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After watching 1 full production of Macbeth, find a scene from another production. You can rent one of the many Macbeth movies or look for clips on youtube–but avoid student productions. Look for professional clips (anything with Judi Dench or Ian McKellen would be great).
Select one scene from the play and examine the production of that scene in both the first version and the second one you have found. Write a short (2 to 3 page essay) in which you discuss the differences among the two versions. As you are comparing them, here are some things to consider:
1) Have a sense of how you think the scene should go.
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What do you imagine the setting to be?
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What would you have the characters wearing?
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Who would you cast in the roles?
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How do you imagine the characters delivering their lines?
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Interacting with each other?
2) Note the ways in which the productions differ from your expectation and from each other.
3) Evaluate the performances.
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Did the actors deliver the lines with the emotion/expression you expected? Which production did it better?
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Did the production focus on different aspects of the scene than you thought were important?
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Did the two productions emphasize the same elements of the scene?
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Did the actors seem well suited to their roles? Which production did it better?
4) Did the productions cut or add anything to the scene? Were the changes helpful or detracting?
- Essay is a minimum of two pages when formatted correctly in MLA format.
- Essay contains a thesis that addresses how the different versions of Macbeth address a particular scene and how that difference impacts the meaning of the work.
- Thesis statement demonstrates analysis of the versions and how the versions emphasize themes in the play.
- Essay uses the two productions of the play to support the assertion in the thesis statement.
- Specific titles are provided for all works used (both the original play and the performances). .
- Textual evidence is used and properly cited for each of the productions.
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