Macbeth Act 2 Scene 2 Essay Example for Free

Macbeth Act 2 Scene 2 Essay I shall now evaluate the significance of Act 2 Scene 2. Before this scene we know that Macbeth has already killed King Duncan. We have been introduced to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Furthermore, we have been introduced to the Murder, and guilt in the environment. This scene is essential to the plot because the scene produces and develops the character of Macbeth, and shows a different side of Macbeth after the murder of Duncan. It is essential also because it shows the reaction and effect the murder has put on Lady Macbeth. The two main characters in this scene are Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth. This scene is one of the most significant scenes in this entire play. Owing to the fact that, in this scene Macbeth and Lady Macbeth reveal their equivocating and uncertain emotions and personalities. To be precise, in the beginning of this play Macbeth was a courageous, honourable and loyal soldier. However, he met three witches after a war. The witches sabotaged his mind into believing the fact that he would become the King of Scotland. These predictions the witches made roused Macbeth’s ambition and lead him into murdering King Duncan. In this scene, Macbeth has been mocked by his wife, into killing Duncan. Confused with his conscience and ambition Macbeth commits the sin. This scene shows the changes in Macbeth’s emotions and specifies that he is an enterprising character, who goes through the contrast between his courage and guilt. Act 2 scene 2 shows that Macbeth is in misery. This scene is about Macbeth being questioned by his conscience and about the betrayal that he has committed. An example of Macbeth questioning his conscience would be: â€Å"But wherefore could not I pronounce â€Å"Amen†?† In this quote you can tell that Macbeth is asking himself a question that is connected to him being uncomfortable. Another example of Macbeth’s guilt is: â€Å"Methought I heard a voice cry ‘Sleep no more!† This quote proves that Macbeth knows that he won’t be able to sleep at night, because his conscience has been questioned.  Act 2 scene 2 portrays Lady Macbeth as a cruel and evil character. The fact that she says â€Å"That which hath made them drunk hath made be bold† shows that she doesn’t feel any guilt and that she is still very cruel instead of being worrying about the consequences about the things that she has done. When  Lady Macbeth says â€Å"Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there: go carry then; and smear the sleepy grooms with blood† you can tell that she is only afraid about getting caught, but not guilty about what he has done, except she wants to make it seem even worse by smearing the grooms with blood. Shakespeare emphasizes the two character’s personalities by making them completely different from each other. He makes it a balance because he wants the audience to see the irony that he has created in the play because in the future the two characters will swap their personalities.  Shakespeare uses the effect of imagery in this play. In this particular scene he uses his strong visual words to create pictures in the audience’s minds. Even though, the death of Duncan isn’t described specifically in this play, the audience will still be able to imagine the terrible scene of murder. When Lady Macbeth says, â€Å"My hands are of your colour; but I shame to wear a heart so white† she implies the effect and image of blood, because when she says colour people will most probably think of blood. Macbeth responds by saying â€Å"This is a sorry sight† it also implies to the audience that it isn’t very good to be seen. Also, when Lady Macbeth says, â€Å"Smear the sleepy grooms with blood† the imagery is very effective because people can picture a room and people smeared with blood. Imagery is very significant because it is the only way that the audience will be able to see the story. If there are no strong visual words then the audience will not be able to see anything, this way it will be harder for the audience to enjoy the story. Hence, Shakespeare uses imagery. Murder and guilt are the two main themes addressed in this scene. In the whole play, Macbeth’s unintelligent behaviour and other flaws in his character caused Macbeth’s failure and ruination. Also, Lady Macbeth’s pressure on him was an important reason of his downfall. This is shown comprehensively in this scene. In this play Shakespeare is trying to show the audience that ambition and passion is good only when it is thought up to a limit, and if people think of right and wrong. However, it could be bad when it becomes so passionate that it shatters one’s honour and pride. In this scene Shakespeare tries to show the audience Macbeth’s wrong decision and the consequence to his spurious ambition. The theme of murder is shown in Lady Macbeth’s dialogues. When she says â€Å"I have drugged their possets† the audience can feel the murder theme, because Lady Macbeth is so keen and excited about Duncan’s death that she would do anything. Also, when she says â€Å"Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t† it also shows that she would have done anything to make Macbeth the king. The theme of guilt is only shown in Macbeth’s dialogues. When Macbeth says â€Å"Sleep no more, Macbeth shall sleep no more† the audience can easily tell that Macbeth is feeling guilty about what he has done. Also, when he says â€Å"This is a sorry sight† people can tell that Macbeth is afraid of what has happened. Also, the audience can tell that Macbeth hasn’t done everything with his own decision. This is very ironic because in this scene Macbeth is the one who is guilty and carries on with the theme of guilt. However, further in the play it’s Lady Macbeth that is guilty and Macbeth carries the theme of Murder instead of Lady Macbeth. The original audience would have responded to this scene with fear and anger towards Lady Macbeth because she plays a very cruel character that is very vicious and nasty and doesn’t care about what has happened. However, the audience would feel sorry for Macbeth and find Macbeth very dumb for doing what he has done. The overall dramatic impact of the scene is a very strong effect of evilness. The most intense aspect of this scene is when Shakespeare shows the difference between cruelty (Lady Macbeth) and guilt (Macbeth) because this is the point where the audience is thinking most about the reaction of characters of the death. This scene is a scene of a climax point where there are a lot of different characteristics added to each character. The scenes significance to the rest of the play is very strong because it is contrasting to the rest of the play where Lady Macbeth becomes guilty and Macbeth becomes vicious.

