Macbeth violence free essay sample

Gothic literature opens up explorations of violence. Whilst Macbeth conforms to the key gothic feature, it could be argued that Shakespeare often uses the violence in excess, desensitising the audience and taking away the desired effect. The structure of Macbeth introduces the audience firstly to legitimate violence, through to illegitimate violence and finally a loss of control. The beginning of the play sees â€Å"noble† Macbeth rewarded for â€Å"unseeming† a man â€Å"from the nave to the chops† in battle, whilst this violence may be controversial among a modern audience, it would have been condoned by a jacobean audience. Macbeth’s meeting with the witches can be seen as a pivotal point in the play, as it is here the the violence takes a sinister turn. Shakespeare structures the play so that a majority of the killings are performed off stage, whilst this does not necessarily conform to the idea of ‘excessive violence’ the audience are introduced to inordinate violence through the reactions of the characters. We will write a custom essay sample on Macbeth violence or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Shakespeare shows the audience how things are going to change with Lady Macbeth’s â€Å"unsex me here† monologue. She states â€Å"come to my womans breasts and take my milk for gall†, the speech sees Lady Macbeth want to strip herself of symbols of nurture and womanhood, it could be argued that this acts as a pivotal point to set the reader up for the murders, as killing and violence is often associated with masculinity. Lady Macbeth is acting extreme, and shows that she is willing to do whatever necessary to seize the throne, critics may suggest that is is the preparation given to the audience that means the violence ‘ceases too have any effect’ rather that the ‘excess’ of the violence in the play. The language used in Macbeth enables the introduction of excess violence and also highlights the loss of control experienced by both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Whilst at the beginning the of the play Lady Macbeth states â€Å"a little water will clear us of this deed† she later asks herself â€Å"who’d have thought the old man to have so much blood in him†. Lady Macbeth’s language allows the audience to feel the effect of murders despite not seeing them performed. The audience are arguably not shown an ‘excess’ of violence on stage, despite this it could be argued that the effect the violence has on the protagonists introduces the audience the excessive violence. Macbeth feels he is â€Å"in blood so far stepped† the statement in itself shows the audience that Macbeth feels trapped by his actions, however it also highlights the magnitude of consequences that Macbeth and his wife now face, it could be argued that the excessive violence ceases to have any effect on the audience due to the fact they are more involved in seeing the consequences. Whilst a lot of the physical violence happens off stage, the audience are shown what could be argued to be an excess of psychological violence on stage. Lady Macbeth takes control in the beginning of the play, telling macbeth to â€Å"act like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it† however the psychological consequences due to guilt soon start to show as Lady Macbeth loses control. â€Å"out damn spot† can be argued to be a clear reference to blood, and whilst before only a â€Å"little water† was needed to dismiss the evidence of the murders, Lady Macbeth now questions whether â€Å"all great Neptune’s ocean† will clear her of the guilt. Lady Macbeth’s fall to insanity another key gothic feature shows the audience how the guilt, as a result of the murders is having an excessive effect on Lady Macbeth’s mind. Macbeth also suffers with self inflicted psychological violence, when confronted with Banquo’s ghost. It could be argued that it is the directors choice that will determine what effect the psychological violence will have on the audience. Whilst some may chose to allow the audience to share Macbeth’s thoughts by making the ghost visible, others may force Macbeth to be alone with his thoughts, by keeping the ghost hidden. The psychological violence in Macbeth may be interpreted differently by the audience, whilst Macbeth has being unstable from the beginning of the play, making his psychological outbursts excessive, the audience have seen Lady Macbeth’s loss of control, arguably making her psychological violence more affective because it is not seen in excess. Overall some members of the audience may feel like the play lacks tension and surprise, and therefore the violence may cease of have any effect on them, however some critics may suggest that it is the excess in itself that evokes the reaction from the audience and makes Macbeth such a violent, controversial play.

Five reasons to ignore your grammar gremlins (for now) - Emphasis

Five reasons to ignore your grammar gremlins (for now) Five reasons to ignore your grammar gremlins (for now) Heres the good news: if you’re worried your documents are not as good as they could be, your grammar is probably not the problem. Dont get me wrong. Grammar matters. Of course it does. Getting it wrong can undermine your reputation (though probably not as much as you think – see below). Poor grammar can even completely change the meaning of a sentence. But focusing too much on it could actually be more damaging. Here are five reasons why you should get over your grammar hang-ups. 1. Poor punctuation matters more than grammar.  Colons and commas are vital sign-posts, so it’s important to put them in the right place. And a misplaced apostrophe (or, worse, a missing one) will make it look like you don’t care. On the other hand, I’d argue that no-one is going to get that worked up about whether you end a sentence with a preposition. 2. Grammar (and punctuation) issues usually indicate deeper problems. It’s probably not your imperfect understanding of a set of arcane grammar rules known only by master pedants that’s holding back your writing. It’s far more likely to be structural issues or focusing too much on your own aims rather than your readers’. In fact, worrying too much about your grammar can actually cause deeper problems. That’s because it seriously undermines your confidence, causing you to compensate with overly complex language or sentences. 3. Almost everyone struggles with it. Believe it or not, FTSE 100 directors and new graduates are often united in uncertainty over certain grammar points. Even experienced editors can spend a lifetime picking up the finer details. So waiting until you’ve perfected your grammar knowledge before you write anything is counter-productive – and futile. 4. Perfect grammar does not automatically mean perfect documents. Perfecting your knowledge of grammar will not automatically make you produce good documents, any more than memorising the workshop manual to your shiny new Ford or Volvo will make you a good driver. It’s perfectly possible to be technically perfect yet still produce an impenetrable tome stuffed with turgid professionalese. Focus on your readers’ needs, structure your document well and use the right level of language. Then you stand a very good chance of making a real impact – yes, even if you’ve misplaced a modifier or left a participle dangling helplessly. 5. It’s not too late to fill in the gaps. If English is your first language, you already know 95 per cent of the grammar you’ll ever need. (And if it’s not, take comfort from the fact that your knowledge of technical grammar rules is probably superior to that of most native English speakers, simply because we learn our first language through usage rather than studying grammar.) Native speakers beyond the age of four or five already know which common verbs are irregular. They’d never say, for example, ‘I digged a big hole in the sand’. They know that ‘dig’ becomes ‘dug’ in the past tense. They just don’t know that it’s called the past tense. (Nor, at that age, do they need to.) So the task of filling in the gaps is pretty straightforward. The odds are that the things you’re unsure about are the same ones that other people struggle with. (See point 3, above.) So, take heart. Focus first on what your reader needs to know, then tell them in as straightforward a way as possible. Then – and only then – look up any points of grammar you’re not sure about.