Macbeth essay

How does Shakespeare create an intensely dramatic scene in Macbeth’s interactions with the witches?

Topic sentences:

1. The use of imagery to intensify the dramatic effect
2. The stagecraft elements and supernatural apparitions demonstrate the witches evil intentions.  
3. The characterisation of Macbeth himself, how his evil character is portrayed.
4. How the apparitions of Banquo’s descendants impact the dramatic aspect of the scene as well as revealing Macbeth’s true character.

Act 4 scene 1 of Macbeth is a critical and insanely dramatic scene in the play. In this scene, Macbeth visits the three witches for a second time, seeking their counsel and prophecies to determine his future. Shakespeare uses various techniques to create an intensely dramatic scene that captures the audience’s attention in preparation for the final stage of the play. We will firstly see how shakespeare uses bloody and gore imagery to intensify the dramatic effect, then how the stagecraft elements and supernatural apparitions demonstrate the witches evil intentions, thirdly, the characterisation of Macbeth and how his evil character is portrayed and finally the apparitions of the eight kings impacting the dramatic aspect of the scene as well as revealing Macbeth’s true character.  

Shakespeare uses several images of blood and gore which contribute to the sense of foreboding and supernatural elements in the play intensifying the drama. We can underline the representation of gore and blood. Firstly, at the right beginning of the extract : “Pour sow’s blood that hath eaten her nine farrow” and “grease that’s sweaten from the murder’s gibbet throw into the flame.” The first clause is a command to pour the blood of a sow that ate all of her piglets into a cauldron. This is likely part of the witches' potion-making ritual and serves to create a grotesque and ominous atmosphere. The second clause is a command to throw the grease that has accumulated on a gibbet where a person has been hanged for murder into a fire. The gibbet is a device used for public executions, and the grease from it serves as a symbolic representation of the guilt and corruption associated with murder. Both are an example of gore and bloody imagery used throughout the play that sets up the dramatic tone to the scene as the witches are portrayed powerful figures controlling the supernatural. A second image of gore and blood which emphasize the bloody and supernatural aspect of this scene is the appearance of a bloody child. This firstly foreshadows the prophecies Macbeth has received. This supernatural apparition suggests that the prophecies are coming too and will most certainly lead to Macbeth’s downfall. The image of an armed head, creates also a tense atmosphere of gore. Both images add to the horror and gore to the scene, a child covered in blood and an armed head is disturbing and shocking, adding to the dramatic, bloody aspect of the play. It can also symbolize Macbeth’s early victims, portraying Macbeth’s ruthless ambition and giving a reminder of all the suffering Macbeth has committed, the consequences of his actions and portraying an evil murdering character.  

The stagecraft elements, the supernatural apparitions and rhythm demonstrating the witches evil intentions.

Firstly, the fact that the witches are in a dark cave, with thunder and lightning, creates a sense of foreboding and unease. This suggests that the witches' intentions are not benevolent or good, but rather sinister and malevolent. The witches are standing around a cauldron, containing various ingredients suggesting the witches prepared a spell, adding to the sinister atmosphere emphasizing the dramatic atmosphere as well.

The witches summon a series of apparitions each of them reinforces their malicious and evil intentions. The first apparition is the apparition of an armed head, which warns Macbeth to beware of Macduff. The second apparition is a bloody child, which declares that: “ none of women born shall harm Macbeth”. The third apparition represents a child crowned, holding a tree which suggests that Macbeth will only be defeated when Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. These supernatural and bloody apparitions create a sense of great confusion and demonstrate the true nature of the witches, through their language, playing, talking in riddles, to trick Macbeth’s mind preventing his downfall. It also generates tension as the riddles are more and more ambiguous. All these elements suggest that the witches are manipulating Macbeth into fulfilling their own nefarious purposes using their supernatural powers creating a dramatic tone, revealing Macbeth’s true nature. The rhythm also affects the dramatic atmosphere of the scene,the use of a regular, repeating rhythm adds to the sense of ritual and incantation provoking an atmosphere of unease, intensifying the dramatic tension of this scene.

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