Mastering Imagery
Uploaded by friscokidlp16 on Apr 27, 2005
Mastering Imagery
Although I am mostly unfamiliar with Roman Polanski’s work, his use of imagery in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth was woven meticulously. With some subtle, and some not so subtle, applications of lighting, blood, and use of the crown the film flows with multiple agendas.
Through the use of lighting Polanski set the mood for this tragedy. During a good part of the film the set is gloomy and rainy. Even though the sun does break through from time to time I didn’t believe that these sunny moments held much in the thought of hidden meaning. On the other hand, the dark scenes in this movie threw you into the evil in which they portrayed. For instance, before the King was murdered, we found Macbeth wandering around in the darkness trying to justify his soon to be actions. The rain began to fall and thunder rumbled helping to set the tone for the upcoming malice. The storming countryside seemed to react to the thoughts and actions taking place in the castle. Upon the finding of the King’s body the morning sunrise sprays a red tint across the set and those who occupy it. The red faces keep you right there on the hint of murder.
It is after the King’s death that light cleanses the previous nights misfortune. Macbeth is named King of Scotland covered in a white robe. The sun shines as the people celebrate a new King. I thought this momentarily gave the film a relaxing point. This point of relaxation did not last long. The gloom stretches out over Scotland again and evil stirs once more. After Macbeth makes plans for more murder, he speaks a line, which I thought was perfectly fitting for Polanski’s version.
Come, seeling night,
Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day;
and with thy bloody and invisible hand
Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond
which keeps me pale! Light thickens; and the crow
Makes wing to the rooky wood:
Good things of day begin to droop and drowse;
While night's black agents to their preys do rouse. (Act 3 scene 2).
The mindfully placed blood imagery in this version of Macbeth positioned emphasis on important scenes. Most of the blood sightings in this film are excessive, but only to get the viewer in that mood again. Macbeth’s demise comes from a desire for power. In preservation of, and search of more power, Macbeth is thrown into uncontrollable mind...