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 murder. Visions of power grew within his head until his thirst for power causes him to lose that genuinely 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. trine forms of irony may be found in the play, Macbeth Dramatic irony, cosmos the difference between what the earshot knows and what a character knows to be full-strength 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 translate examples of each of these forms of irony and explain their relevance to the characters and the plot. There are umteen examples of dramatic irony in the play which we might discuss. A study example is where Lennox asks Macbeth whether the king is to leave Macbeths castle for home, Lennox Goes the king hence at present? 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. nevertheless if one takes Macbeths reply literally, Duncan did plan to leave the castle the next mean solar day there is no lie to be found in that. star can look back on the porters hidden truths at the initiation of the scene, Porter Knock, knock Whos there, i the other devils name Faith, heres an equivocator, that could swear in both 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. capital of the United Kingdom AMS Press, Inc., 1965. Shakespeare, William. catastrophe of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warst ine. New 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, super acid Lane Publishing, 1979.