shakespeare essay

There has always been a large misconception about the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays. Many argue that others wrote them, and even some believed he did not exist at all. One of the main examples that most use as a reference is Act three, scene five in the tragedy of Macbeth by Shakespeare where the witches are introduced to Hecate. Many say that an Author known as Thomas Middleton wrote this portion but throughout the play there are many examples that prove other wise. It follows Shakespeare’s formats of using “prose”, ten syllables in each line, and the use of rhyming couplets is also persistent throughout this portion. These specific examples will be discussed throughout the response in attempt to defend the legacy of the greatest play writers of all time.

Firstly, Shakespeare mainly used the language that pertained to the less noble people known as prose. It is a language used for emotion, and criticizing, gossiping or plotting, and for many, a daily language. Most of Shakespeare’s plays were written in this format. Specifically throughout act three scene five, there are countless examples of prose. The very first example of prose during this scene, was at the beginning when the witches first meet Hecate, and ask him why he looks angry. He responded with a fierce comment “Have I not reason, beldams as you are?” This is a prime example of prose due to the fact that it is using condescending vocabulary to criticize someone. This directly ties in with Shakespeare’s format of using prose as a language. Another example of prose in this portion of the play would be when Hecate was speaking towards Macbeth himself. “And, which is worse, all you have done Hath been but for a wayward son,
Spiteful and wrathful, who, as others do, Loves for his own ends, not for you.” This quote is practically saying that Macbeth does not do anything for anybody but himself, and that he is spoiled. This is quite an obvious example of prose considering that it is criticizing a person of nobility. Notice that Hecate is not speaking good things about Macbeth and Macbeth is a well-known, noble person in the play considering he is king. Speaking towards a noble person in a condescending manner is considered a form of Shakespeare’s main play writing language, Prose. Another reason this would be considered Shakespeare’s prose format is because it is describing a scene of madness or emotion. Hecate is angry because the witches spoke to Macbeth and told him his prophecies without Hecate knowing. Prose is a very rarely seen format in the literary world, and Shakespeare defines it greatly, not only in Macbeth and this scene, but also in most of his plays.

Secondly, Shakespeare mainly wrote in lines of ten syllables. This is the format that Shakespeare followed a majority of the time and is most commonly noticed throughout his plays. All throughout, Macbeth, it is obvious that each line is written with ten syllables for the exception of brief periods when someone is speaking. During act three, scene five of Macbeth when Hecate first met the witches, was completely written with ten syllable lines from top of the page to the bottom. This alone assist in proving that Shakespeare wrote it considering that every writer writes in a different format, some use other techniques and such that do not even come close to Shakespeare’s format of ten syllables. Another reason it is obvious that he wrote it is because it is followed so perfectly. Any other author would struggle in following his technique but since he has experience, the entire scene just flows together without interruptions of

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