Oral presentation organisation sheet – Macbeth Act Two scene 1

Intro.
This passage is from the play Macbeth written by Shakespeare. The play follows the story of Macbeth, a Scottish soldier, who desires to become King,
and whose vaulting ambition eventually leads to his downfall. This passage in particular is from act two scene one. Is this passage, a lot is revealed about
personality of the protagonist, Macbeth. This is depicted through his intense soliloquy, where he agonises before committing the murder. He hallucinates
and sees a bloody a dagger, representing his conscience and the mental disturbance he goes through. This hallucination is what drives him and pushes
him to go ahead and kill King Duncan. In the scene prior, we see Lady Macbeth really pushing Macbeth to go ahead with the murder. She emotionally
blackmails him, targeting his ego, using it as a way to put him down. This really strengthens his urge to become king. His lust and desire for power is
what pushes him to commit the murder despite the fact that he previously wanted to remain loyal. Following this scene, Macbeth commits the murder,
killing King Duncan. However, soon after the murder his guilt overpowers him. He acknowledges the fact that he has committed a sin and that he will
have sleepless nights. Lady Macbeth on the other hand ensures that Duncan’s guards are framed for the murder. In the commentary I will be analysing
the language and dramatic techniques and how they highlight key themes of power and ambition, appearance verses reality, guilt and the supernatural.
Furthermore, I will be commenting on the development of the character of Macbeth in this passage.
Organisation markers Points Specific Examples
Body
To begin with The first part of the passage is a soliloquy-one of the key dramatic
techniques used by Shakespeare. A soliloquy is one that reveals the
thoughts and feelings of a character, which other characters are
unaware of. The audience is only aware of these thoughts of the
character.

The soliloquy begins with Macbeth hallucinating a bloody dagger

In line 9 macbeth says “ A dagger of mind, a
and he questions this vision of his. A metaphor is used to describe
false creation”
his confusion.

This metaphor shows that this is a result of what is in his sub

conscience. The dagger represents the manifestation of Macbeth’s
lust and desire to become king, thus highlighting the theme of
power. It further symbolises his dark intentions and his insanity
 that his vaulting ambition has led him to. The mention of false
creation I believe is symbolic of the theme of duplicity or
appearance versus reality. It shows that while Macbeth’s character
appears to be brave, honest and loyal, he is actually weak and just
greedy for power.

In line 17, Macbeth says “and on thy blade and

Imagery has been used to portray the darkness and immorality of dudgeon gouts of blood”
this act of murder.
And in line 18 he says “it is the bloody business
In addition which informs thus to mine eyes”
The imagery is strongly symbolic of death and murder. The
reference to the drops blood on the dagger conveys the message
that Macbeth is being taken over by the feeling of guilt and
remorse. The blood on dagger signifies a crime and the death of
someone else, in this case the King. He further then acknowledges
that this dagger is appearing in front of him because of the act of
the murder that he is about to commit. Euphemism, another
language technique that is used frequently to almost mask the
harshness of the acts. Such as in this case bloody business implies
the murder. This in a sense alludes to the theme of duplicity.

Through the use of personification. In line 21 Macbeth says “nature seems dead, and
wicked dreams abuse the curtained sleep”
This image is further
developed Here Macbeth by saying nature seems dead implies the darkness
of his deeds. It also indicates the calmness at night, when everyone
is asleep. His reference to the death of nature means that this act
he is about to commit is also unnatural. When he says wicked
dreams abuse the curtained sleep, he alludes to the blackness of his
heart and the crime, strongly highlighting the theme of guilt. It
shows that he is he is unable to sleep. Despite having such strong
feelings of guilt Macbeth’s strong desire for power drives him to
commit the murder. This almost creates sympathy in the readers
 mind for Macbeth, because the guilt shows that he is morally
grounded and is hesitant to kill the king. But the lust gets in the
way, which is what makes him a tragic hero; his greed and
ambition lead to his down fall. This highlights the development of
Macbeth’s character.
In lines 22 and 23 Macbeth says “Witchcraft
The theme of supernatural is also present in this passage. The celebrates Pale Hecate’s off’rings”
language feature of allusion is used. The reference to Pale Hecate,
Furthermore who is the queen of the witches, is symbolic of the theme of
supernatural. It is also implying that the darkest part of the night is
when the rituals of witchcraft take place. The witches spread evil,
hinting to the fact that it was the witches and their prophecies that
motivated Macbeth towards this crime. This association is of
witchcraft to the night and the murder.

A simile has been used.

In line 27, Macbeth says “moves like a ghost”
Also
This is used to describe his ghost-like steps and how stealthily and
sneakily he moves to go to kill King Duncan. It shows a sense of
fear that some is watching, even though that time no one is
actually was. But because Macbeth does have a sense of morality,
he is fearful of retributive justice. He fears that his sins will haunt
him and leave him with a strong feeling of remorse and guilt.

Is antithesis. Shakespeare uses this technique to present

Another language
technique used contrasting ideas. In line 6 Macbeth says “I have thee not and yet I
see thee still
This suggests the delusion in Macbeth’s mind. Once again here he
is hallucinating; even though he doesn’t have the dagger, he still
sees it, which makes him rather confused. Again this hallucination
is symbolic of his guilt and sin he is about to commit. In line 32 “words to the heat of deed too cold
 Here the heat of the deed is being contrasted with a cold of breath. breath gives”
This implies that his words and his thoughts are only taking away
his courage to act, which he doesn’t want. So once in for he
decides to go ahead with the murder and kills the King.

Highlight the final call for Macbeth.

Personification is used Here this signifies the alarm that Macbeth must proceed with the In line 33, Macbeth states “the bell invites me”
murder. Lady Macbeth has rung this bell to tell him that this is the
time. It’s the call for Duncan’s death, even though he doesn’t hear
it.

That underlines Macbeth’s character in this soliloquy is the For example when Macbeth says “I see before
repetitive use of personal pronouns. me” “I draw” “I was going” “I was to use”
Another key technique
The use of I is symbolic of Macbeth’s thoughts and feelings,
which are significant for the development of his character. Here he
battles with his own conscience and mind. He tries to disassociate
himself from all the feelings that are preventing him from
committing the murder. This shows that he is being driven to do
something, which he actually doesn’t want to.

Concl
So to conclude, This soliloquy in this passage is essential for the development of Macbeth’s character. The language and dramatic techniques used, help
to reflect the key themes that drive the powerful message forward and enhance the characterisation. This passage heightens the development of
Macbeth’s character. While we know Macbeth is an ambitious, brave and loyal solider, after hearing the prophecies of the witches it is revealed that he is
hungry and greed for power and easily manipulated and controlled by others. He may have been intended to be the hero of the play, but due to his tragic
flaws, such as his greed and vaulting ambition, lead to his downfall and death eventually, making him the tragic hero of the play.