Characters in Macbeth and The Laboratory Essay

Macbeth is arguably one of Shakespe bes most famous tragedies. compose some cartridge holder between 1603 and 1606, the act as is strongly written with King James the firsts of Englands interests in superstar the supernatural. Because of this we are introduced to the supposition of the paranormal and witchcraft straight way in the play with the three. This would demand scared a Jacobean audience as they feared the supernatural it in whatever case foreshadows the same(p)liness of macabre cases to be introduced later in the play. In comparison, The science lab, a numbers written by Robert Browning in the 1800s and set in aristocratic France- before the revolution, when the old regime of the monarchy was still in place. This was a time of great diversity between the companionable classes, so seeing the narrator of the dramatic monologue, an generous charwoman, liaising with a deplorable alchemist would have deeply shocked a nineteenth century audience, as they would g uess her to be troubled, or maybe even disturbed.Macbeth is Shakespeares shortest tragedy this core that the play has no sub-plots and muchover concentrates on the story, and the disturbed instinct, of the main character, Macbeth. The full focus on Macbeth himself emphasises his evil nature and thirst for government agency, portray him as the ultimate tyrannical and disturbed character. I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only when only overleap ambition, which oerleaps itself and falls on the some other . The metaphorical language used as the quality to spurs, used to restore horses go faster, shows that Macbeth feels his ambition to gain power is being limited by the female monarch. Macbeth is shown to have great respect for the king and sees the king as almost a fri eradicate, so to suck up him as a mere obstacle to overcome shows he has no example boundaries, making him a disturbed character. Similarly, The lab is a poem written in the form of a dramat ic monologue, this means we hear ein truththing thats going on from the view of the narrator.In this case, its high class woman who is obsessed with getting revenge on her maintain and his lovers. Her single- sound judgementedness is shown by the poem only being almost her legal opinions and her fatal flaws, jealousy and revenge. These themes are shown in the poem right outdoor(a). In the first stanza, the topic of envenom and carrying into action are mentioned quite blatantly. Which is the poison to poison her, prithee? The referee doesnt merely know that in that respects a revengeplot, however Browning wants the referee look into the narrators disturbed legal opinion primal into the poem. He uses this fourth line like a hook to pull the reader into the poem and found them wonder why the speaker would want to kill someone. In set 1, pic 1 of Macbeth, we are introduced to the three witches, showing the audience that the play has a strong supernatural theme. This would have scared a Jacobean audience such(prenominal)(prenominal) more than a modern audience as witchcraft was feared much more intensely than it is to twenty-four hours.Shakespeare used catalectic trochaic tetrameter and rhyming couplets to make the witches dustup sound like a spell, Fair is foul and foul is fair Hover through the fog and filthy air. The oxymoron shows that the witches acquiret know the difference between good and bad. This foreshadows a play of contrasts and disturbed minds. Macbeths words in addition echoes the witches in Act 1, Scene 3 So foul and fair a day I have not seen. We recognise the oxymoron from when the witches said it in the outset scene this gives the audience the photograph that Macbeth shares similar qualities with the witches, such as he doesnt know the difference between good and bad, and hence had no moral boundaries. It alike foreshadows that Macbeth will have more to with the witches in the time to come. This makes Macbeth a disturbed c haracter to the audience, particularly a Jacobean audience, because of his association with the supernatural. On the other hand, the subtitle to Robert Brownings poem The Laboratory, Ancien Regime, tells us that it is set in France before the revolution, when the old regime of the monarchy was still in place.The narrator appears to be an upper class woman, a situation which is not apparent in the opening stanza, tho becomes so as the poem develops this is seen by the lexical field of wealth, Gold, Kings, Jewels, who is in a research laboratory brewing up a poison to kill her rivals. For a 19th century audience this poems setting alone would be very bizarre. In aristocratic France, it was way rare for the social classes to mix, so seeing an upper class lady in the setting of a poor laboratory was very strange. The disturbance in the setting would have deeply confused the audience. The narrator even flaunts her wealth to the chemist when she begins to fantasise about what she will hide the poison in with the exclamatory sentence, To carry fresh death in an earring, a casket, A signet, a fan-mount, a filigree-basket This would have shocked a 19th century audience and they would have believed her to have been a very disturbed character. A Jacobean audience would think thatMacbeth is more of a sad hero than a modern audience would. This is because a Jacobean audience would feel more sympathy towards Macbeth because of his fatal flaw, ambition.In the 1600s the idea of succession and progression would be much more topical than it is today, this is because one of the two main monarchs in Shakespeares time, male monarch Elizabeth, remained the Virgin Queen throughout her reign and therefore had no successor, creating great instability. Macbeth was promoted to Thane of Cawdor and the King called him sturdy for brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name. This would have been a massive compliment to Macbeth, so naturally he would enjoy it and want more, A Jacobean audience would have sympathised with his feelings because of the situation of their monarchy at the time. This makes him a tragic hero as he was once a great war lord that was brought down by his fatal