The only comicaside that appears in Shakespeare's Macbethbelongs to the Doctor who observes Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking in act 5, scene 1.
In act 5, scene 3, the Doctor has a short scene with Macbeth, who orders the Doctor to cure Lady Macbeth of what the Doctor terms "thick-coming fancies," meaning her disturbing dreams, and what Macbeth believes is her "diseased mind."
Macbeth then tells the Doctor,
I will not be afraid of death and bane,
Till Birnam forest come to Dunsinane (5.3.68-68).
The Doctor remarks, in an aside:
DOCTOR: Were I from Dunsinane away and clear,
Profit again should hardly draw me here. (5.3.70-71)
In other words, the Doctor is saying that if he ever gets away from the castle at Dunsinane, Macbeth couldn't pay him enough to come back again.
One of the most famous scenes of comic relief in a Shakespeare tragedy is what is referred to as the "Porter scene" in Macbeth. The scene occurs in act 2, scene 3, immediately after Duncan's murder by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The "Porter scene" also serves as a prelude to the scene when Duncan's body is discovered by Macduff.
Macbeth's porter is roused from his drunken stupor by loud knocking at the castle gates. He goes to open the gates, and on his way he gives a comicsoliloquy comparing the gates of the castle to the gates of hell.
PORTER. Knock, knock, knock, knock! Who's there, i’ the name of Beelzebub? ... Knock, knock! Who's there, in th’ other devil's name? ... But this place is too cold for hell. I'll devil-porter it no further. (3.2.3-4, 7, 15-16)
Low comedy ensues when the Porter finally opens the gates and admits Macduff, who comes to meet with Duncan. There is a short dialogue between the Porter and Macduff, in which the Porter tells Macduff that drinking "is a great provoker of three things" (3.2.23).
MACDUFF. What three things does drink especially provoke?
PORTER. Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine. Lechery, sir, it provokes and unprovokes: it provokes thedesire, but it takes away the performance. (3.2.24-27).
In this same scene there are examples of droll, high comedy and irony which juxtapose the audience's knowledge of the murder of Duncan with the questions and remarks made by Macduff, Lennox, and Macbeth.
MACDUFF. Is the King stirring, worthy Thane?
MACBETH. Not yet. (3.2.42-43) ...
LENNOX. Goes the King hence today?
MACBETH. He does: he did appoint so. (3.2.53-54)
Lennox tells Macbeth about the unusual events that occurred during the night.
LENNOX. The night has been unruly. Where we lay,
Our chimneys were blown down, and, as they say,
Lamentings heard i’ the air, strange screams of death,
And prophesying with accents terrible
Of dire combustion and confused events
New hatch'd to the woeful time. The obscure bird
Clamor'd the livelong night. Some say the earth
Was feverous and did shake. (3.2.55-62)
Macbeth's masterfully understated response summarizes not only Lennox's description of what occurred during the...
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night, but also summarizes Macbeth's state of mind and Macbeth's reaction to what he experienced during the night.
MACBETH. ’Twas a rough night. (3.2.63)
Provide a total of five annotations for the aspects of aside, soliloquy, comic relief, high comedy, low comedy, and satiric comedy as they are found in Macbeth.
In a play, a soliloquy is a long speech by one character who is alone, is unaware that another person is present, or is speaking to themselves. It is contrasted to a monologue, which is spoken in company. In Macbeth, the title character has seven soliloquies, and these orations occur throughout all five acts.
In act 2, scene 1, as Macbeth is summoning up the nerve to kill Duncan, he imagines holding the knife with which he plans to stab him. His hesitation is shown by his wondering whether the dagger is real or something from his imagination. First he asks, “Is this a dagger I see before me…?” Contemplating the deeds that are required of him, he further inquires,
…or art thou butA dagger of the mind, a false creation,Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
Probably the most well-known of the solioquies, “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,” occurs in act 5, scene 5. Although Macbeth has been excited about the strong defensive position they hold, he learns that Lady Macbeth is dead. This devastating news prompts him to muse on the futility of human actions:
And all our yesterdays have lighted foolsThe way to dusty death.
Comic relief refers to the introduction of humorous elements, ranging from a single line to an entire scene, that occurs within a serious work; it serves the function of breaking the tension and lightening the mood, often at a key point in the plot. As act 2, scene 3 opens, the porter—who is drunk—provides considerable comic relief. It could not come at a better time, as in scene 2 Macbeth murdered King Duncan. The play’s mood when the porter comes in is rather dark.
In lines 1–19, the porter hears someone knocking repeatedly at the gate, so he calls out for them to identify themselves. The knocking seems to have awakened him, as he takes a long time to open the gate. The humor comes both from his sleepy, drunken bumbling and from the puns that he makes. Late in his speech he comments on the cold weather, with most of the speech leading up to that comment through his numerous references to hell and the devil. He makes a joke about it being hot enough to roast a goose, and refers to hell as “the everlasting bonfire.” Concluding that “this place is too cold for hell,” he finally arrives at the gate.