Macbeth Act 1

By: Steven Duffy, Eric Bohn, Kelly Willner, Stephen Randle, Noah

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Summary

• Macbeth and Banquo (Scottish generals) fought against the invading Norwegian armies and rescued King Duncan’s son MacDonald

• The traitor Thane of Cawdor was executed and his title given to Macbeth.

• Macbeth and Banquo encounter the three witches in the forest; they tell him he’ll be Thane of Cawdor and eventually King.

• Macbeth and Banquo appear before King Duncan. Duncan then visits Macbeth’s home.

• Macbeth tells his wife (Lady Macbeth) about the witches prophecy and the King’s arrival: she decides they must kill the king

• King Duncan arrives and the Macbeth’s talk about framing his servants as responsible for his death.

Themes The influence of others can lead one to perform actions previously unthinkable.

Ambition leads to moral failure.

Perception can alter reality.

Important Characters

Macbeth: The main character of the play and Act 1. Within the act we learn of his military skill, in that he has arrived back from war incredibly successful and honored by his king, implying his prowess as a warrior and strategist. However, once his wife enters we learn that he is less strong than this might suggest, and while he has an admirable skill-set he is more a follower than a leader. This becomes more and more obvious as he is effected by the idea the witches present and succumbs to the temptation his wife forces upon him. Although he has ideas and even decides not to kill Duncan late in the act, the will of others is what he goes by.

Act 1 Scene 4, Lines 17-24[Duncan speaking to Macbeth]O worthiest cousin,The sin of my ingratitude even nowWas heavy on me. Thou art so far beforeThat swiftest wing of recompense is slowTo overtake thee. Would thou hadst less deserved,That the proportion both of thanks and paymentMight have been mine! Only I have left to say,More is thy due than more than all can pay.

MACBETHThe service and the loyalty I oweIn doing it pays itself.

MACBETHAct 1 Scene 7, Lines 92-96     I am settled, and bend upEach corporal agent to this terrible feat.Away, and mock the time with fairest show.False face must hide what the false heart doth know.

Banquo: Banquo acts as the foil to Macbeth, a man who has similar military strength and even given a fantastic fortune by the witches as well. He is presented as that alternative, if Macbeth had gone is own course and not been as heavily effected by others. In this act he gets the aforementioned prophecy that his children will be king, though he will not, a fate he accepts skeptically but excitedly. The fact that he does not act very heavily upon this new information, as opposed to Macbeth’s drastic action to ensure it, Banquo shines as that contrast. He is the more level-headed and pure of the two, marked especially when his death becomes part of the signifying factor later in the play that all has become chaos.

Act 1 Scene 4, Lines 33-38DUNCAN(to BANQUO) Noble Banquo,That hast no less deserved, nor must be knownNo less to have done so, let me infold theeAnd hold thee to my heart.

BANQUO     There, if I grow,The harvest is your own.

Act 1 Scene 4, Lines 61-65DUNCANTrue, worthy Banquo. He is full so valiant,And in his commendations I am fed;It is a banquet to me.—Let’s after him,Whose care is gone before to bid us welcome:It is a peerless kinsman.

Lady Macbeth: Lady Macbeth acts as temptation. Almost as another part of Macbeth, she latches on to the idea of the witches and forces him to kill Duncan to gain power. She lets herself become corrupt, and in fact begs to be, because she seeks power and this idea of Macbeth having great power consumes her. She ends up trying to transcend her gender and become the more manly of the two, empowering herself and her motives while attacking Macbeth’s own manhood, in order to convince him to follow through with the murder. Overall, she embodies the temptation and strive for power and respect presented to Macbeth with the witches prophecy, and her continued efforts only serve to stir that temptation to take the throne even more.

Act 1 Scene 5, Lines 15-20LADY MACBETHGlamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt beWhat thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature;It is too full o' th' milk of human kindnessTo catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great,Art not without ambition, but withoutThe illness should attend it.

Scene 7, Lines 53-56LADY MACBETH     What beast was ’t, then,That made you break this enterprise to me?When you durst do it, then you were a man;

The Witches: Essentially the fates: they present the idea to Macbeth and instigate the reasoning for the events that follow. They speak in rhyme and with more poetic elements than the other characters, making their language match the mystic elements they try to be. They appear in the act almost as though they are figments of Macbeth’s imagination in that sense, as symbols of his fate and mind rather than real people.

