LITERATURE CA
RE-SIT
Discuss the methods Shakespeare uses to explore the theme of the supernatural in Macbeth and Hamlet.
§ As you write your essay you must make sure that you PEAEAL.
§ Remember to use inverted commas around quotations and keep quotations short.
§ You must comment on the language and dramatic devices used to get the best marks.
§ You must think about the time that the story was set as well as how people today would react to the story.
Introduction:
§ Discuss ( briefly) the conventions of Shakespearian Tragedy ( and how these plays both fall into Revenge Tragedy) .
§ Write 3 or 4 sentences summarising power the supernatural has in the play- it preys on the protagonists, acts as a latent- always presence force of evil and could be said to lead to the spread of corruption and disorder in both tragedies.
Main Essay:
Macbeth 1.1
§ Write about why Shakespeare would choose to start the play with the witches. Think about the drama and also the audience (especially King James).
§ Look at the stage directions at the beginning of the scene. Write about the technique that Shakespeare has decided to use at the beginning and why he has chosen to use this.
§ Find a quotation that shows the setting that they will meet in when they meet again. Explain how this adds to the drama of the play.
§ Find the quotation that explains who they plan to meet. What technique is being used here? Explain why Shakespeare decided to use this.
Hamlet 1.1
· Discuss the consuming sense of fear present here- it starts with questions- what’s the effect of this?
· Discuss the use of pathetic fallacy and the weather and the superstitions associated with the presence of the supernatural
· Discuss the vulnerability of Denmark ( the king is dead, a usurper of the throne and the threat from Denmark)
· Look at the ambiguity of Bernado and Marcellus’ description of the ghost- what does this suggest?
· Look at the verbs that Horation uses to describe the ways in which the ghost walks- how does this contribute to the rather sinister first appearance of the ghost?
· Bring in The Great Chain of Being – and what happened when it was disrupted
· Discuss the moral climate of Hamlet- What did the Elizabethan audiences believe in in terms of damnation and salvation
· Heaven, Hell and Purgatory
· Ghosts and Revenge
· Discuss Horatio’s cynicism ( sense of disbelief in ‘tush…’ and his almost immediate belief
Terror- damnation-disorder- chaos- bad omen
Macbeth 1.3
§ What do we learn about violence of the witches through the things that they talk about? Find an example to discuss.
§ How would an audience in Shakespeare’s day have responded to the witches? How would an audience of today respond to the witches?
§ What are the first things that the witches say to Macbeth? How is the language used to show respect?
§ Consider what they say and what they don’t say
§ Discus the effect they have on M and B
§ Discuss M’s asides in this scene and what this suggests about his ‘single state of man’
§ Look at how the witches’ appearance has already detached M from himself, use quotations to support this idea.
Macbeth 2.3
-What does the apparition of the dagger represent? Its increasingly gory and vivid its description- why?
-Look at how M describes his mind- discuss how the language he uses here links to the certainty of his damnation and to the destructive influence of the witches
-Look at how Macbeth describes nature here- consider tragedy and disorder in light of his comments here.
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Macbeth 3.4:
Why does B’s ghost appear here? Consider the genre of Revenge tragedy. What is the ghost a representation of?
The ghost clearly appals M- why?
- M tells the ghost to go ‘hence’ – he uses imperatives to rid himself of it- like H, no one else can see the ghost- is it real/ is it a representation of guilt- conscience- madness?
-Once he dismisses the ghost, M suggests that he is’ so far stepped in blood’ and that ‘he is but young in deed’ – making him inhuman- resolves to continue- making a monster of the character.
-So is this ghost as corruptive as the ghost in Hamlet- or is it a warning?
Macbeth 4.1
§ Comment on how the language is structured in this scene. What technique is being used and why does Shakespeare choose to have the witches speak in this way? Does this happen every time we see the witches?
§ Analyse the elevation of violence n the witches’ brew- what does this suggest to us about their capacity for violence
§ Discuss the fact that M has sought them out at this point and what they suggests about him ‘being so far stepped in blood’ that he has little to lose
§ What do the audience learn about the fate of Macbeth? How do we know? What technique is being used here?
§ Again, discuss their ½ truths
§ Discuss M’s insistence that they tell him about Banquo – what does this tell you about how beset with fears he really is
Hamlet 1.4
- Weather – pathetic fallacy- biting/eager air
- Reference to the ghost ‘it’
- H’s fist plea when he sees the ghost- asks for defence
- How long does it take H to claim that the ghost is his father?
- Language is immediately antithetical/corrupt- what are your impressions of the impact of the ghost on H?
- It is in ‘complete steel’ why? What might it mean? What type of battle is it preparing for?
- Horatio warns H against following it- why? What does he know/fear about the nature of the ghost?
- Marcellus: ‘something is rotten in the state of Denmark’ talk about the moral/ spiritual and religious rot that he may be alluding to. Relate this to the corruptive influence of the ghost and to the idea of Denmark as king and country – the body politic.
- The ghosts speech- it somewhat betrays its origins here- pick out and analyse all of the quotations that suggest that the ghost has emerged from purgatory or hell.
- Look at what appears to be the ghosts preoccupation- incest and sex- consider the impact this is going to have on H ( it starts to infiltrate his own language)
- Analyse its use of persuasive and manipulative language- this speech is full of repetition, extended metaphor and emotive language. ‘If thou didst ever thy dear father love’. And the use of imperatives : ‘Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder’
-Look at how the ghost uses religious metaphor and the semantic fields associated with the garden of Eden- why might it do this?
- What do you make of the ghosts warnings to ‘taint not thy mind and to leave (his mother) to heaven- what idea has the ghost implanted into H’s mind?
- Look at the ghosts warning to ‘remember me’ – what does this imperative do to H? Look at H’s next speech.
-Consider the disruptive influence of the ghost on order – his negative effect on H is immediate- evident through H’s own speech and confusion of terms.
Hamlet 3.3
-Look at Hs language- it is very similar to the ghosts in 1.4- what does this suggest about the influence the ghost has had on H.
- ‘ Oh what a falling off was there’ look at how H reinforces this ide in his interaction with Gertrude
- Why does the ghost appear when it does? Why cant Gertrude see this? What does she say about H?
_ the ghost says that it is there ‘to whet thy almost blunted purpose’ what does this suggest about the ghost? Link to revenge tragedy and H’s vow to ‘sweep to revenge’ in 1.4
- Is the ghost real or is it a figment oh H’s disturbed and ‘distracted globe’ of a psyche?
Conclusion:
§ You should now bring all your ideas together.
§ Comment on what you think about the role of the supernatural. Consider the contextual belief systems of Shakespeare’s audience- are these plays didactic- are all Tragedies?
§ How do they reinforce belief systems at the time?
See you on Wednesday J