Macbeth - Act 1

Macbeth - Act 1

1. The Witches plan to meet Macbeth

   • The play starts with thunder and lightening
     • This sets a dark and violent mood
     • The wild weather hints that unnatural events are coming
   • The Witches speak in rhyming couplets
     • "When the hurly-burly's done"/"When the battle's lost and won"
     • Only the supernatural characters in the play consistently use rhyme
       • It sets them apart from the other characters
       • It makes their speech sound unnatural, as if they are casting an evil spell
   • The Witches introduce the idea that nothing is as it seems
     • "Fair is foul, and foul is fair"
     • Reality and Appearances

2. Macbeth is made Thane of Cawdor

   • This shows that the Witches first prediction has come true
     • This convinces Macbeth that the prediction about him becoming King will also become true
       • This strengthens his ambition
     • This is a turning point in the action
   • Duncan uses an extended metaphor of plants
     • This shows that he sees it as his duty to nurture people who are loyal to him
     • He sees Macbeth as a potential successor
       • This suggests that fate might make Macbeth king without him doing anything
       • Kingship

3. Banquo and Macbeth react differently to the predictions

   • The witches predict that Macbeth will be made Thane of Cawdor, then King, and that Banquo's descendants will also become kings
   • Banquo is suspicious and questions his own sanity
     • "have we eaten on the insane root"
   • Macbeth can't stop thinking about the prophecies
     • This shows his lust for power
       • He immediately thinks about killing Duncan but is also reluctant
       • At this point, Macbeth isn't an evil character - he's wrestling with his conscience and torn between his ambition and his loyalty
   • Banquo is less easily deceived than Macbeth
     • He sees the Withches are evil, whereas Macbeth is less certain
       • "cannot be ill, cannot be good"
       • "instruments of darkness"
   • Banquo accepts that the Witches are telling the truth, but he's also aware that they are manipulating Macbeth and himself
     • "Win us with honest trifles - to betray's"

4. The Witches predictions

   • They are accompanied by thunder again
     • This motif suggests chaos, danger and the overturning of the natural order
   • They talk about sending a storm out on a sailor's ship so that he can't sleep
     • This is a metaphor for what will happen to Macbeth who is made sleepless by guilt
     • The ship is a metaphor for Scotland, which is almost destroyed during Macbeth's violent reign
   • "So foul and fair a day I have not seen"
     • This links Macbeth to the Witches and their 'Foul is fair' prophecy