Thursday, October 21, 2010

blog Entry: 3.1 Macbeth

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare Memorial Theatre production (1955)

Laurence Olivier as Macbeth and Vivien Leigh as Lady Macbeth in a 1955 Shakespeare Memorial Theatre production of the tragedy.


I liked this picture because it shows lady Mcbeth trying to convince man Macbeth to kill the king and take the throne since the withches had already told him that it was his fate to be king. In this picture Lady Macbeth symbolizes a strong female  character who influences the man to do something evil. She is the perfect example of a cold, conniving woman who does anything to get her way. Macbeth's faciaal expressions show his confusion because he doesn't know what to do. She is standing behind him as if whispering in his ear while putting a hand on his shoulder to reassure him that everything willwork out for him and he will fulfill his ambition to be king. Macbeth does not even look at his wife. instead he seems to be thinking about how to carry out his plan. He is shown as an ambitious man who is the victim of a woman who tempts him to do evil. This is probably why this play has been compared to the old testament where Eve is the cause of Adam's ruin. In the of the play Macbeth is beheaded and Lady Macbeth commits suicide although we don't know that for sure. It is interesting how Shakespeare created a strong woman like lady Macbeth even though in his time women were probably humble and lived to obey their husbands. In this play Lady Macbeth is the one who cleverly manipulates her husband by feeding his ambition and encouraging to do evil. On the other hand, the man is shown as a weak person who is a victim of his passion. In this picture it is clear who is the victim and who is in control of the situation. This is why I consider this picture very important to understand the play. The archtype of a woman being the cause of man's ruin is clearly shown in this picture.

1 comment:

  1. I like how you took the concept of this picture. You can absoultely see the evil in Lady Macbeth's eyes and how she is luring him into thinking about her evil plan to make him king.

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