Macbeth Act 1 Summary

Not surprisingly, Macbeth has received volumes of critical commentary over the years. Not only is the play an audience favorite, but its complex characterization, deeply woven themes, and characteristic Shakespearean style make it rich ground for scholarly inquiry. Critics such as Harold Bloom have remarked on the importance of Macbeth in the context of Shakespeare 's works. In Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, Bloom writes, ' 'The rough magic in Macbeth is wholly Shakespeare 's; he indulges his own imagination as never before, seeking to find its moral limits (if any). ' ' Bloom also remarks, ' 'Macbeth is an uncanny unity of setting, plot, and characters, fused together beyond comparison with any other play of Shakespeare 's. '

With attention to the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth struggles with the morality of his actions. Before the murder takes place, Macbeth begins to believe that the murder will “be the be-all and the end-all” to his clear conscious and would risk him to eternal damnation (Act I, line 5). Yet, the murder would bring him power over Scotland and he “shalt be kind” as told by the Weird Sisters(Act 1, line 50). Macbeth goes off of his ambition to murder King Duncan. The internal struggle of choosing mortality over motives brought forth an intense shift of loyalty to betrayal. The murder caused for Macbeth to turn on Scotland and only care for his own selfish motives. The betrayal causes for the play to become horrific and have a double meaning. Macbeth must put on a face to hide his murder to become the king. The double meaning is how Macbeth looks like a hero to all of Scotland, but only the people on the inside know of his horrific actions. He had to murder to to get the position of King, but the

He is Duncan’s ‘kinsman and his subject’, he reminds himself that what he is doing is wrong and that he has the duty to protect the king, not murder him. In an interaction with Lady Macbeth prior to the murder of Duncan, he says they ‘shall proceed no longer in this business’, this shows that he has a moral compass, and he knows that what he is about to do is wrong. Also, previous to the murder he hallucinates a ‘dagger’, it is a figment of his imagination because he is very anxious, and is already feeling culpability. This part in the play is key in showing that Macbeth is consumed by guilt and anxiety, so is not in the best mindset to commit a murder. Despite this, he still kills Duncan. His guilt returns after the murder when an ‘Amen [is] stuck’ in his throat, he knows that he has sinned against God, and he is too anxious to say Amen. Immediately after killing Duncan he is ‘afraid to think of what [he has] done’, he has immense regret and feels a lot of guilt.

The Development of Macbeth's Character in Act One Macbeth is a tragic hero, comfortable in the role of a warrior. Act One of this play shows us the decline of Macbeth's character as it develops from a heroic warrior to a ruthless murderer. His ambitious nature is exposed when his destiny is revealed. Shakespeare examines the boundaries of Human Nature and allows the audience to visualise the destructive force of ambition. The audience is allowed inside of Macbeth's conflicting mind and the imagery allows us to sense the conflict.

Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’ is about the leading male protagonist succumbing to his ambition and need for power. Though Macbeth is liable for his own actions, he is not solely responsible for the events that eventually result in his downfall. Macbeth is corrupted by his wife, Lady Macbeth, as well as the three weird sisters. Macbeth’s contribution towards his downfall is his strong ambitious nature. Lady Macbeth is the person who induces Macbeth to assassinate King Duncan. The three weird sisters (witches) play with Macbeth’s ambitious nature and sense of security. Macbeth’s downfall is due to himself and two external factors.

at this exact point as in the previous scene Macbeth is on his way to

After hearing the prophecy that he will become king, Macbeth resolves to leave his future up to fate proving his pride and prestige are very important to him. Once he is told of Malcolm being named successor to the throne, Macbeth decides that if he is going to reach his goal he cannot leave it up to luck. Again Macbeth’s resolve to murder Duncan wavers when he leaves the grand banquet to assess his situation and decide whether he wants to proceed. His arguments include wishing to keep his honor and not kill Duncan for Duncan is there ‘in double trust’. Thus, Macbeth is shown to be clinging to his honor. Finally, Macbeth must stand his ground one last time against his wife who uses tact to emasculate Macbeth. In his final attempt to stop the whole ordeal before it can start Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he does not want to ‘cast aside’ the honor he has just recently received. Unfortunately, Lady Macbeth will have none of what her husband is saying and so convinces Macbeth to follow through with his plan of murdering King Duncan. Hence, the audience is given the first example of how powerful selfish motives are and how quickly they can spread to others along with cause them to perform unthinkable

Secondly, Lady Macbeth’s blind ambition and false appearance take part in further altering Macbeth’s decisions. Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth’s letter and she immediately starts to plot King Duncan’s murder so the witches’ prophecies can her husbands desires can become true. She knows Macbeth is, “too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness/… That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false/ And yet wouldst wrongly win” (1.V.17-23). Lady is aware her husband Macbeth is too noble and innocent to hurt an individual for his own personal gain. She knows she will have to persuade Macbeth to murder Duncan in order for him to become king. Later, during the congratulatory dinner, Lady Macbeth convinces a hesitant Macbeth to execute Duncan. At first, Macbeth is hesitant because he thinks he is double crossing trust with the king, he is his kinsman, and tonight Duncan is his guest. Moreover, Duncan has done no wrong to deserve death. Macbeth confesses to Lady Macbeth he can not murder Duncan however, Lady Macbeth says, “Art thou afeard/…Wouldst thou have that/ Which thou esteem’st the ornament

