Three Forms of Irony in Shakespeares Macbeth Essay -- GCSE English Li

Macbeth, is a story of a man whos ambitions have brought him to commit treason and implementation. Visions of power grew within his head until his thirst for power causes him to lose that precise source of his ambition to the blade of Macduffs sword. It is the ironic and symbolic elements such as this in the play which contribute to much of the acceptance the work has enjoyed for centuries. Three forms of caustic remark may be found in the play, Macbeth Dramatic irony, cosmos the difference between what the audience knows and what a character knows to be true Verbal Irony, being a difference between what is said and what is meant and Situational Irony, a difference between what happens and what is expected to happen. I will attempt to show examples of each of these forms of irony and exempt their relevance to the characters and the plot. There are many examples of dramatic irony in the play which we might discuss. A major example is where Lennox asks Macbeth whether the king is to leave Macbeths fortification for home, Lennox Goes the king hence today? Macbeth He does he did appoint so. (II,iii,54-54) Obviously Macbeth is lying through his teeth, for the audience was fully aware that he planned to murder King Duncan that night. But if one takes Macbeths reply literally, Duncan did plan to leave the castle the next day there is no lie to be found in that. One can look back on the porters hidden truths at the beginning of the scene, Porter Knock, knock Whos there, i the other devils name Faith, heres an equivocator, that could swear in twain the scales against either scale who committed treason enough for Gods sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven O come in, equivocator. (II,iii,7-11) ... .... Criticism on Shakespeare s Tragedies . A Course of Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature. London AMS Press, Inc., 1965. Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. freshly York Washington Press, 1992. Steevens, George. Shakespeare, The Critical Heritage. Vol. 6. London Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981. T.W. Shakespeare, the Critical Heritage. Vol. 5. London Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979. Wills, Gary. Witches & Jesuits. Oxford Oxford University Press, 1995. Epstein, Norrie, The Friendly Shakepeare, New York, Viking Publishing, 1993. Harbage, Alfred, Macbeth, Middlesex England, Penguin Publishing, 1956. Magill, Masterplots- Volume 6, New Jersey, Salem Press, 1949. Staunten, Howard, The Complet Illustrated Shakespeare, New York, Park Lane Publishing, 1979.