Essay on how Shakespeare creates mood and atmosphere.

How does Shakespeare Create Mood and Atmosphere in Act 2?

Throughout Act Two of Macbeth, Shakespeare uses language to create certain moods and atmosphere. This is especially true in scene four with Old Man, Ross and Macduff. A line that creates an extremely dark and foreboding atmosphere is the line “Night strangles the travelling lamp.” It can be implied that, the line refers to the fact that even though it is supposed to be day, the skies are so dark that it has the same complexion as night. This connotation implies that the “travelling lamp” is a metaphor for the sun. Alternatively, the “lamp” could refer to the idea of hope, and that as night, or perhaps darkness has completely covered it, it makes the world an unsafe environment. With the use of the word “strangles” Shakespeare forms an extremely violent atmosphere. The inclusion of this automatically suggests death. This could be in conjunction with the death of the King, or symbolically the death of hope in Scotland. In either interpretation, Shakespeare is describing the way in which the weather echoes the darkness felt by the characters. In addition, the use of the weather as a symbolic tool is in keeping with the gothic genre.

The violent atmosphere is continued with the line “A falcon towering in her pride of place, was by a mousing owl, hawk’d at and kill’d.” It can be taken that, the hawk represents Duncan with the mousing owl representing Macbeth. This line could therefore be seen to mirror Duncan’s murder. The representation of nature in this passage creates an extremely dark atmosphere and feeling regarding the country of Scotland. The line may be implying that the natural order of both animals and humans has been disrupted. Symbolically, the falcon could represent freedom with the owl signifying wisdom. The owl killing the falcon could represent the idea that knowledge destroys freedom. In terms of the play, this could link back to the fact the witches prophesy enunciates the events that lead to the current time.

Overall, the stormy imagery and the disruptions in animal behaviour could symbolise the unrest caused by Duncan’s death. This therefore implies that the moral actions of characters have a direct bearing upon the weather. In addition, these forces serve as a physical and visual reminder to the audience of the dark feelings felt by the characters.

There is also a deceitful mood created in this scene, this is in part due the fact that Macduff refuses to attend Macbeths coronation at the Stone of Scone. This shows that Macduff does not trust Macbeth. The language used in the duologue between Malcolm and Donalbain, earlier in the play supports this mood of deceit, in addition to creating a foreboding atmosphere. This can be seen via the inclusion of the line “daggers in men’s smiles.” Firstly, the juxtaposition between a smile and a dagger creates the impression of deceit and distrust. In addition, the line gives the impression that Malcolm believes that other characters wish to murder the brothers but will hide the act until the last moment. The motif of the dagger also has many connotations. The obvious link is to that of death. However, the dagger suggests a point and this in turn may be Malcolm prophesising the fact that blame will be pointed at the brothers once they leave Scotland.