With the knowledge of the Witches’ prophecy, Macbeth’s ambition, and manipulation from his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is quickly dragged into a never-ending, bloody murder rampage to obtain the crown and get rid of those who stand in the way of obtaining it as well. Macbeth constantly battles with his moral dilemmas; however, he easily falls victim to influences that go against his morals. Influences on major characters emphasize how easily one’s decision making can be negatively affected, resulting in one going against his or her morals/integrity.

In the scene of the murder of King Duncan, Shakespeare has intended to draw the attention more on the reaction of Macbeth caused by the murder instead of the murder itself. The accounts that describe the bloody scene are more alive in our imagination than any stage effect. This is why the killing of King Duncan is not set in a public place; however setting the murder off-stage is one of the successful stage effects as it is the start of the gradual build up of dramatic tension.

Not only is Macbeth by far the shortest of William Shakespeare’s great tragedies, but it is also anomalous in some structural respects. Like Othello (1604) and only a very few other Shakespearean plays, Macbeth is without the complications of a subplot. (Bradley, 1905) Consequently, the action moves forward in a swift and inexorable rush. More significantly, the climax the murder of Duncan takes place very early in the play. As a result, attention is focused on the various consequences of the crime rather than on the ambiguities or moral dilemmas that had

A Comparison of Macbeth and Hamlet MACBETH stands in contrast throughout with Hamlet; in the manner of