Use of form, structure and language in Macbeth -
Form -
- The form of a text is the type of text you are reading or watching
- The form of Macbeth is a dramatic play, more specifically a tragedy
- The most simple definition of a tragedy is ‘a play with an unhappy ending’
- Tragic plays can be traced back to the beginnings of drama in Ancient Greece
- In one of the first books of literary criticism ‘Poetics’, Aristotle had set out the key
features of a tragedy
- It was stated that tragic plays would involve a protagonist which is the leading
central figure and is usually royal or noble birth.
- In the course of the play, the protagonist reveals a fatal flaw (a character defect) which
causes them to go from success and happiness to failure, misery and often death at the
hands of the antagonist which is the protagonists opposite
- Tragedy sets out to stir up feelings of fear and pity in the audience. This is known as
catharsis
- All of these points can be seen in Macbeth.
- The protagonist is Macbeth, a Thane of the Scottish nobility
- His fatal flaw is his ambition and this drives the action forward
- Macbeth is shown to be a good man who goes wrong
- He is driven by a need for power which eventually sets him on a path to his own
destruction
- His wife also shares this fatal flaw with him
- Whilst Macbeth clearly achieves his ambition to become king, it is at the expense of his
happiness.
- He feels he needs to murder, lie and behave brutally to others in order to keep
his power.
- Eventually he goes too far when he slaughters Macduff’s family. This causes
Macduff to take up a position as the play’s antagonist - Macbeth's opposite
- Eventually, Macduff kills Macbeth in face-to-face combat
- While it is exciting to watch, all of this should cause feelings of horror and
regret in the audience
Structure -
- The structure of a text refers to the way in which events are organised inside the play
as a whole
- In the case of Macbeth, the structure is strictly chronological.
- This is where events are revealed to the audience/reader in the order in which
they happened
, - Sometimes events are described rather than shown - for example, Macbeth
becoming king
- Other events happen offstage, out of the sight of the audience - for example,
Duncan’s murder
- The events of Macbeth are organised into 5 acts, each containing a number of scenes.
However, it is important to note that Shakespeare himself almost certainly did not
organise the play in this way and that this structure would have been added later
during the editing process when the plays were turned into published text after being
performed that way
- The idea of a 5 act structure is useful as it follows the model designed by Gustav
Freytag, a German author from the 19th century. Having carefully studied classical
drama, he suggested there were five stages in a tragic dramatic structure
- He named these stages -
- Exposition
- Rising action
- Climax
- Falling action
- Catastrophe
- How these stages are applied to Macbeth -
- Exposition -
- What?
- Introduces the characters, setting, events and key ideas
- When ?
- Act 1 -
- The main characters are introduced
- The witches make their predictions
- Thoughts of murder start to form
- Rising action -
- What?
- A series of related events occur leading up to the key moment in
the plot
- When?
- Act 2 -
- Macbeth keeps changing his mind
- Lady Macbeth takes control
- King Duncan’s murder - key moment
- Climax -
- What?
Form -
- The form of a text is the type of text you are reading or watching
- The form of Macbeth is a dramatic play, more specifically a tragedy
- The most simple definition of a tragedy is ‘a play with an unhappy ending’
- Tragic plays can be traced back to the beginnings of drama in Ancient Greece
- In one of the first books of literary criticism ‘Poetics’, Aristotle had set out the key
features of a tragedy
- It was stated that tragic plays would involve a protagonist which is the leading
central figure and is usually royal or noble birth.
- In the course of the play, the protagonist reveals a fatal flaw (a character defect) which
causes them to go from success and happiness to failure, misery and often death at the
hands of the antagonist which is the protagonists opposite
- Tragedy sets out to stir up feelings of fear and pity in the audience. This is known as
catharsis
- All of these points can be seen in Macbeth.
- The protagonist is Macbeth, a Thane of the Scottish nobility
- His fatal flaw is his ambition and this drives the action forward
- Macbeth is shown to be a good man who goes wrong
- He is driven by a need for power which eventually sets him on a path to his own
destruction
- His wife also shares this fatal flaw with him
- Whilst Macbeth clearly achieves his ambition to become king, it is at the expense of his
happiness.
- He feels he needs to murder, lie and behave brutally to others in order to keep
his power.
- Eventually he goes too far when he slaughters Macduff’s family. This causes
Macduff to take up a position as the play’s antagonist - Macbeth's opposite
- Eventually, Macduff kills Macbeth in face-to-face combat
- While it is exciting to watch, all of this should cause feelings of horror and
regret in the audience
Structure -
- The structure of a text refers to the way in which events are organised inside the play
as a whole
- In the case of Macbeth, the structure is strictly chronological.
- This is where events are revealed to the audience/reader in the order in which
they happened
, - Sometimes events are described rather than shown - for example, Macbeth
becoming king
- Other events happen offstage, out of the sight of the audience - for example,
Duncan’s murder
- The events of Macbeth are organised into 5 acts, each containing a number of scenes.
However, it is important to note that Shakespeare himself almost certainly did not
organise the play in this way and that this structure would have been added later
during the editing process when the plays were turned into published text after being
performed that way
- The idea of a 5 act structure is useful as it follows the model designed by Gustav
Freytag, a German author from the 19th century. Having carefully studied classical
drama, he suggested there were five stages in a tragic dramatic structure
- He named these stages -
- Exposition
- Rising action
- Climax
- Falling action
- Catastrophe
- How these stages are applied to Macbeth -
- Exposition -
- What?
- Introduces the characters, setting, events and key ideas
- When ?
- Act 1 -
- The main characters are introduced
- The witches make their predictions
- Thoughts of murder start to form
- Rising action -
- What?
- A series of related events occur leading up to the key moment in
the plot
- When?
- Act 2 -
- Macbeth keeps changing his mind
- Lady Macbeth takes control
- King Duncan’s murder - key moment
- Climax -
- What?
