With Direct Reference to Shakespeare's Language Discuss How You Might Stage Act 1, Scene 3 with the Aim of Creating Suspense and an Unsettled Atmosphere.

With Direct Reference To Shakespeare’s Language Discuss How You Might Stage Act 1, Scene 3 With The Aim Of Creating Suspense And An Unsettled Atmosphere.

Macbeth was written around 1606, no one knows the exact date; at this time James 1 was on the throne. The play Macbeth, was written for James, and links to his life in many ways. Macbeth is considered as Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy. In the play, Shakespeare differentiates between characters, and their status by three types of language; the first is prose used for the lower status characters and can also indicate imperfections in a character, prose is just general speech. The second are rhyming couplets; this technique is used by the witches to suggest a spell or incantation. At the beginning of Act 1, Scene 3 the witches use rhyming couplets, “And the very ports they know, All the quarters that they know.” This is spoken by the first witch who has cast a spell on a sailor, we can tell this by the use of rhyming couplets. Finally, the use of blank verse or iambic pentameter, spoken by higher status or noble characters, is also used to emphasis on important parts in the play. The first example of this in Act 1, Scene 3 is when Macbeth says to Banquo, “So foul and fair a day I have not seen.” This is the first thing Macbeth says in the play, so it reminds the audience of his status. Act one, Scene 3 sets the premise of the plot through the use of dramatic irony and first introduces the main themes of the play; ambition and supernatural.

Between the years 1560 & 1603 over 1600 were accused of practicing witchcraft, and burned alive. Like in Act 1, Scene 3, witches were thought to have powers, such as being able to see into the future. In the play the witches are referred to as the ‘weird sisters’. At this time women were not allowed to act on stage, so the weird sister were played by men. Nowadays people believe witches to be a mythical creature, so the audience would feel on edge and suspicious by the...