Macbeth

Macbeth Analysis: Act 1.

Macbeth starts with the emergence of “Three Witches” meeting to predict the future. The three witches are in the bleak environment, which is represented by a wild Scottish landscape. Particularly, the imagery of witchcraft and chaotic weather intensify this feeling.

On the next Scene, the main characters start to appear. Here, Macbeth becomes a hero, with the execution of the Thane of Cawdor, a very treacherous character. Thus, Macbeth is ‘nominated’ to obtain the position of the Thane. In this sense, the hero Macbeth is compared to “Valour’s minion” (the servant of Courage) and “Bellona’s bridegroom” (the husband of War), the metaphors that reinforce the ‘heroism’ of Macbeth even more. Another evidence of portraying Macbeth as a hero is shown on the similes of the Captain’s second report, comparing Macbeth and his fellow-captain Banquo to “eagles” and “lions,” while their enemies are compared to “sparrows” or “hare.” However, all of this, describing Macbeth as a superhero actually is a device to emphasize the tragedy of Macbeth’s death at the end of the play. In the lines, “unseam’d him from the nave (center) to the chops, And fix’d his head upon our battlements,” Macbeth’s death is foreshadowed.

On the third Scene of Act 1, the Witches reappear. They make prophecies that “Macbeth shall be named as Thane of Cawdor and then king,” while Banquo will be the “father to future generations of kings.” With the Witches’ reappearance, the Scene recalls the first Scene, when Macbeth says, “So foul and fair a day I have not seen.” The prophecies and words of the Witches can be summed up with a word, ‘unpredictability’. Macbeth is likened to a ‘sailor’, since the sailor is the captain of a ship, in the same way that Macbeth is to become “captain” of his land, which foreshadows the fate of Macbeth.

Other than Macbeth, Banquo also shows up and become the very first to actually spot the weird sisters, remarking on the Witches’ weird appearance, saying they “look not like the inhabitants of the earth, / And yet are on it.” (I personally found this very funny; I laughed for this for quite a long time and my friends stared at me, asking me how could I possibly laugh while reading Macbeth.)

When the Witches say all the ambiguous things, which suggest a more unpredictable future, both Macbeth and Banquo are confused and show incomprehension. Also, when Macbeth is announced to be the new Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth is confused , casts doubt on this, but is not criticizing too much: “This supernatural soliciting / Cannot be ill; cannot be good”, while Banquo is quite sure the “Devil” is interfering here: “oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of Darkness tell us truths.”

On Scene 4, King Duncan delivers formal thanks to Macbeth and Banquo, but announces his successor to be his son Malcolm. When Duncan says, “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face,” he means ‘never judge a book by its cover’, which implies that he wasn’t able to predict the treachery of Cawdor, while Macbeth did. And this probably is said to compliment Macbeth. Of course, Duncan sees Macbeth as a potential successor: “I have begun to plant thee, and will labour / To make thee full of growing.” This creates a perfect irony, because Duncan says these things, while formally announcing his son to be his successor. This irony fuels the ambition of Macbeth to be a King. So, Macbeth gets angry and says, “Star! Hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires.”

On the next Scene, Lady Macbeth turns up and simultaneous the Scene gets darker very rapidly. When Lady Macbeth finds out that Macbeth would be meeting with the Witches, she decides to carry out the murder of the king herself, in order to hasten the prophecy. At this point, Lady Macbeth herself has virtually become an ‘agent of Fate’. She thinks Macbeth is “too full of the milk of human kindness” to commit murder, so she, herself, transforms into a man. Judging by these evidences, Lady Macbeth can be said to be one of the most powerful female characters in literature, filled with the imagery of death and destruction.

On the sixth Scene, King Duncan finally arrives at Inverness, while Lady Macbeth becomes a perfect hostess for now. The castle, from the outside at least, appears to be a paradise, and the King is well entertained, but this place will soon turn into a violent place. Here, the cunningness of Lady Macbeth is shown rather explicitly, with her elaborate greeting.

On the last Scene of Act I, Macbeth is now bothered by self-doubt whirlpooling inside his mind, still very much in confusion, and Lady Macbeth is still guiding the way where Macbeth should go, representing a very strong figurine. When Macbeth admitted to Lady Macbeth that his golden reputation might lose its “gloss,” she sets out to strengthen his mind by mocking his perceived weakness by calling him a “green,” “a coward,” and “poor cat.”