In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting two relationships. The first is the Macbeths from the play ‘Macbeth’, written by William Shakespeare in England in the 1600’s however the play is set in 11th century Scotland. In 17th century England there were many changes. Queen Elizabeth 1st had died leaving no heir and was succeeded by James 1st. He was a Scottish king who sought the return of traditional gender roles.
Had proved wrong by the ambitious and unmarried Queen Elizabeth. The second relationship is the Bumbles from the novel ‘Oliver Twist’, written by Charles Dickens in Victorian times and was published in a serialized form. In these two texts I will be commenting on love in the relationship and how the relationship develops throughout. I will also be looking at setting, form and the language used in the two texts. At the time of Macbeth, women were expected to be sub-servant to men.
At the time of Macbeth many people believed in God and if a woman tried to change her place in the great chain of being for example not be sub-servant to her husband she would be defying god as he was at the top of the chain. However at the time in which Oliver Twist was written many people no longer believed in God so therefore did not fear the great chain of being. So women were not expected to be sub-servant and it was more common for women to be independent, some of which even fought for equal rights for example the suffragettes.
In Victorian times many people married not for love but for social and economic stability. This can be related to Dickens as he was in a loveless marriage At the start of the relationship the Macbeths’ seem to have a great deal of love for each other. This can be shown in Act 1, scene 5 when Lady Macbeth is reading a letter her husband has sent her. In this letter he calls his wife, “My dearest partner of greatness”, which is a term of endearment expressing love. In this letter he also shares the news of his new Thane ship and his encounter with the witches.
After reading about his new title, “Thane of Cawdor”, Lady Macbeth already begins to plan his future. This can be shown from the quote, “Thou wouldst be great”. Another sign of love. However as the play continues Lady Macbeth mocks her husband’s manliness. She says, “When you durst do it then you are a man”, from Act 1 scene 7 shows that Lady Macbeth can put her husband down and humiliate him without seeming to care which shows a lack of love, however the audience would see that Lady Macbeths motivation is because of love and that she wants her husband to achieve his ambitions.
Again as the play unfolds Macbeth begins to exclude his wife from his business, this can be shown in act 3 scene 2 when Macbeth says, “Be innocent of the knowledge dearest Chuck”. This shows that Macbeth no longer wishes to include his wife with his business which shows growing tensions in their marriage however from the audiences point of view it would be seen as Macbeth regaining his manliness. You could also possibly say that Macbeth no longer wants his wife involved with his business because he wants her to live guilt free and he doesn’t want her to know about all the terrible things he has done.
The final point which describes the Macbeths relationship is in Act 5, scene 5. After hearing about Lady Macbeths death, Macbeth simply says, “she should have died hereafter”. This quote shows us that Macbeth thinks that his wife’s death is an in-connivance and that she should have died at a more convenient time. The fact that he shows no signs of remorse or guilt shows us that he no longer loved his wife. Bumble include flies in trap room used to describe relationship public and private , LM uses manipulation, Mrs.
B uses violence and humiliation. Compare Dickens own marriage. The two pieces of text (“Macbeth” and “Oliver Twist”) have been written in completely different formats. “Macbeth” was written in the form of a play while “Oliver Twist” is a novel which was published in a serial format. The two formats affect how the text was written. For example in “Macbeth” soliloquy is used to express a characters thoughts while in “Oliver Twist” an omniscient 3rd person narrator is used to express characters feelings.
In Macbeth there is one main setting which is, “Dunsainee Castle” in which the Macbeths live. However in different rooms of the rooms of the castle the Macbeths relationship roles change. In public areas of the castle Macbeth is seen to be the dominant party in his relationship however in private Lay Macbeth is the one in charge, this can be shown in Act 1, scene 5 when Lady Macbeth says, “I may pour my spirits in thine ear and chastise with the valour of my tongue”. In the Bumbles there are two main settings.
The parlor which represents the private side of the marriage and the workhouse which symbolizes the public side. However unlike in Macbeth, Mrs Bumble assert her dominance both in public in private however she does it differently in private than she does in public. In the parlor she uses, “matrimonial tactics such as, she, “Fell into a paroxysm of tears” and when that didn’t work she used violence, “inflicted a shower of blows. However in the workhouse she uses humiliation o undermine her husband.
This can be shown when Mrs. Bumble says, “Making yourself look like a fool”. Macbeth uses sillouqy to add extra info. In Bumble they use an omniscient narrator. Dickens uses long sentences with the meains at the end which creates a humours tone. Macbeth uses heaby imagery eg dagger while dickens uses heavy alliteration and some symbolism eg hate = power. Dickens shows a lack of support for each charcter. Shakespeare uses more formal language to show the tension between the Macbeths eg consort
