Macbeth: Difference between revisions

Shakespeare also takes liberties with the facts, although in his case his changes are [[Justified Trope|justifiable]] as they [[Pragmatic Adaptation|improve the dramatic tension and the flow of the action]]; after all, he was writing a play, not a history. For instance, he makes Duncan a wise, old good king instead of a young wastrel, he has Macbeth [[Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat|kill him while sleeping instead of in a fair fight]], and he compresses the action into two seasons when the real Macbeth ruled for 17 years (and successfully).

 

 

Superstitious actors refer to this as "[[The Scottish Trope|The Scottish Play]]" (or, occasionally, "The Tartans"). The head role is "The King" or "Mackers" anywhere outside the play itself. And even though the script calls for it, sometimes things still happen, though they are usually less injurious. Some of the wackier ones talk about [[McDonald's|The Scottish Restaurant]].

{{examples|Notable adaptations/inspired media}}

* [[Orson Welles]]' 1936 Harlem stage adaptation set in Haiti with an all-black cast was considered one of the best stage productions in history.

* A character in ''[[Gargoyles]]'', who surprises the audience by being based more on the historical Macbeth than the better-known Shakespeare version. [[Word of God]] mentions that he was amused by the play, and suggests that he and Shakespeare may have been drinking buddies (though Shakespeare wouldn't have known his friend was the ''actual'' Macbeth).

* ''[[Throne of Blood]]'', [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s take on the story, set in feudal Japan.

* The Weird Sisters, three witches who form a rock band in ''[[Harry Potter]]'', are [[Shout-Out|named after]] the nickname given to the three witches in Act 1 of Macbeth.

* Another of the more famous lines, "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble" (from the same monologue that named [[Eye of Newt]], was also the name of an ''early'' (by which we mean ''[[Full House]]''-era) [[Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen|Olsen Twins]] movie.

* One of several Shakespeare plays adapted into a [[Graphic Novel]] recently{{when}}. Available in original Shakespearean, modern text, and a paraphrased version.

* A 2006 Australian film starring Sam Worthington, with a [[Setting Update]] to the [[Underbelly|Melbourne ganglands]]. It sticks to the play fairly well, but adds a few silent scenes, and suggests that Lady Macbeth acted out of grief of a dead child. And she's also a cocaine addict.

* Punchdrunk and Emursive produced a loose adaptation of The Scottish Play mixed with elements of Hitchcock, styled in the late 1930s: Sleep No More. Characters are lifted from The Scottish Play and mingle with ones from Hitchcock's Rebecca. Bernard Herrmann's soundtracks are heard throughout the immersive play.

* A 2010 PBS production with a [[Setting Update]] to the Russian Revolution, starring [[Patrick Stewart]].

* An audio novelization by A.J. Hartley and David Hewson, narrated by Alan Cumming. It features deep analysis of several characters, portraying both Macbeth and his wife as tragic figures.

{{tropenamer}}

* [[Out, Damned Spot!]]

{{tropelist}}

* [[All Witches Have Cats]]: One of the witches has a cat named Greymalkin.

* [[Ambiguous Gender]]: Banquo is unsure what gender the three witches are. They were originally played by men pretending to be women, so his line that they have beards is likely an inside joke. In the recent{{when}} Globe version, this caused the actors to do a rather hilarious double take.

* [[Ambition Is Evil]]: At least if you have to murder your king for it. What's especially sad is that Macbeth had already gained enormous prestige and rewards for his heroism in putting down the rebellion and invasion from Norway, and the high esteem he was held in by Duncan would have given him tremendous influence even if the king had stayed alive and passed the throne on to Malcolm. At that period in Scottish history the kingship was more adoptive than hereditary (indeed, Duncan was the first ever king to succeed his own father) and Macbeth, as a successful general and a lord in his own right, had every reason to suppose that he might be tapped as next in line to the throne (this is the back-story to the part about "if chance will have me king, then chance may crown me" and the reason he is so shocked when Duncan names his son Malcolm as Prince of Cumberland, i.e. heir to the throne). In real life, Macbeth drew his support from the more conservative element in the Scots ruling class, who were horrified at the thought that supreme power might become a monopoly of one family. In that sense, he might be seen as the [[Darker and Edgier]] version of Brutus in Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar''.

* [[The Loins Sleep Tonight]]: The Porter's scene is chock full of this stuff.

* [[Lonely at the Top]]

* By [[One for Sorrow, Two For Joy|Maggotpies]] and [[Crows and Ravens|Choughs and Rooks]]: Act 3, scene 4, line 126.

* [[The Man Behind the Man]]: Macbeth wouldn't have gone so far without the encouragement of his wife.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Historical Fiction]]

[[Category:Opera]]

[[Category:School Study Media]]

[[Category:William Shakespeare]]

[[Category:Theatre of the 17th century]]