In the play Macbeth the witches give Macbeth a lot of prophecies that have created a lot of tension throughout the play. “No man of woman born shall harm Macbeth” The language of the quotation is ambiguous as it has two separate meanings. The first meaning is what is in the quotation and the second meaning is that no man that was given birth by a woman can harm Macbeth but Macduff is an exception. He was ripped out of his mother’s womb so that means that he is able to harm Macbeth. The ambiguous language confuses Macbeth as at that time Macbeth does not know that you could be born by being ripped out of your mother’s womb.
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May 18, 2016 at 11:29 am
You have explained dramatic irony here, whilst also focussing on the riddle like qualities of the language.
What next?
Choose three more instances of the play where Shakespeare has created/used dramatic irony in this way. Be specific and use evidence from the text to support the development of your argument.
Remember to explore the figurative language devices used – how do these help to enhance meaning and affect the reader?