flaw, ambition. Also, a Jacobean audience were much more likely to believe in the idea that the witches were taking over Macbeths mind. In Shakespeare time, witchcraft was a major come out as people fully believed that it was possible to be possessed by the supernatural and demonic natures as the knowledge that the women supplied was like a drug to Macbeth, and it is obvious he was fascinated by it at the start, would they have stayed- and continually wants more.His obsession with the witches would have made a Jacobean audience believed he had a disturbed mind, save they would have also have felt sympathy toward his as they believed he was being possessed, making him a tragic hero. However, a modern audience are more sceptical about the supernatural and would therefore see Macbeth as more of a disturbed character as we find it harder the feel sympathy towards him and see him more of a weak willed character as he frequently talks himself out of hiting his title-holders for his own gain, yet he does it anyway. yet I do fear thy nature it is too full othe take out of human unselfishness/ To catch the nearest way. It is shown that Mabeth doesnt dislike Duncan as a king, in fact he sees him as a friend, but he is in the way of Macbeths fatal flaw, ambition, and so has to be killed. The upcoming murder is described as inevitable. The focus on his fall, as well as his rise demonstrates Shakespeares moral message that tyrannical reins will come full circle and end in their demise. Shown also through the divine right of kings, as Malcolm finishes up on the thrown.However, in The Laboratory, as soon as we hear of the narrators motive we feel sympathy towards her. She is also avictim as her husband has cheated on her, leaving her heart broken and distraught. However as we look out more of her fatal flaws, jealousy and revange, the audience realised that she does not only want to kill her emimies, but she wants to make them suffer too, Not that I bid you spare her the pain Let death be felt and the proof remain. This quote from the 9th stanza shows that she wants her rivals to know that they are dying, and that she doesnt care if she is caught to be the one answerable for their murder. A 19th century French audience would call this a crime of passion because the voice has been wronged by the husband and would naturally want to take revenge. They wouldnt believe that it was okay, however they would have tacit why she wanted to do it more than a modern audience would, and would therefore view her as a tragic hero. A modern audience would mostly see her actions as outright murder and would feel less(prenominal) sympathy to the disturbed mind of the narrator and so would see her as less of a tragic hero and more of a disturbed and jealous maniac al killer.In Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth, afterward(prenominal) being told what the witches told Macbeth about him become king, and king here after, and upon receiving word that King Duncan of Scotland will be arriving that night, begins sharpening her talons. She isnt sure theres enough man to go around between herself and her husband, so she calls upon scheming spirits to unsex me Lady Macbeth here. This is her vivid way of request to be stripped of feminine weakness and invested with masculine resolve. She imagines herself as a vessel which may be emptied out and re make full from the crown to the toe. One thing nobody, spirit or otherwise, has ever poured into her is the milk of human kindness. Lady Macbeths speech is very shocking to the audience as it shows the inner workings of her mind and what she really desires, power. This suggest to the audience that she may be the one with the ultimate disturbed mind as she has no doubts that she I prepared to kill her king for her o wn gain.The narrator shows her power over the alchemist as she frequently dominates him and gives him orders, Quick- is it finished? The colours too grim The idea of a woman sexual relation a man what to do would have been unheard of in a patriarchal society such as then. However the alchemist doesnt seem to mind as it is revealed that the disturbed woman who has come for his help is prepared to give everything, Now, take all my jewels, gorge gold to your fill, You may kiss me old man, on my mouth ifyou will The fact an upper class woman is prepared to let a poor alchemist kiss her shows how much this poison means to the narrator. However she pushes him away to avoid any repercussion of the poison, but brush this dust off me, lest horror it brings. Her quick change of mind shows the giddiness in the thought of killing her rivals. After Lady Macbeth strengthens her husbands resolve by mocking his perceived weakness, she convinces him that king Duncan will be murdered than night and explains her plan to him.In the beginning of Act 2 Scene 1 the setting is clearly darkened (use of touch bearers) and the candles are all out metaphor, which is a reference to the heavens, suggests that with the physical darkness there is also a moral darkness. Shakespeare uses pathetic fallacy to set the dark scene. This foreshadows the likelihood of death and also likes with the darkness of Macbeths and his wifes disturbed mind. Later on in the scene Macbeths soliloquy reveals for the first time the extent of Macbeths disturbed mind. He begins to see things that others cannot, a dagger. He asks if it is real or a false creation/ Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? This intensifies the atmosphere of evil but is also a symbol of the start of Macbeths psychological swearing and psychological breakdown. Just as inward debate and talk of murder is about to stifle his courage, Macbeths intense illusion is shattered by the bell, a signal from Lady Macbeth that Duncans chamberla ins are asleep, I go, and it is done the bell invites me.Macbeth races away to commit the heinous crime almost sound outing he has no choice since the bell invites him, taking the responsibility away from himself. This leaves the question in the audiences mind of weather a few more moments of deliberation would have changed Macbeths disturbed mind. On the other hand, The Laboratory