Compare & Contrast Essay
Abdulla Janahi
Mrs. Timm
12-C
March 13, 2014
Janahi, 1

I.
Janahi, 2
Introduction
A. Is a play read more reliable than a play seen?
B. Macbeth
1) William Shakespeare
2) Tragedy
C. The differences and similarities can easily be identified as we have read the story in class and watched the play in the Cultural Hall
II. Similarities
A. Title
B. Author
C. Theme
D. Characters
E. Setting
F. Climax
1) Act 5 Scene 8
III. Play seen
A. Musical
B. Witches
C. Scene
1) Porter
2) Missing scenes
D. No ending
E. Audience interaction

IV. Play read
A. More dramatic
B. Witches
1) No dancing or singin
C. Scenes
2) Mystical and scarier
1) Porter a) More Shakespearian humor and not present day humor
2) All scenes were read
D. Ending was read
V. Conclusion
Janahi, 3

Abdulla Janahi
Mrs. Timm
12-C
March 13, 2014
Janahi, 4
Compare and Contrast Essay
Is a play read more reliable than a play seen? Williams Shakespeare is known as one of the best and most popular English writers of all time. He is a legend and inspiration to all the writers all over the world. He wrote Macbeth, the famous English play. Macbeth is considered as a tragic story where the main character, Macbeth, plots a plan to overthrow the king and take his place as a new king. In the process, he gets to murder everyone and anyone who gets in his way.
The irony is that he gets murdered in the end by the king’s son, Macduff. The play was written
1606. The differences and similarities can easily be identified as we have read the story in class and watched the play in the Cultural Hall.
There are many similarities that are clear and visible in the play that we read and the play seen. The first basic similarity is the title of the play. Both of them are named Macbeth. Another similarity different from the title is the author, which is William Shakespeare. The theme of the play is the corrupting power of unchecked ambition. Macbeth was misguided by his wife to do something he isn’t fully aware of. Macbeth is naturally not tended to do evil conducts yet his desire for power makes him become evil and plots such things. The two plays took place in
Scotland and featured Scottish actors and performers. In both plays, the characters had same characteristics, actions, and behaviors. The plot in both of the plays was Macbeth’s desire to take

Janahi, 5 control of the throne and become the king. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, the two main characters, played their part exactly as Shakespeare wrote in the script. Both of the play read and the play seen have the same climax. In act 5 scene 8, MacDuff attacks Macbeth and confesses that he was not born from a woman, and the murder of Macbeth take place is the climax.
While taking a look at the play seen, many alterations were made compared to the play read. At first, the play began with a musical. The witches started singing in the beginning of the play. Second thing is that the witches were not as creepy and terrifying as they were supposed to be. They sang songs and did not grow a big fear inside anyone’s heart. The humor in the play seen was way too different from the play read. They used modern day jokes and type of talking.
For example, when Porter came in, he started making knock knock jokes, which made the audience interact with him, and also brought up a joke about Miley Cyrus. The language used in the play seen used more modern day English style and word usage. The play seen didn’t include or did not act out all the scenes from the play. The students had to leave the hall early due to time conflict. This meant that they didn’t watch the ending of the play. The ending scene included the biggest tragic event in the play; it is when Macbeth was attacked by Macduff and his army.
Seeing the play was more interesting than reading it, but it was not as realistic as the play read.
In the play read, the play was not a musical as we witnessed, it was a drama. The witches were really scary and frightening. They did not sing nor dance. Their main objective was to plant some fear in the person they wanted to scare off. The witches were the main reason behind all the evil deeds that Macbeth committed. They led and misguided him into killing everyone one that had a potential chance of becoming a king. The scene were porter came in was entirely different from the play seen scene. Porter used Shakespearian English humor and none of the present day humor. No celebrities were mentioned in his part of the play. The students

Janahi, 6 understood the play more from reading it than from watching it live. The scenes were interpreted briefly in class, unlike in the play. Reading all the scenes made the students understand the whole play and it made them interpret and understand it better than they did with the play.
In conclusion, both plays had their differences and had their similarities. They were accurate and different, yet similar to each other. Both plays were great and had the same plot, but the play seen was made to attract a younger age. The students understood the play more from reading it rather from seeing it. Both plays has its similarities such as the author, play name, plot, setting, and climax. Macbeth is considered as one of the greatest form of tragedy that
Shakespeare has ever written. Both plays showed Macbeth’s desire to become the king of
Scotland to the point that he murdered everyone that came in his way or could have come in his way.