Act 1 Scene 1

From the very opening of the play, Shakespeare establishes the witches as powerful agents of chaos and
turmoil.
1) FW: “In thunder, Nature imagery
lightning, or in rain?” - Witches will only meet up in such ominous conditions
- Reinforces the stereotypes of the time

2) SW: “When the Rhyming couplet

hurly-burly’s - In media res
done/When the - Fighting the tyranical Macdonald
battle’s lost and won”
3) ALL: “Fair is foul Antithetical statements
and foul is fair” - Chiasmus
- Creates a sense of ambiguity
- Fricative sound ‘f’ associated to the witches

Act 1 Scene 2
By limiting our first impressions of Macbeth to what we hear from the Captain, Shakespeare ensures that we
see his military exploits as noble and heroic.
4) C: “brave Macbeth” Epithet
- Macdonald acts as a foil of Macbeth
- Sharp contrast to the end of the play

5) C: “smoked with Violent imagery

bloody execution” - Macbeth’s sword is working for justice
- Captain was in awe of Macbeth’s skills
- His sword was moving fast enough to burn

6) C: “Like Valour’s Simile

minion” - Shows that Macbeth is courageous in battle
- He is a fearless character
- Shows his heroism

7) R: “Bellona’s Metaphor
bridegroom” - Roman goddess of war
- Ross is calling Macbeth the god of war
- His bravery is admired by all

Macbeth’s capacity for violence is highly valued by the other characters at the beginning of the play – we get
the sense that Macbeth’s identity has been forged on the battlefield.
8) C: “carved out his Language of powerful physicality
passage” - ‘Carved’ shows Macbeth’s determination to kill the traitor

9) C: “memorize Allusion to Christ’s place of death

another Golgotha” - A hill of death
- Suggesting that Macbeth will create a hill of death with all his enemies

Initially, the distinction between good and evil is abundantly clear: King Duncan appears to rule over a
country and time where traitors are brought to justice, and loyalty and bravery are rewarded.
10) C:“merciless Alliteration/Epithet
Macdonald”

11) D: “Go pronounce

his present death/And
with his former title
greet Macbeth”
(about the Thane of
Cawdor)
Act 1 Scene 3
In their second appearance in the play, Shakespeare emphasises the witches’ evil and vengeful nature in
order to portray Macbeth’s potential vulnerability.
12) SW: “Killing - Dyspemism
swine” - Inhumane behaviour
- Graphic language

13) FW: “rump-fed Alliteration

runion” -

14) FW: “I’ll drain him Simile

dry as hay” - Will have sex with him until he becomes weak

15) FW: “Sleep shall Rhyming couplet

neither night nor - Won’t let him be free or do anything other than having sex
day/Hang upon his
pent-house lid./He
shall live a man
forbid.”
Macbeth’s reaction to the witches challenges our preconceptions of him – he now appears to be susceptible
to temptation and the strength of his own greedy ambition. Banquo however, appears to be a steadfast man
of virtue with an unshakeable moral compass.
16) M: “So foul and - Macbeth is becoming aligned to the supernatural
fair a day I have not - The witches are affecting Macbeth’s subconscious mind
seen.” - Pathetic fallacy
- Fricative sound ‘f’

17) B: “Good sir, why

do you start, and - Banquo agrees that the prophecy is ‘fair’ but unlike Macbeth he chooses to go
seem to fear/Things with his heart rather than his head.
that do sound so
fair?”
18) B: “Speak then to Assertive, challenging tone
me” - Banquo is asserting dominance over the witches
- He is not letting them affect him emotionally or pyschologically

19) M: “Stay, you Assertive, eager tone

imperfect speakers, - Macbeth is exploring the supernatural dimension and is therefore going
tell me more.” against religious rules
- Feels enthralled by the witches and their predictions

20) B: “Have we eaten

on the insane root?” - Thinks that everything around him is mad
- Is not fully aware of what is happening

21) M: “The greatest -

is behind”

22) B: “to win us to Metaphor

our harm,/The - Banquo has no trust in the witches
instruments of - He is not giving in to them
darkness tell us
truths”
Our initial impression of Macbeth as a loyal, valiant subject is quickly challenged by Shakespeare’s portrayal
of his acknowledgement of the evil nature of his instinctive desires.
23) M: “Two truths Metaphor
are told,/As happy
prologues to the
swelling act”

