Ken's+2nd+Draft+of+Macbeth


 * The Tragedy of Macbeth **

//Macbeth// is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. It is also known as the shortest of Shakespeare’s plays. //Macbeth// is one of the most famous plays from the Elizabethan period. Several movie directors have converted this play into a movie. Roman Polanski’s version of //Macbeth// was released in 1971. Polanski’s //Macbeth// used every line from the original text, but several parts were added to the movie in order to connect the scenes. A modern version of //Macbeth// was produced in 2006 by Geoffrey Wright. This modern version changed many scenes, but the director tried to keep the plot stabilized. Due to the development of technology scenes of violence, supernatural forces, and environment were interpreted in different ways. These changes are not always beneficial.

During Shakespeare’s time there wasn’t enough technology to change the lighting of the play. Shakespeare uses a lot of descriptions in his plays to show how scenes are supposed to appear. Stage directions were written in words and it required more imagination for an audience to understand what the characters are doing.

Scenes of violence are shown throughout //Macbeth//. One of the added scenes in both Geoffrey’s and Polanski’s film is the murder of King Duncan. In the original play this scene did not appear. The guards are tranquillized and Macbeth is supposed to murder Duncan while he is asleep The play only shows Macbeth running off the stage and return back after few seconds (Viewers assume that Macbeth has slain the king). In Polanski’s version, Macbeth goes to the King’s chamber and stabs him several times with a dagger. Geoffrey’s movie shows Lady Macbeth poisons the guard with a sleeping pill and Macbeth goes in to Duncan's room with two daggers. Macbeth violently stabs Duncan to death. Later on, Macbeth became the gang leader. Both directors somehow decided to have Macbeth use dagger(s) to kill the Duncan. I think the meaning of the violence stabbing and close combat is to show the intensity and desire of Macbeth.

Description of a bloody personality appears in the original text. **"Fleance his son, that keeps him company, Whose absence is no less material to me Than is his father's, must embrace the fate Of that dark hour"** this line occur during the order of Macbeth towards the two murderers. It shows the bloody personality of Macbeth who is afraid that he'll lose his throne. Fear is another theme that was described by Shakespeare to draw out Macbeth internal feelings. “**Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?”**is a line from //Macbeth// that tries to emphasize Macbeth’s feeling after the murder of Duncan. This line is saying that Macbeth will never forget about the murder even if he tries to. These types of descriptions are shown throughout Shakespeare’s play.

Weathers and climates are uncontrollable for plays back in Shakespeare’s time. Rain and thunder are used often in this play to emphasize horror. Even today, thunder and heavy rain are symbols of an evil personality. The intensity of rain determines the mood. Drizzling usually shows the feeling of lost and sorrow. Poalanski’s version drizzling scene occurred after Macbeth sees his second prophecy in the witches’ cave. In this scene Macbeth is lost and at the same time suffering from his internal fear. He did not really understand the second prophecy, but he is confident about keeping his throne. Both Polanski’s and Geoffrey’s film started with a mist. The meaning of mist is mystery. The starting scene is telling that there will be something mysterious happening followed by miseries. Shakespeare also can not change the time of the day because technology wasn’t developed enough. Darkness can’t really be shown in plays and most of theatres were opened in the morning. Shakespeare decided to describe darkness by using his observations. Sight and sound are the main senses that were used to describe. Another thing that technology can provide is mood. There were not many sound effects back in Shakespeare’s time. Drum’s effect is the sound that appeared most often in the script. This drum sound happens when the witches appear. I think it symbolizes terror that these wicked witches will give to //Macbeth//. Few centuries after, sound effects can be easily added to movies. The use of background music helps increase the tension of the mood. For instance, slow music is usually used to show sadness while faster beat music is use for exciting scenes.

Describing supernatural power is difficult. This type of scenes did not appear very often in //Macbeth//. Supernatural forces are often used during the appearance of the witches. **"If you can look into the seeds of time, And say which grain will grow and which will not"** is a line that tries to show the use of super natural power by the three witches. Supernatural scene in Polanski’s movie happens during the second prophecy. Macbeth keeps seeing repeated illusions about his future. The screen kept zooming in through mirrors until the last prophecy ended. The illusion at the dinner is another famous scene that is shown in both Polanski’s and Geoffrey movies. Banquo’s illusion appears in this part to show Macbeth’s internal fear. By using the camera's angle, Geoffrey was able to show that Macbeth was frightened.

I like the 1971 version of //Macbeth// by Roman Polanski because he kept all of the original text in the movie. He added some scenes throughout the movie in order to show what he thinks happen between certain scenes. Clothing and setting were details that Polanski took care off. The use of clothing and setting made the movie looked like it took place during the Elizabethan period. I think these are some successful technique from Polanski's version. I think that the modern interpretation of //Macbeth// didn't did not look very good because of the overused to technology. Even though director Geoffrey tried to keep the original plot, but his ideas about changing a war into a gang fight didn't fit very well. However, the special effects that were used to show weather, witches' power, and the time of the day were great. The changes that Geoffrey made were not critical enough. It did not really attract the audience, but rather destroyed the play itself. Both versions did very well on the sound effects and music. The technology of sound helps change the mood of the movies. The greatness of technology depends on how it is used.

//- The Tragedy of Macbeth. // Dir. Roman Polanski. Perf. John Finch and Francesca Annis. Columbia Pictures, 1971. Film. - //Macbeth. // Dir. Geoffrey Wright. Perf. Sam Worthington, Victoria Hill, and Lachy Hulme. Arclight Films, 2006. Film. - //William Shakespeare Site-Map,// Copyright © 2005 William Shakespeare info. http://www.william-shakespeare.info/script-text-macbeth.htm
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