Macbeth Act 1
Three witches appear out of a storm and decide to reunite in an open field after the battle is concluded, where they hope to meet Macbeth. King Duncan of Scotland comes upon a bloody captain of his army with his sons and attendants. Malcolm, the king’s eldest son, tells the king that the captain had fought ferociously to shield him from harm. The captain reports the difficulty of the battle with the rebel Macdonwald who was supported by the Irish and Hebrides soldiers. However, all of the rebels' attacks were wrought to naught as both Macbeth and Banquo matched them with their own valor and virtue. He tells Duncan that Macbeth killed the rebel and mounted his skull on the battlements. The victory over the rebels was short-lived, as the army was then set upon by fresh Norwegian troops. Macbeth and his warriors fought doubly hard and were in combat when the captain departed. The king is then visited by a visibly flustered thane of Ross. He tells Duncan about Macbeth’s victory against the Norwegian troops that were aided by the thane of Cawdor. The king commands that the thane of Cawdor be brought to punishment for his crimes and awards the title to Macbeth. He commands Ross to take the news to Macbeth and escort him back.
The witches reunite and discuss their past activities. One of them has been wronged by a fat woman and plans to punish the woman’s husband, who is sailing the ocean. She cannot make the man’s ship disappear but she will vex him and ruin his voyage. They hear the drums that signal the arrival of Macbeth and rush to greet him. Macbeth is accompanied by Banquo in his travel to Forres. Banquo notices the witches first, and remarks upon their ugly and misshapen bodies. They hail Macbeth with the titles of Thane of Glanis, Thane of Cawdor, and future King. Macbeth is dumbstruck at their words, but Banquo requests them to tell of his future as well. They tell him that he will not be as great or as happy as Macbeth but yet greater and happier. He will never be king but will father a line of kings. Macbeth seeks clarification since he possesses the titles to Glanis, but not Cawdor or the kingdom, for both titles are held by other men. The witches disappear without a response as Macbeth and Banquo begin to question the meaning of their prophecies. Ross and Angus arrive while Macbeth is conversing with Banquo. They tell him how his feats of bravery have flown from post to post and reached the king’s ear, who has decided to name him the new thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is left in disbelief at the fulfillment of the prophecy and learns that the old thane of Cawdor has been stripped of his title owing to his involvement in the attacks against the Kingdom.
He turns to Banquo with excitement over his elevation, but Banquo worries the witches were instruments of evil who had wised to win their trust only to betray it later. Macbeth considers how his thoughts have now turned towards dark deeds that may allow him to claim the throne for himself. The king accompanied by his sons and attendants learns of the execution of the old Thane of Cawdor just as Macbeth arrives with the other noblemen. Duncan expresses his overflowing gratitude towards both Banquo and Macbeth. In addition to granting Macbeth the titles to Cawdor, he names his son, Malcolm, the prince and heir to his throne. He commands them all to proceed to Macbeth’s castle, and Macbeth departs before the king to ready his home. As he leaves, Macbeth notes the elevation of Malcolm and understands that he will have to overstep him somehow to reach the throne. He writes a letter to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her of his recent elevation and the prophecy of the witches. He bids her keep the prophecy a secret. She laments her husband’s inability to perform the mean tasks that are required to fulfill his ambition. A servant reports the news of King’s arrival who is being preceded by Macbeth. She prays to the devils around and seeks their blessing in doing what needs to be done for the elevation of Macbeth to kingship. She prays for darkness so dense that the very knife is unable to see the wound that it makes. Macbeth enters and tells her of the arrival of the king and his plans to return the following day. Lady Macbeth is determined to ensure that Duncan never sees the rising sun and cautions him to keep a plain and undisturbed visage. She assures him that she will make all arrangements for the night. The king arrives with his retinue and is received by Lady Macbeth. She welcomes him most graciously, and he expresses his desire to see Macbeth.
Macbeth leaves the dining hall and expresses his doubts about moving ahead with the plans to murder a king as noble as Duncan. Lady Macbeth comes out to inquire why Macbeth has left the King and admonishes him for recanting his desire to kill Duncan. She tells him to be man enough to live by his word, and claims that she would have killed a babe at her breast had she resolved to do so. Macbeth worries that they would fail and be found, but Lady Macbeth offers him a plan. She proposes that they cause the King’s chamberlains to get drunk, which would allow them to kill him in whatever means they see fit. Macbeth proposes to use the knives of the guards and to cover them with blood so that they are suspected of the crime instead of him. They leave with a resolution to end the King’s life.
Analysis
Macbeth opens with stormy darkness from which the three misshapen witches emerge, and the weather continues to play a pivotal role in indicating the troubled conditions of Scotland throughout Macbeth. It is also called the cursed play for several reasons. One such reason is that it is believed that Shakespeare consulted actual witches in writing the play. Macbeth is also considered to be one of Shakespeare's most violent plays, even though most of the violent battles take place off stage. This prevalence of violence exists in the form of gory prose that pervades the whole play. The action of the play begins with a scene of Duncan meeting an injured captain whose account is filled with violent and grotesque descriptions of war and bloodshed.
The weird sisters stand out as characters that would have been familiar to the audience of Shakespeare since the subject had recently seen significant developments. The practice of witchcraft was made punishable with death some fifty years before the time of Macbeth, and King James, who was the reigning king at the time of Macbeth, had written a lengthy treatise defending the persecution of witchcraft practitioners. Macbeth features some of Shakespeare's most compelling female characters, which include the weird sisters and the perplexing Lady Macbeth. The corrupting power of ambition is one of the major themes of the play, and it is developed through both Macbeth and his wife. Macbeth undoubtedly considers the murder of the king before his wife suggests the idea, but he soon resolves not to proceed with murder. His wife then serves as the will that drives him to kill the King and sets him on a path of bloodshed and violence. In this way, the play presents a misogynistic view that women are essentially the root of corrupting ambition, as the violence in the play essentially stems from the prophecy of the witches and the will of Lady Macbeth.
Macbeth's elevation to the position of thane of Cawdor foreshadows his betrayal of Duncan as the previous holder of the title had already done so. Masculinity's association with cruelty is another major theme that Macbeth covers as Lady Macbeth motivates her husband to murder Duncan by questioning his manhood. In her earlier soliloquy, Lady Macbeth asks the evil spirits to unsex her, implying that violence comes more naturally to men than it does to women.
