hottey needs help

[kiwifruit]

im doin Mcbeth and im about to start my mock exams and i cant under stand the language it makes no sense to me, can you pplz give me a link to an update verson of mcbeth and tell me wat the story is about i will be greatful.

[TodHackett]

k--

For a summary of MacBeth, you can read a summary at these sites:

http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth

As for the language...

Shakespeare's language is not easy. Scholars spend their whole lives trying to understand it, and still it often doesn't make sense.

Some advice: study one or two passages closely, and try to make sense of them in the context of what you know (or can figure out) about the play. Here's an example:

Whence is that knocking?
How is't with me, when every noise appals me?
What hands are here? ha! they pluck out mine eyes.
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas in incarnadine,
Making the green one red.
-Macbeth, Act 2 scene 2

Ask yourself: where, when, why and to whom does Macbeth say this?

To whom is easy: it's a soliloquy, which basically means Macbeth is talking to himself, sort of thinking out loud.

Where: in a chamber (room) in his castle.

When: Well, Macbeth has just told his wife that he has murdered Duncan, as she asked him to. This is a truly despicable act, b/c Duncan is the King of Scotland, Macbeth's lord and friend, and also a guest in Macbeth's house.

Why: This passage is probably Macbeth's effort to come to grips with his guilt and fear. Macbeth's wife has just left the room, and now Macbeth starts hearing things ("Whence is that knocking..."). This is one of those situations we've all been in-- we've done something terrible, maybe committed a crime-- and we're left alone with our guilt and the fear of getting caught. So every noise Macbeth hears, or thinks he hears, makes him jumpy. As it turns out, he is hearing knocking-- it's his wife and accomplice, who's come back to join him after inspecting Duncan's body.

So now, take a moment to read to the end of the scene, and ask yourself: What's up with all this "knocking" business? Why do Macbeth and Lady Macbeth keep hearing knocking?

(Incidentally, you might want to take a look at Edgar Allen Poe's story, "The Telltale Heart" sometime!)

As for the words themselves, take a look at the last two lines of Macbeth's speech:

The multitudinous seas in incarnadine,
Making the green one red.

This line is vitally important to the play-- so important that Shakespeare says it twice, once in flowery eloquence ("multitudinous seas in incarnidine"-- though I think the "in" before "incarnidine" might be a typo!), and again in plain, simple speech ("making the green one red"). Once again, Shakespeare says it twice, and in different ways. Ask yourself-- Why might he do this?

One way of reading this passage: Macbeth feels guilty, and desperately wants to assuage (rid himself of) his guilt. So he talks about washing the blood from his hands. He's just murdered a man, after all, and he's all bloody. But he basically says that washing the stain out will be impossible. Not only that, but he says that he would bloody up whole oceans if he tried to wash himself. In other words, Macbeth knows that he is a criminal now, and always will be, no matter what. He knows it, and he doesn't like it.

But there's another way of reading it, also: Perhaps it is Macbeth's eerie declaration that he fully intends to do whatever is necessary to get away with his crime. He will plot, lie, steal and kill-- why, he'll make the very oceans run red, if he has to!

If you read further and deeper into the play, then go back to this passage, you'll see why it's so important!

So Macbeth has murdered Duncan, he's hearing things and feeling guilty, and now he and his wife have to cover up their crime. How do they do it? Read on!

And as you do, find other passages that catch your eye or your attention, and try to figure out why. Google them if you'd like, and use quotes (like this: "multitudinous seas incarnidine"). You may find some useful & helpful stuff.

Good luck, and feel free to drop me a line with questions if you get frustrated!

[djmyerhmgirl]

Alternatively, you could go to the macbeth section of the www.nofearshakespeare.com site which has the original text on the left side of the page and a translation to today's English on the righthand side.
Good luck!!

[RobinHood3000]

If you have trouble understanding the language, perhaps watching one of the film versions might help. Shakespeare was meant to be performed, not read, and his language always seems to make more sense spoken.

[muhsin]

That is a good hind Robin. So, Kiwi try to watch this film,in so doing,you'll help yourself entensively.

[dandan]

watch the Roman Polanski version......great atmsophere...perfect in fact....and very bloody.