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What is dramatic relief? Illustrate how it is employed in Macbeth ?

Define dramatic relief. Do you find it in Macbeth ? If so, discuss with illustrative references from the text.

Shakespeare has used dramatic relief very skillfully in Macbeth. It is provided for emotional relief. The change of scene is required to soo the and pacify the feelings, of the spectators when they are agitated and excited by intensive action. In all stories there is pitch os this excitement when a particular emotions, of pity, terror. love or mystery-reaches its highest point. It is then that rest and relief are required. It is, as if the reader or spectator is running with the action and becomes breathless in the process. He is then made to stop and take breath so that he is ready for further movement. In short dramatic relief is emotional relief and the spectators emotion are regulated by a knowing dramatist in such a way that there is a harmony in the end. He is to be neither bored nor disgusted nor fed to full with one single dish. A good play is like a good feast where a number of different dishes provide a rich variety to tastes and together give a sense of delightful satisfaction.

(1) The first five scenes of Macbeth are sufficiently long and continuous to arouse intense emotions of horror and suspense in the audience. The Withces, the battle, the murderous resolve of Macbeth and his wife, these produce in our minds feeling of tragic for bonding and supernatural mystery. The sixth scene is therefore, a brief dramatic relief from the five preceding ones.

(2) The murder of Duncan occurs in second scene of the second act and the emotion of horror produced by this deed to which we have been looking forward reach a certain unbearable intensity as the scene closes. The next scene, therefore, opens with the Porter’s entrance and his strange half conscious mutterings, covering a space of twenty lines are intended as sorely needed relief from our overwhelming scene of horror and disguse the bloody deed.

(3) Immediately as the third scene close, we see Ross nd the Old man entering in the next scene. The whole of the third scene is surcharged with a so of hectic movement in which a number of characters keep entering and departing giving us an impression of rush and speed and rush of sub action the fourth scene comes as breathing space in which we stand an survey what has happened. Ross and the Old man act as a sort of chor in this scene which takes place outside the castle.

(4) The long fourth scene is Act III is following by two shorter one’s. which are set in a key quite different from and opposite to it. The ghost of Banque sitting before Macbeth’s eyes and the weird atmoshere produced by his hallucination of Macbeth produces in the audience a sence of mystery and horror from which relief is sought in the next two short scene. These two serve the same purpose of dramatic relief though in different styles. The fifth in produces dances and songs of the Witches and the sixth is similar to the choric relief we founded in Act. II scene 6.

(5) Similar relief is provided in Act IV scene II where the peace and beauty of domestic happiness in Macduff’s family is a delightful contrast to the devilish schemes which Macbeth and his wife plan and the growing separation between husband and wife which their crimes have brought about. The innocent prattle of Macduff’s little son with his mother is extremely touching and pathetic and the scene is charged with feelings of tenderness and natural pity which are a welcome relief from the harrowing sense of horror which is soon to descend on us in the murder of this innocent creature.