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Toghrul

Ms. Malcho

ENG3U

20.04.2022

Comparative Essay Graphic Organizer

Step 1: What are the two things you're comparing and contrasting?

a. Macbeth Graphic Novel Old b. Macbeth Modern Film Version

Step 2: Write everything you can that describes how the two things are similar or the same. The

point form is fine.

To start with, there are various features in the film and in the modern graphic novel that are

the same. For instance, the characters and textual evidence provided in both types of social

media as well as the country where the actions existed, Scotland, were the same. Also, the scenes

with the death of Duncan, the death of Banquo, and the death of Macduff’s family tend to be

demonstrated similarly. Additionally, the setting where the witches were experimenting and

predicting the future in the movie version was the same in the modern graphic novel. Moreover,

the reasons for the death of lady Macbeth in the movie were similar to the ones in the graphic

novel. These features were observed by the same individuals as well: the doctor and the servant

of lady Macbeth. Along with these similarities, how Macbeth comes across the northern rivals at

the beginning of the graphic novel was also shown in the film version. Last but not least, the

castle where the coronation of Macbeth occurred remained the same in both movie and graphic

novel.

Step 3: Write everything you can that describes how the two things are different.
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There are many diversities between the two versions of Macbeth. To begin with, the colours

used in the old version of Macbeth were just black and white, while the interpretation of the

colours in the movie was better with various dark colours (dark green, dark orange, dark red).

Also, despite the modern images used in the film, the images related to magic in the old graphic

novel were connected to animals and various creatures such as frogs, snakes, wolves, and horses.

Furthermore, the introduction to the film version was slightly different from the one in the

graphic novel. In particular, the novel starts with the introduction of witches in the field, while

the movie begins with the demonstration of the newly born baby in Scotland. Furthermore,

another dramatic difference is the number of witches as in the film version their number was 4,

while in the graphic novel only 3. Moreover, the difference can also be shown in the number of

sons of Duncan as in the graphic novel it is 2, Malcolm and Donaldbain, while in the film

interpretation there was only one son, Malcolm.

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Introduction Paragraph

Topic Sentence(s) (Hook)

There is truth in the words told by the Terminator: “There’s no fate but what you make”.

In Macbeth, it is clearly shown as Macbeth’s fate is his fault in the end, although he had many

opportunities to stop his evil actions and return to the right way.

Plot summary (what was the story about?) ... two or three sentences most!

The plot is about Macbeth, a Scottish general, who was predicted by three witches to

become King of Scotland. As a result, Macbeth, encouraged by his wife, kills the king, becomes

a new one, and continues to kill more people due to fear of losing the throne. The Civil war is

caused by him between Scotland and the son of the killed king, where Macbeth is defeated and

murdered.

Specific Focus (what exactly are you comparing)

After reading the old version of the novel “Macbeth” and watching its modern movie

version, I have recognized differences and similarities that I am going to compare now. Some

scenes and aspects demonstrated in the novel are hidden in the film version. In addition, I will

provide my points of view on several points.

Thesis Statement

(What 3 points and why do we care about any of this anyways? "so what?").
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Macbeth, the novel written by William Shakespeare, is demonstrated to the public in two

different types of media: the old graphic novel and the modern film version. However, I would

rather watch the modern version of it than read the old novel version. During the play, some

scenes differ from the original novel of Macbeth. In particular, I am going to compare the

witches shown in both types of social media, the introduction of Macbeth, and lastly the diversity

in the setting where the story was published. Nevertheless, there are some similarities as well

that are going to be discussed in the essay.

Body Paragraph 1

First of all, the interpretation of witches in both types of social media is one of the most

remarkable aspects. In other words, these creatures are demonstrated as ‘The Weird Sisters’. In

the graphic old novel and film version, the witches are predicting the future prophecy of

Macbeth, though they do not give clear directions. As their predictions were ambiguous,

Macbeth becomes encouraged and finds out the predictions trustworthy. In particular, in the old

novel version, the witches anticipate that “Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall

come against him.” Additionally, in the film version ''All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of

Cawdor!'', predicted by witches, reassures that Macbeth will become the thane of Cawdor,

which, indeed, occurs a few moments later. Subsequently, the role of witches can be shown as a

driving force for Macbeth to behave in such an evil way. Despite such similarity, the witches in

the novel version are replaced with nurses, which is demonstrated in the film version. Moreover,

in the novel witches are meeting together with Macbeth in the forest or other remote areas, while

nurses are in Macbeth’s castle in the film version. As a result, it can be clearly understood that

the film interpretation of witches differentiates from its original version, by being more attractive
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as well as modern which is one of the reasons why I would prefer the film version to the old

graphic novel.

Body Paragraph 2

Furthermore, the introduction of Macbeth in two types of social media is another point that

should be elaborated on. Firstly, the novel begins with the meeting of witches in an isolated field

with the words: “WHEN SHALL WE THREE MEET AGAIN? IN THUNDER, LIGHTNING,

OR IN RAIN?” The same scene is demonstrated in the film version of Macbeth: "Fair Is Foul,

And Foul Is Fair." This is the only similarity in the introduction of Macbeth from both types of

social media. Nevertheless, in the introduction of Macbeth’s film version, there is a scene of a

newly born baby with many villagers around, among whom the witches exist. It is worth

mentioning that this scene was not demonstrated in the original version of Macbeth. To these

ends, it is immediately apparent that the addition was made while making the modern movie of

Shakespeare’s novel Macbeth. By the same token, the addition made in the film version makes

the modern movie much more exhilarating and clarifies the plot itself from the beginning of the

story.

Body Paragraph 3

Moreover, another comparison between the film version and its original version is textual

evidence and design. The function of the design used in the modern interpretation was similar to

that of the original version. Specifically, the textual evidence of both types of social media

elaborated on the times when kings were the rulers, and various thanes were given to the general.

For instance, “The king sent us to give you his thanks ….” in the novel and “The Thane of

Cawdor” given to the Macbeth in film version clearly demonstrate the presence of various titles.
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In addition, although the movie was made in the 21st century, the occurring events were

described in the 11th century, the original time of the novel. As a result, these are the similarities

between the film and novel versions of Macbeth. However, it is worth mentioning that there

were differences in the place the film was taken. Specifically, from the original version of

Macbeth, we can assume that the events were existing in Scotland, while the modern movie

version was taken in England. Additionally, the interpretation of colours in the old novel is white

and black, though the film producers got used to diverse dark colours such as dark yellow, red,

dark green, and brown. To these ends, these are the aspects that differentiate between the two

types of social media and make the film version much more pleasant and attractive.

Conclusion

To conclude, from my point of view, with the additions described above, the film version

of “Macbeth” is more modernized as it clarifies the major points with various aspects rather than

its original version. Specifically, the differences and similarities were included in the

interpretation of the introduction, witches, and plot setting. Last but not least, as we live in an era

with new enhancements in various fields day by day, some differences and improvements of

“Macbeth” are likely to be put into practice in the near future as well.
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Works Cited

Hood, Sherrie. “The Differences between the Play and the Movie Macbeth Essay.”

Artscolumbia, 13 July 2021, artscolumbia.org/the-differences-between-the-play-and-the-

movie-macbeth-16087-59015 Accessed March 18, 2022.

Pop, Essentially, et al. “7 Differences Between The Play And The Film ‘Macbeth.’” The Mac-

beth, 27 Dec. 2021, essentiallypop.com/epop/2020/06/7-differences-between-the-play-

and-the-film-macbeth. Accessed March 20, 2022.