Are you revising Macbeth for exams? Or would you just like to get to know the play better? One of my favourite suggestions is to listen to (and watch, if possible) some of the play’s greatest speeches. Luckily, we have YouTube, where you can find clips from a variety of productions. To start with, watch the videos I’ve linked below. After that, I highly recommend searching for more videos yourself. Watch different versions of the same speech and find other scenes, such as Act 1, Sc 1. You will be amazed at the different representations of the famous witches.
Here is Kate Fleetwood as Lady Macbeth in Act 1 Sc 5, reading Macbeth’s letter, followed by her soliloquy describing Macbeth as too nice to murder Duncan, and shortly afterward calling on evil spirits to ‘unsex’ her. This scene comes across, appropriately, as horrific and disturbing.
Next we have Sir Alec Guinness with the ‘If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well / It were done quickly’ speech which opens Act 1 Sc 7. Beautifully spoken. Even though it’s just audio, I couldn’t leave this out!
A little later in the same scene Lady Macbeth attacks Macbeth with her ‘Was the hope drunk’ speech. Here is Judi Dench delivering the speech in intimidating fashion!
I’ve looked at many versions of the ‘dagger speech’ in Act 2 Sc 1, and plan to compare them in a future post, but here is one of my favourites. You may have seen Daniel Mays in a television drama or two. He shows Macbeth’s inner conflict well.
Let’s move away from Macbeth and his ‘fiend-like queen’ for a moment and watch Banquo considering his suspicions of Macbeth. Notice how, in the privacy of this soliloquy, Banquo uses the intimate ‘thou’ to Macbeth, who is now king. When Macbeth arrives a few lines later, Banquo uses the more formal ‘you’ and calls Macbeth ‘your Highness’ and ‘my good lord.’
Finally, we have Ian McKellen with the ‘Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow’ speech in Act 5 Sc 5. I find this quite chilling and disturbing to watch – definitely a good thing given the play and the scene!
If you watch all of these videos, please let me know what you think. Which is your favourite?
