Download HOW TO READ SHAKESPEARE! (Macbeth edition) 1. Yes, Macbeth

HOW TO READ SHAKESPEARE! (Macbeth edition)
1. Yes, Macbeth is a long dramatic poem, which is sometimes tough for the modern reader to read and
understand, let alone appreciate...but your efforts in this regard will be well worth the time you spend!
2. SENTENCES -- Break down confusing passages into their component sentences; Shakespeare has
constructed his play around solid sentence structure. Sometimes the sentences themselves are confusing –
a. Shakespeare writes some long and convoluted sentences. Read each clause separately, and then
put them together to get the whole thought.
King Duncan: What bloody man is that? He can report, / As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt /
The newest state.
"Translation": Who is that guy all covered with blood? He can tell us about the latest state of the battle,
since he's so battered and beaten up.
b. The Bard (that's an epithet for Shakespeare) arranges his words in strange patterns, both to fit
the poetic context, and because things were just done differently 400 years ago...look for nouns and
adjectives reversed, look for verbs in strange positions, especially at the END of a sentence; watch out for
prepositional phrases and look to find both the Subject and the Predicate at the end of the sentence.
Arrange the words into sentences you can understand.
King Duncan: Dismayed this not our captains, Macbeth and / Banquo?
Captain: Yes, as sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion.
“Translation": Didn't this dismay our generals, Macbeth and Banquo?
Yes, just as sparrows dismay eagles, or a rabbit dismays a lion.
c. The last line translated above shows how Shakespeare uses MANY similes and metaphors
throughout his plays -- really he uses lots of every type of figurative language -- but here you see how
Macbeth and Banquo are compared to noble, ferocious beasts who are not frightened by lesser creatures
that are, in fact, their own prey... O.K.?
Captain: If I say sooth, I must report they were / As cannons overcharged with
double cracks, / So they doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe.
Translation: To speak the truth, I must say that they were like two cannons stuffed with
two cannonballs; that is, the two of them made quadruple attacks on our enemies.
In this last example, notice how the simile is explained in the same line...
3. VOCABULARY -- Shakespeare uses all kinds of strange words -- some are simply old words no longer
in use, some are archaic terms no longer in existence, and some are words The Bard of Avon himself
created because the idea he wished to express didn't exist in English!!
a. Names: Shakespeare uses lots of epithets for his characters: in this play, Macbeth is called
Macbeth, Glamis, Cawdor, (names that refer to him by the realms he rules, just as the kings of Norway and
England are called "Norway" and "England") Bellona's bridegroom,(which is a reference to Mars, the god
of war, whom Macbeth resembles, being such a great warrior) NOTE that throughout the play kings refer to
themselves as "we" --this is the "royal plural" all kings used; the “we” referred to is the King and God!