Macbeth - Act 1 & 2

Act One
1. Scene 1 - Witches make a first prophecy - "fair is foul, and foul is fair"
  1. Witches speak in only rhyming couplets
  2. Themes - reality and appearance (nothing is as it seems)
2. Scene 2 - King Duncan hears reports of the battle
  1. Shakespeare contrasts the eerie opening scenes from brutality
  2. Duncan and the Captain describe Macbeth as "brave" and "valiant"
  3. Theme - reality and appearance
  4. Macbeth cuts of the traitors head which foreshadows his own death later on
3. Scene 3 - Wiches make 3 predictions
  1. " so foul and fair a day I have not seen" - links to the witches prophecy
    1. Banquo and Macbeth react differently to the predictions - banquo is suspicious and Macbeth is spellbound and is scared by the powerful ambition that the witches have awakened in him
4. Scene 4 - Macbeth is made Thane of Cawdor
  1. Duncan uses an extended metaphor of plants eg. "plant thee" to show that he nurtures people who are loyal to him.
  2. Theme - Kingship and reality and appearance
  3. Macbeth is confused in this scene - "black and deep desires"
5. Scene 5 - Lady Macbeth decides Duncan must die
  1. opens with LM reading a letter alone from Macbeth about the witches prophecies - audience hears her inner thoughts
  2. She has no doubts about killing Duncan and sees that she'll have to force Macbeth to do it because he's "too full o'th' milk of human kindness"
  3. LM soliloquy uses evil imagery - "smoke of hell" showing the evil
  4. her speech links to the witches - she uses imperatives
6. Scene 6 - Duncan and the lords arrive at Macbeths castle
  1. Duncan is grateful for his hospitality and everything M has done for him
  2. LM appears to be the perfect hostess, Shakespeare contrasts this scene with the previous one to show how false LM is.
  3. Dramatic irony is used all the way through this scene.
7. Scene 7 - Opens with Macbeths soliloquy and the Macbeths agree to kill Duncan
  1. Gives a list of reason why he shouldn't kill Duncan
  2. LM is forceful and bullie/persuades Macbeth too go through with the killing
    1. She questions his masculinity, and says killing Duncan will be "so much more the man"
      1. Double meaning - he'll be more of a man and he'll also be king
  3. Rejects her femininity by telling Macbeth that shed kill her own child, trying to prove how remorseless and evil she is.
Act 2
1. Banquo and his son, Fleance, go for walk at night. Fleance is a reminder to the audience about the withes prophecy that Banquos sons will be kings
2. Scene 1 - the famous 'dagger' bit
3. there aren't any stars: "their candles are all out" - darkness symbolises the evil Macbeth are going to do.
4. Theme - the supernatural - he starts seeing visions of a dagger
5. Scene 2 - The deed is done
  1. Turning point in the action - Macbeth commits his first murder
  2. LM is waiting for Macbeth and she is startled by every noise. She couldn't kill Duncan because he reminded her of her father, suggesting she is not as merciless as she seems.
  3. Murder takes place offstage - increasing the suspense making the audience imagine the killing
    1. A lot of foreshadowing takes place in this scene
      1. "Neptunes ocean" - will clean the blood off his hands, he feels guilty
        Macbeth has "murdered sleep", sleep symbolises peace so it shows he wracked with guilt.
  4. Stage directions add to the tension
6. Scene 3 - Duncan's body is discovered
  1. Porters comic monologue relieves the tension, but also builds suspense
    1. Macbeth confesses to killing Duncans servants out of rage, when LM hears this she faints
      1. This could be to distract the other characters from Macbeths suspicious behaviour or may actually be horrified by Macbeths violence
  2. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to increase the audiences anticipation
  3. Macduff finds Duncans body
  4. Malcolm and Donaldbain run away making them look guilty and allows Macbeth to take the throne.
7. Scene 4 - Macbeth is about to be made king
  1. A bridge between act 2 and act 3, to create a sense of fear and uncertainty
  2. Strange events have happened since Duncans death to show how the natural order has been disrupted
    1. Macduff tells Rosse that Macbeth will be king, Macduff isn't at the coronation suggesting he is suspicious of Macbeths and sets himself up as Macbeths main enemy.
    2. Its dark during the day "dark night strangles the travelling lamp"
      1. A falcon has been savagely killed by an owl - falcon symbolises Duncan and the owl is Macbeth
      2. Horses eat each other which is unnatural

Next up

Macbeth - Act 1 & 2

Description

Resource summary

Similar

	Created by Georgie Liddle over 7 years ago