Macbeth (Ignatius Critical Editions) by William Shakespeare

Author:William Shakespeare [Shakespeare, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spiritual & Religion
ISBN: 9781586173975
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Published: 2010-02-24T16:00:00+00:00

The climactic fight with Macduff in Act 5, scene 8, begins with Macbeth listening to the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, fitting music for the lead character’s impending doom. The attack on Macbeth’s Dunsinane mansion begins with a semitruck loaded with huge logs (from Birnam Forest, according to the truck’s logo) bursting through the security gates. Malcolm’s gang, armed with laser-guided automatic weapons, storms the residence, killing the outside guards. Once the attackers arrive inside, a fierce gun battle ensues, with Macbeth taking out a number of soldiers.

Finally, Macduff corners Macbeth in the wine cellar for their final mano a mano showdown. Here the director’s lack of subtlety clashes with Shakespeare’s eloquent words to unintentionally comic effect. As the men wrestle around on the floor, their lines are punctuated by their exaggerated exertions:

Macbeth. I bear a charmed life (ooph), which must not (ayah!) yield

To one (oomph!) of woman born.

Macduff. Despair (aah!) thy charm (oomph);

Macduff was (ooh!) from his mother’s womb (ooph!)

Untimely ripp’d (aargh!) (cf. 5.8.12-16)

As a final incongruity, Fleance shows his fitness as future king by shooting an unarmed woman in the Macbeths’ bedroom. This spares us Shakespeare’s optimistic close that order has been restored and ends the film on a properly modern note of despair. The chaos and killing will go on indefinitely. At least the depressing ending matches the rest of the film.

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