Jack's English Journal

Securing: 6/2/14

Exploring authorial intent is always incredibly interesting. Understanding not just what is written on the page and how that makes you feel, but why that is written on the page and why it makes you feel that way. Shakespeare constantly uses language devices and the pulse of the iambic pentameter to convey characters emotions, personalities and relationships with other characters. There is a very clear use of sharing the iambic pentameter between two characters in Act 2 Scene 2. This is where we will be looking at Shakespeare’s authorial intent.

In Act 2 Scene 2, Shakespeare has broken the iambic pentameter into pieces and shared it between two characters, in this case, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. So, what is the iambic pentameter? The iambic pentameter is used in all of Shakespeare’s works and we all still use it today. It is the rhythm in which the characters speak. Every character uses this rhythm whilst speaking and often completes the rhythm once through or more. However, in this scene Shakespeare has decided to break the iambic pentameters rhythm and has shared it between to characters. This develops a feeling of urgency, desperation, fear and trepidation into the scene.

An example of how the iambic pentameter is shared is when Macbeth says, ‘This is a sorry sight.’ and Lady Macbeth follows by saying ‘A foolish though to say a sorry sight.’ If said aloud, it sounds as though Lady Macbeth is cutting him off or in other cases finishing his sentences. Why is this? This is because the iambic pentameter has not been resolved when Macbeth’s line ends and Lady Macbeth resolves the rhythm with her line. This does a lot to influence what we may think of Lady Macbeth and what we might think of her relationship with Macbeth as an audience. We may now think that Lady Macbeth is more powerful in the relationship because she is cutting Macbeth off and finishing Macbeth’s sentences. We may also think that she plays a manipulative role in controlling Macbeth’s actions and I think this has been done intentionally by Shakespeare. Why? To either create a scapegoat for the murder or to continue to encourage thoughts that Lady Macbeth is actually at fault for the murders and that she’s evil.*

 

 

– I feel like I’m struggling to say what I want to say in the right words and the right way.

– The iambic pentameter is like a musical piece, the technique of sharing the lines works exactly like writing a rhythm for one instrument and ending the line on a staccato note without any resolution or resolve. Then, adding in another instrument that resolves and completes the line/rhythm. It feels like the first instrument was cut off.

*I hate the word evil, any good synonyms for that?

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One response to “Securing: 6/2/14”

  1. Miss Drewett Avatar
    Miss Drewett

    I feel like you have said this very well indeed. You write very clearly and a desire to get across your ideas well is evident. You have explored the structural device of rhythm in light of character with detail and extended explanation. You have even begun to analyse why this is.

    To develop your point it would be best to fully explain (and provide evidence – perhaps through language analysis to support your points about the sharing of lines?) your last sentence as it is not conclusive as to how the sharing of the lines causes the audience to feel these things. Is there any other evidence you can provide and analyse to evidence these ideas?

    I’m sure a thesaurus will provide many a useful synonym for evil – it depends of the type of evil you are trying to depict. Vindictive? Malicious? Cruel?

    Try to avoid too many rhetorical questions within your analysis, save it only for dramatic moments in creative writing. Rephrase by using ‘in order to’ or ‘because’. Although the why shows you are considering reasoning and directing the reader to your conclusions, it is quite blunt and breaks the flow of your writing, taking away from the formality.

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