exposition :: essays research papers

Exposition: How Dating is Like Playing a Board Game   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dating can be looked upon as a game, a game that requires each player assume a role. By assuming roles they must stick to their role without rearing off. Each role must be played carefully. The role of the man must be giving to the woman, and the role of the woman is to be patient with the man. All this must be followed like a board game, step by step. When you follow the game and listen carefully it will build a strong relationship. First, the man rolls the dice to see exactly what topic he must discuss with the woman. Then he must ask a question that pretends to that topic. For example if he lands on the topic of future, he must ask all the questions, like what do you see your future to be? He must do this without offending her or he must go back to step one. As he goes through the whole game board he is trying to remember as much information as he can for the second part of the game.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Second, the woman rolls to see exactly what topic she must discuss with the man. Then she must ask questions to about the topic. For example, if she lands on sports she must ask all the questions, like what teams do you like and what are your favorite teams? She must also memorize all the team colors. She must do this without falling asleep or she must start from step one. As she goes through the whole game she is trying to remember, as much information as she can for the second part of the game.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally, the second part of the game arrives in which they both must remember all the information from part one. First the man remembers exactly what she wants to do in the future, without missing a single thing. Then she must remember all the facts about sports without forgetting a thing. If he or she forgets one thing the game is over.

Advanced Maternal Age

Women in the United States are experiencing unprecedented opportunities to pursue education and professional careers. One potential down side to this situation is that women find themselves putting off starting a family until they complete their education and feel comfortable in their employment. In many cases this can extend into the woman’s late 30’s or even early 40’s.   Advanced maternal age may also have negative effects on fertility and the outcomes of a successful pregnancy. Considering all the factors, a woman should consider putting off starting a family and build a career as long as she has educated herself on all the risks of advanced maternal age.For years, women have been under the assumption that as long as they were bearing children under the age of 35, fertility and child mortality were at a minimum.   Recent studies have shown that this assumption is far from the truth and may eliminate childbearing for those women who wait into their late 30 ’s and early 40’s to start having children.   Education for women by gynecologists and obstetricians has been insufficient and most women are â€Å". . . surprised—even shocked—to learn that fertility begins to fall in their late 20’s (Hatcher, 2002).†Ã‚   Most women are finding out too late that they have simply put off having children too long and are now unable to bear children without intervention.   Fertility treatments are an expensive option, but are only available to those that can afford the treatments that insurance does not cover.Pregnancies that do occur at advanced maternal age have lower success rates.   Increased maternal age, typically over the age of 35, carries higher chances of miscarriage; higher increases in pregnancy complications like high blood pressure, diabetes, and placental problems; and increased chance of having a child with a chromosomal disorder (Children’s Specialist, 2007).   The good news is that medical advances in prenatal and perinatal care have diminished the effects that many of these complications have on pregnancies at advanced maternal age.   Safe pregnancies after the age of 35 are occurring at much higher rates with advanced blood testing and ultrasounds that allow early detection and treatment of potential problems.For many modern women, pursuing education and professional careers are the norm.   More women than ever in history are pursuing careers, not just jobs that add extra income.   Most career paths take years to build in order to reach the top of success.   The drive to achieve and succeed has pushed many women toward putting off starting a family till their careers are firmly on track.   With medical care helping to make child bearing in later years safer, women are choosing to put careers before family.   There are many advantages for women to wait to start a family:Financial stability Relationship stability Increased maturity Increased l ife experiences Larger support networks Better education Although these advantages may be present for a younger mother, the chance of a woman having all the advantages increases with age.   These advantages allow the mother to provide the best possible start for the child and to be the best mother she has the potential to be.The dilemma remains that when women take themselves out of the workforce to bear a child, a disadvantage occurs when compared to male counterparts.   An argument can be made that a woman with an established career and older age may have a better chance of regaining status once she returns to work due to her previous proven results and successes.   A younger woman just starting out in a career and taking a leave of absence to bear a child will not have a consistent track record to fall back on once she returns to work.   The advantage that an advance maternal age woman has may be the difference between a successful return to a career rather than being pas sed over for those who are not choosing to bear children.  Ã‚   The dilemma to put off childbearing looms large for many career women and must be considered along with the risks of advanced maternal age.There is hope for women who choose to honor both children and careers.   Proper education, healthy lifestyles, current medical advances, and pure determination help women of advanced maternal age have the balanced lives they desire.   While it is true that fertility declines in the late 20’s and that â€Å". . . women perform best at childbearing when they are young. . . (Gosden, 1995)†, these factors should not be the only consideration when choosing between careers and families.   â€Å"For reasons still far from clear, human evolution has allowed the female reproductive system to age faster than other body parts (Gosden, 1995).†Ã‚   The mental aspect of child rearing and career advancement need to be fully considered.   Physically, advanced maternal age does carry risks to both mother and fetus, but medical advances have severely reduced the chances of unsuccessful pregnancy outcomes.   Mentally, women who have built successful careers are better fit to raise children in later years rather than rushing to bear children in early years to avoid the physical risk.In all, advanced maternal age carries risks with fertility and successful pregnancy outcomes, but as long as the woman is educated on these risks, putting off child bearing should be considered in order to foster a successful career.   Medical advances have decreased pregnancy risks and advanced maternal age women should take full advantage to have a balanced life filled with both career and family.ReferencesChildren’s Specialists. 2007. Pregnancy over the Age of 35.   San Diego Perinatal Center.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Accessed on February 12, 2007 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://childrensspecialists.com/body.cfm?id=460#Top.Gosden, R. 1995. Delayed Childbe aring. BMJ.   Accessed on February 12, 2007 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/311/7020/1585.Hatcher, T. 2002. Careers and Babies: Fertility Decline Underscores Dilemma.   CNN Health   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   May 2, 2002. Accessed on February 12, 2007 from http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/04/30/fertility.women/index.html .

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