Scene 3, Lines 73-81MACBETHStay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more.By Sinel’s death I know I am thane of Glamis.But how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives,A prosperous gentleman, and to be kingStands not within the prospect of belief,No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whenceYou owe this strange intelligence, or whyUpon this blasted heath you stop our wayWith such prophetic greeting. Speak, I charge you.

Scene 3, Lines 82-88BANQUOThe earth hath bubbles, as the water has,And these are of them. Whither are they vanished?

MACBETHInto the air, and what seemed corporalMelted, as breath into the wind. Would they had stayed.

BANQUOWere such things here as we do speak about?Or have we eaten on the insane rootThat takes the reason prisoner?

Duncan: The King of Scotland at the time of Act 1. He acts as the status quo and embodiment of the “loyalty to state” theme. He is overly trustful of his men, referenced in his first appearance and the mention of the traitor, and the fact that he has no fear or paranoia of any sort in the Macbeth household. His traits as king are confirmed to be a good and strong force in the kingdom, heavily evidenced by his interactions with his fellow men and even Macbeth’s hesitance to follow through with the murder later in act. Overall his character and his rule as king serve as the contrast for later events, as once he is struck down chaos ensues until the end of the play.

Scene 4, Lines 13-16DUNCANThere’s no way to read a man’s mind by looking at his face. I trusted Cawdor completely.

Scene 7, Lines 16-20MACBETHBesides, this DuncanHath borne his faculties so meek, hath beenSo clear in his great office, that his virtuesWill plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, againstThe deep damnation of his taking-off;

Imagery/Word Study

“Against the use of nature? Present fearsAre less than horrible imaginings:My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,Shakes so my single state of man that functionIs smother'd in surmise, and nothing isBut what is not.”(Act 1, sc. 3, ln. 140-155)

“The Prince of Cumberland! that is a stepOn which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;Let not light see my black and deep desires:The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be,Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.”(Act 1, sc. 4, ln 55-60)

“Only look up clear;To alter favour ever is to fear:Leave all the rest to me.”( Act 1, sc. 5, ln. 85)

Fear

“Was the hope drunkWherein you dress'd yourself? hath it slept since?And wakes it now, to look so green and paleAt what it did so freely? From this timeSuch I account thy love. Art thou afeardTo be the same in thine own act and valourAs thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have thatWhich thou esteem'st the ornament of life,And live a coward in thine own esteem,Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,'Like the poor cat i' the adage?”(Act 1, sc. 7, ln. 39-49)

“Only look up clear;To alter favour ever is to fear:Leave all the rest to me.”( Act 1, sc. 5, ln. 85)

“Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill,Why hath it given me earnest of success,Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor:If good, why do I yield to that suggestionWhose horrid image doth unfix my hairAnd make my seated heart knock at my ribs,Against the use of nature? Present fearsAre less than horrible imaginings:My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,Shakes so my single state of man that functionIs smother'd in surmise, and nothing isBut what is not.”(Act 1, sc. 3, ln. 140-155)

Heart

“Welcome hither:I have begun to plant thee, and will labourTo make thee full of growing. Noble Banquo,That hast no less deserved, nor must be knownNo less to have done so, let me enfold theeAnd hold thee to my heart.”(Act 1, sc. 4, ln. 31-35)

“I am settled, and bend upEach corporal agent to this terrible feat.Away, and mock the time with fairest show:False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”(Act 1, sc. 7, ln. 91-95)

“We fail!But screw your courage to the sticking-place,And we'll not fail. When Duncan is asleep--Whereto the rather shall his day's hard journeySoundly invite him--his two chamberlainsWill I with wine and wassail so convinceThat memory, the warder of the brain,Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reasonA limbeck only: when in swinish sleepTheir drenched natures lie as in a death,What cannot you and I perform uponThe unguarded Duncan? what not put uponHis spongy officers, who shall bear the guiltOf our great quell?” (Act 1, sc. 7, ln. 70-82)