is written in anapaestic tetrameter, which is an upbeat rhythm that shows her calm and confident one track mind. This is also emphasised by rhyming couplets and regular quatrains, ..Tightly.. Whitely, ..Smithy Prithee? However, Browning switches to dactyls on line 5, He is with her, and they know that I know. This change in rhythm emphasises her paranoia and makes the audience wonder whether her husbands affaire is all conscionable in her disturbed and paranoid mind In Macbeths eyes, the murder of Duncan has now made the murder of Banquo and his son a necessity and the witches predicted that it would be Banquos children that end up on the thrown.Macbeth treats the murder of his topper friend as afacile task, which tell the audience that the trace of humanity under the vaulting ambition and the moments of reflection and regret are now gone. After the deed had been done and Banquo is now light Macbeth sees his best friends ghost, ironically during his celebratory banquet after becoming king. This is the first time Macbeths friends and subjects see his disturbed minds and Macbeth begins to panic and shout at, what seems to them, to be nothing. Prithee, see there Behold Look Lo How say you? Why, what care I? If thou canst nod, speak too. The repetition of short exclamatory sentences and rhetorical questions shows Macbeths panic at the worrying sight of his gory best friends ghost. To a Jacobean audience, this would be Gods punishment for committing murder and treason. The divine right of kings lead people to believe that the royal family is put there by God so to kill Royalty is muc h worse than normal murder.So therefore matinee idol has sent the image of his dead friend to torment his disturbed mind for what he has done. On the other hand, a modern audience would argue that this is result of Macbeths guilt for ordering his best friend to be killed for no reason other than to keep his status as king for eternity. This shows his deluded and disturbed mind as there is no way that killing Banquo and his son would leave Macbeth on the thrown forever. It shows how is power hunger and disturbed character has poisoned his mind is his sub-conscious guilt has finally gotten too much. In contrast, in The Laboratory, because of her husbands love affair with other women, he is with her, we can see the narrators mental state become more and more disturbed as the poem progresses. This can be seen through the pleasure that the speaker is feeling when talking about the imminent death of her two rivals grind away moisten and mash up thy paste.These verbs show the pleasure the speaker is taking in plotting death. This is unsettling to the reader as we wouldnt expect to see such evil thoughts in a society filled with luxury, portrayed by the lexical field of wealth gold, kings, jewels. The narrator frequently refers to poison with positive connotations treasures pleasures, this shows that she doesnt know the difference between good and band and therefore (like Macbeth) had no moral boundaries. Browning also includes alliteration of plosives, Brand, Burn up, Bite into its grace- This makes the verbs sound violent and aggressive and also makes the narrator sound very disturbed when she says them. Finally, Macbeth who, byAct 4, is far along the path of insanity becomes paranoid and feels the need to make the witches tell him more. He returns to the Witches and boldly demands to be shown a series of apparitions that tell his future. The first apparition is the discorporate head of a warrior who seems to warn Macbeth of a bloody revenge at the hands of HYPERL INKhttp//www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/macbeth/summary-and-analysis//link.aspx?_id=D7760724761D4871B3541B0CC827B645&_z=zMacduff. The second is a blood-covered child who comforts Macbeth with the news that he cannot be killed by any man of woman born. The third is a child wearing a crown, who promises that Macbeth cannot lose in contend until Birnam wood physically moves toward his stronghold at Dunsinane. Encouraged by the news of such impossibilities, Macbeth asks, Shall Banquos issue ever reign in this kingdom? The Witches present an image of a ghostly procession of future kings, led by Banquo. All this serves only to enrage Macbeth, who, trusting in his own pride reveals in an aside to the audience his determination to terminate Macduff as he is now a threat to Macbeths rein. Macbeth realises that he cannot kill Macduff at that moment in time as Macduff is off with his army in England. So instead he chooses to damage Macduff emotionally, in the hope that he would crumble in g rief after hearing of the slaughter of his loved ones. This shows that Macbeth has now been completely in engulfed into his disturbed mind as he is now killing innocent women and children in his decent into ultimate tyranny.To both Jacobean and modern audiences his disturbing actions are unforgivable. However Macbeths actions do the opposite of when he intended- Macduff is spurred on by his anger and in the end takes Macbeths life for it. The focus on his fall, as well as his rise demonstrates Shakespeares moral message that tyrannical reins will come full circle and end in their demise. In conclusion, I think that Shakespeare uses the disturbed mind of Macbeth in effect(p)ly to keep the audience engaged. Macbeths confused and disturbed mind is always flickering back on forth to what is right and what isnt. Shakespeare presents this through his use of soliloquies and short sentences, property the audience fascinated and following every turn and twist of Macbeths disturbed mind.Co ntrasting to The Laboratory where Browning presents the character of the narrator as truly disturbed, yet not mad like Macbeth and she keeps a one track mind and urge to kill throughout most of the poem. This theme ofrevenge leaves the reader able to sympathise with the narrator. They understand her motives and that she had been driven to this outcome. The relationship that browning builds between the narrator and the reader is effective because the reader can easily look into and understand the narrators disturbed mind, allowing the reader to stay engaged with the piece.