For taking a life of a well-respected King. The second reason Macbeth has for not killing Duncan is because at the moment he is Duncan’s host. Macbeth being the host is supposed to keep him safe from harm and danger. As Macbeth says: ‘‘who should against his murderer shut the door, / Not bear the knife myself’’ (1.7.15-16). By killing the King he would be implicating the danger on Duncan himself, rather than ‘‘shut the door’’ (1.7.15). As we will later on find out for some reason Macbeth cannot ‘‘shut the door’’ to his evil doings. Macbeth however does realize this problem but, doesn’t dare to act on it. The last reason Macbeth has to not kill Duncan is that Macbeth has no real reason to kill him. Macbeth is having trouble trying to come up with excuses and reason to kill Duncan, but is stuck and cannot think of anything at all. Therefore this advocates that he just shouldn’t kill Duncan. Macbeth’s battle in his mind is clearly unequal yet still something drives Macbeth to the murder of King

Macbeth’s monologue in Act 3, Scene 1 is a crucial turning point for him in the play. The first important line in this monologue is when Macbeth realizes that all of his efforts have been in vain: “For Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; for them the gracious Duncan have I murdered.” (Macbeth Act III Sc. 1 li 68-69). Macbeth is angered by the fact that by doing absolutely nothing, Banquo’s sons will become heirs to the throne. He feels that they are benefiting purely off of his endeavors while he is left in the dust to suffer and live with what he has done. He has damaged the purity of his own soul for a future that will benefit only Banquo and his sons. The second important line in this monologue occurs when Macbeth decides to challenge fate

In Act I scene VII, Macbeth debates whether his ambition is worth the cost of betraying his loyalties. This scene suggests that Macbeth feels torn between the desire to have power and to stay loyal as a kinsman, to his Lord, and to a guest in his house. Macbeth sees the wrong in murdering King Duncan because Macbeth would break the trust as “his kinsmen and a subject… /then, as a host” (I, vii, 13-14). What matters most to Macbeth is his loyalties, but the weird sisters’ prophecy clouds his judgment.

In this scene Macbeth’s role plays a significant part because Macbeth was not knowing what he will do, “First of all, I am his kinsman and his subject, so I should always try to protect him”, we can reflect that Macbeth was torn between two choices, one being that if he murders king Duncan, he will have the opportunity to become king and rule the kingdom of Scotland and other is that if he decides to protect king as a wise kinsman and doesn’t commit murder, his wife will insult his manliness. The motivation behind Macbeth committing the Murder was Lady Macbeth, because since the 3 witches made the prophecy and Macbeth became the Thane of Cawdor, the Lady Macbeth was the one who manipulated Macbeth to commit the awful

Act four, scene two, is a very important piece of the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. In this scene, Macbeth has Macduff’s wife, children, and others in his castle killed while Macduff is in England. This is the pivotal moment in the play because now Macduff and Macbeth have to fight. By some, this is viewed as the climax because it is essentially the last straw. In this scene, people are exposed to just how awful Macbeth is. For him to kill a man’s wife and children while his castle is unprotected, is the lowest of the low. This is so horrible because Macduff’s wife and child are innocent and are no threat to Macbeth. At this point, Macbeth is killing for amusement. Also, in this scene, Lady Macduff and her son have a conversation. In this exchange, the two say very ironic last words. In act four, scene two, there are three important messages that relate to the rest of the play; manhood, madness, and foul and fair.

In Act One scene three it opens as the Queen and two Lords are talking about the King and how he has fallen ill. The passage I look at is when Lord Grey says, “In that you brook it ill, it makes him worse; Therefore for God’s sake entertain good comfort, And cheer his Grace with quick and merry eyes.” The two Lords are trying to cheer the Queen up by telling her that he will be okay and that she needs to stay strong so that she can keep the king happy. I am still unsure what brook means in this context because today it means a small stream or a girl’s name.

The scene starts as the king arrives to the castle to greet lady Macbeth, as he greets her they soon make the way to the party as the sound of thunder follows them up the stairs as it starts to rain. As the rain and thunder continue they celebrate with a feast with the king as the band plays music in the background. Macbeth soon finds himself outside talking to himself about the consequences of an assasination of the king as lady Macbeth enters with worry of Macbeth as he refuses to tell her what is wrong. They soon enter back to the party as Macbeth and his mistress are having an intense conversation as the watch Banquo celebrate with a dance. Soon the king offers a dance with lady Macbeth as Macbeth plots his foul scheme.