William Shakespeare uses a variety of artistic techniques to enhance Macbeth’s background, paying attention to the weather as one of its strongest points, emphasizing the fate that dominates the characters. The weather setting opens the play, Shakespeare works to create a gloomy atmosphere. The witches gather to predict the main character’s future and wonder, “When shall we three meet again?/ In thunder, lightning, or in rain?” (Shakespeare 1.1.1-2). The author focuses on the current weather – thunder and lightning – to underline the dark mood and inform the reader about an upcoming disaster. From the first lines, it is clear that the story may provoke negative attitudes toward the characters, their decisions, and their beliefs. Such detail as the background of the play is not always easy to recognize, but it has a strong subconscious influence on the readers, forcing them to get involved in the narration. Weather does not discern between men or women, children or adults, innocent or guilty. Without even noticing it, the reader develops a set of emotions to stay careful, mind safety, and think about the consequences. Therefore, the rainy weather in the background is a symbol of the line of disruptive events which Macbeth’s characters have to face.
Bhardwaj’s Maqbool is a great example of how the weather sets the tone for the story, it is not the backdrop in the film, but an active force expressing the psychological state of the characters. The film begins with a scene in the car: thunder, a misted glass because of rainy weather, darkness, and mud (“Maqbool” 00:01:25-00:01:45). It is difficult to recognize human faces because most of them are hidden by their shadows. This technique expresses the feelings of the characters: loneliness and fear of unpredictability. The rain stops in the next six minutes but does not clean the car or the roads. The weather neither hides the crime nor flushes evidence; it makes the blood on the glass more legible. Weather is a marker of what is happening throughout the action, emphasizing the cruelty and inevitability of events. At the end of the movie, bright and shiny weather is observed as a sign of peace obtained by the characters. Maqbool weather symbolism is strong to share the atmosphere of chaos and cruelty, the weather is one of the actors, designed to reflect the mood of the main characters.
Shakespeare and Bhardwaj underline the impact of the environment as a symbolic determinant: both authors use the weather description as a deep subtext that makes the viewers guess the intentions and reveal the hidden meaning. There is no need to expect an understanding from the characters who talk about death soon after the “40th day of mourning” (“Maqbool” 00:03:38). It is hard to believe in sweet relationships in Macbeth when three witches predict “the battle’s lost and won” (Shakespeare 1.1.4). The focus of the stories is on the weather, which is inevitable and unpredictable. Despite people’s attempts to change their faith, there will always be unattainable factors. The idea of Macbeth is commonly used in modern works to prove the connection between people and the environment. Bhardwaj’s choice of rainy weather is more obvious in his desire to replace somber Scotland with the cruel Mumbai underworld. However, the outcome remains the same – the characters of Macbeth and Maqbool will not see happy endings, and thunder is one of the major predictors of their disappointment and failure. The authors use the weather as a sign of coming changes, forcing the audience to draw parallels between weather and the mood of the characters, making the weather the active force, unpredictable and inevitable.
Works Cited
“Maqbool (2003)/ A Film by Vishal Bhardwaj/ 1080 Full HD.” YouTube, uploaded by Neo Pav Studio, Web.
Shakespeare, William. “Macbeth.”The Folger of Shakespeare, Web.