Death/Dead

“No more that the Thane of Cawdor shall deceive Our bosom interest. Go, pronounce his present death, And with his former title meet Macbeth.”(Act 1, sc. 3, ln. 73-75)

“Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:By Sinel's death I know I am thane of Glamis;But how of Cawdor? the thane of Cawdor lives,A prosperous gentleman; and to be kingStands not within the prospect of belief,No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whenceYou owe this strange intelligence? or whyUpon this blasted heath you stop our wayWith such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you.”(Act 1, sc. 3, ln. 73-80)

Symbols and Motifs

Prophecies 

The simple prophecy given to MacBeth by the Weird Sisters (“Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.”) sparks his ambition to become king.  

The prophecy serves as a motivation as well as a justification for MacBeth’s action.   

The Weird Sisters raise the question of whether MacBeth must take action to fulfill the prophecy or whether the prophecy will be fulfilled simply by fate.

The prophecy of the Weird Sisters also evokes the idea of fantasy and reality.  The witches simply fade into the air making Banquo wonder “Were such things here as we do speak about? Or have we eaten on the insane root which takes the reason prisoner?”  Was the prophecy given by three witches or the voice inside MacBeth’s head?

    1.3.86-88

Birds

Lady MacBeth observes a raven on the battlements of the castle as King Duncan appears.  She remarks that “The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan.”  The raven is an omen which foreshadows the demise of King Duncan.

    1.5.45-47

King Duncan and Banquo looking upon the same battlements see a martlet (“sparrow”) instead.  As Banquo observes “The temple-haunting martlet does approve, By his loved mansionry that the heaven’s breath Smells wooingly here.”  

    1.6.6-8

Weather

When the Witches appear in Scene One and Scene Three “Thunder and lightning” sound, establishing the Weird Sisters as dark, mysterious, and evil.

The Witches themselves are represented by Wind.      “I’ll give thee a wind.”“I myself have all the other/and the very ports they blow/all the quarters that they know/ i the shipman’s card.”1.3.12-18   

“Upon the slightest couriers of the air/shall blow the horrid deed in every eye/ that tears shall drown the wind.”1.7.23-25

Important Speeches

Duality“Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (1.1.12)

“So foul and fair a day I have not seen” (1.3.39)

“Lesser than Macbeth and greater.Not so happy, yet happier.Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo” (1.3.68-71)

Fantasy v. Reality

“Good sir, why do you start and seem to fearThings that sound so fair-I’ th’ name of truth,Are you fantastical...” (1.3.54-56)

“Into the air, and what seemed corporal melted,As breath into the wind. Would they had stayed!” (1.3.84-85)

“This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill,Why hath it given me earnest of successCommencing in a truth? I am Thane of CawdorIf good, why do I yield to that suggestionWhose horrid image doth unfix my hairAnd make my seated heart knock at my ribsAgainst the use of nature? Present fearsAre less than horrible imaginings.My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,Shakes so my single state of manThat function is smothered in surmise,And nothing is but what is not.” (1.3.143-155)

“...Yet do I fear thy natureIt is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be greatArt not without ambition, but withoutThe illness should attend it.” (1.5.16-20)

“The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements. Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood, Stop up th’access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between Th’ effect and it. Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers, Wherever in your sightless substances You wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night,And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry ‘Hold, hold!’” (1.5. 45-61)

Femininity

Consequences

“If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere wellIt were done quickly: if the assassinationCould trammel up the consequence, and catchWith his surcease success; that but this blowMight be the be-all and the end-all here,But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,We'ld jump the life to come. But in these casesWe still have judgment here; that we but teachBloody instructions, which, being taught, returnTo plague the inventor: this even-handed justiceCommends the ingredients of our poison'd chaliceTo our own lips. He's here in double trust;

First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,Who should against his murderer shut the door,Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this DuncanHath borne his faculties so meek, hath beenSo clear in his great office, that his virtuesWill plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, againstThe deep damnation of his taking-off;And pity, like a naked new-born babe,Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, horsedUpon the sightless couriers of the air,Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spurTo prick the sides of my intent, but onlyVaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itselfAnd falls on the other.”(1.7.1-28)