Student Question
Why does Shakespeare kill Duncan and his guards offstage in Macbeth?
Quick answer:
Shakespeare chooses to kill Duncan and his guards offstage to enhance the psychological impact and maintain suspense. By not showing the murders, the brutality is amplified through audience imagination, and Macbeth's transformation can be highlighted. This decision also fosters sympathy for Macbeth, presenting him as a tragic figure rather than a monster. The focus shifts to the psychological effects on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, emphasizing their guilt and character development.
There are several reasons as to why Shakespeare chose not to depict Duncan and his chamberlain's murders. Shakespeare wanted to convey that the murders were too terrible to portray which is one reason he chose not to show the audience. The audience is also in awe of how characters can enter Duncan's chamber and walk out a changed person. By the power of suggestion, the brutality of the murders are amplified. Previous to the murders, the audience is unsure if Macbeth will follow through with the assassination. By not depicting the murders, the audience is also left in suspense. The audience only finds out that Macbeth committed regicide after he tells his wife. Shakespeare also wanted his audience to feel some sympathy for Macbeth throughout the play. By choosing not to depict Duncan and his chamberlain's murders, the audience does not view Macbeth as a monster, but rather a helpless...
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Why did Shakespeare choose to murder Duncan and his guards offstage in Macbeth?
This is a very thoughtful question, and I think there are two main answers that can be given to answer it. Firstly, it is always the case that the best horror movies are ones that do not show everything, but rather leave the work of depicting the gruesome events that they show to the imagination, which is so much more effective than any special effects. By not observing the murder of Duncan, we imagine it, and often the imagination makes such events far more gruesome than they would be in real life.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, by focusing the action on Lady Macbeth and Macbeth outside during Act II scene 2, we see their responses and reactions to this crime which help us develop our analysis of them as characters. We see the nerves of Lady Macbeth and her moment of surprising humanity when she tells us she couldn't kill Duncan because he resembled her father, but we also see Macbeth's guilty response after killing Duncan, and how his wife treats him:
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand with rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.
Here we see Macbeth's incredible guilt and how he is haunted by his act. Basically, the focus of the play is not on Duncan, who is at best a minor character. The focus is on the psychological development of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, and this is a vital scene to help us towards analysing them both as characters.