24) M: “This Alliteration, antithetical statements

supernatural - Macbeth’s ambition and desire to become king allows him to be clouded to
soliciting/Cannot be the witches’ true intentions
ill; cannot be good” - Parallel phrasing
- Undecided about the circumstances
- Paradox

25) M: “why do I yield Verb ‘yield’

to that - Rhetorical question
suggestion/Whose - Wants the prediction to be true but is aware of what must be done in order
horrid image doth for it to happen
unfix my hair” - He is scared to carry out the murder of Duncan
- His own mind is torturing him

26) B: “Look, how our - Macbeth is overwhelmed by the witches’ prophecies

partner’s rapt” - Banquo becomes suspicious of Macbeth
 Act 1 Scene 4
Duncan, whilst a virtuous king, reveals his weakness and naivety through his lavish praise of Macbeth. Having
previously exposed the audience to Macbeth’s evil desires, Shakespeare uses irony to present Duncan as a
vulnerable man (partly because he underestimates Man’s capacity to deviate from an established moral code).
27) D: “There’s no - Never know what the mind is thinking
art/To find the mind’s - Façade of human beings
construction in the - This is Duncan’s weakness
face” - His fatal flaw is his trust in people

28) D: “O worthiest Familial salutation

cousin” - Superlative
- Feels blessed by having Macbeth by his side
- Is unaware of what will happen

29)D: “The sin of my -

ingratitude”

30) M: “our duties are Irony

to your throne and - Makes false promises
state” - Speaks in a way that allows Duncan to invest his full faith in him

31) M: “That is a Primogeniture - the right of succession belonging to the firstborn child.
step/On which I must - He realises that he must get Malcolm out of the way somehow to become
fall down, or else king
o’erleap” (about
Malcolm)
32) M: “Stars hide Rhyming couplet, light and dark imagery
your fires,/Let not - Macbeth wants his true intentions to stay hidden from everyone
light see my black and - Allusion to heaven
deep desires” - Doesn’t want any interreference
- Astrological imagery of destiny

33) D: “a peerless
kinsman”

Act 1 Scene 5
Lady Macbeth’s reaction to her husband’s letter has interesting parallels to his reaction to the witches’
prophecies. Whilst both share a ruthless ambition, Lady Macbeth seems to already be consumed by hers as she
 is dismissive of her husband’s qualities.
34) M: “I burned in Connotations of verb ‘burned’
desire” - Is passionate about the prophecies
- Feels there is a need to fulfill them

35) M: “my dearest Sentimental tone?

partner of greatness” - Puts his wife on an equal pedestal
- Allows her to feel powerful
- Something that was rare in that era

36) LM: “too full o’ th’ Image of purity and holiness

milk of human - Milk is a powerful religious symbol
kindness/To catch the - The metaphor of Macbeth’s nature
nearest way” - Will come between macbeth and reigicide

37) LM: “Hie thee Alliteration

hither” -

38) LM: “That I may Verb ‘pour’ seems deliberate and calculated. Link to ‘Hamlet’?
pour my spirits in - Uses a lot of ambiguity
thine ear” - Acts like a witch
- Could be presented as the 4th witch to catalyse murder

39) LM: “The raven Symbolism (raven) Possessive pronoun (my)

himself is hoarse/That - Raven is an omen of death
croaks the fatal - It is an ominous bird
entrance of - Treated like a person (anthropomorphism)
Duncan/Under my - Satanic powers of the raven
battlements”
40) LM: “Come you Imperative
spirits” - Calling out to the supernatural
- Invokes the dark, evil forces

41) LM: “Make thick Image of corruption and paralysis

my blood,/Stop up the - Reference to the 4 humours
access and passage to - Wants to be rid of everything human
remorse” - No longer wants to feel any emotions
- Like a murderer

42) LM: “Come to my Sacrificial imagery

woman’s breasts,/And - Gall is fluid from the liver
take my milk for gall” - Produces a disturbing image
 - Milk is the purest thing on earth
- Gall is poisonous
- Losing her empathy

43) LM: “murd’ring Alliteration

ministers” “sightless - Witches
substances” - They orchestrate all murders

44) LM: “Come thick Motif of darkness (Used by Shakespeare, NOT Lady Macbeth!)
night,/And pall thee in -
the dunnest smoke of
hell”

“Nor heaven peep

through the blanket of
the dark”
45) LM: “Look like th’ Simile, allusion to serpent in Garden of Eden
innocent flower,/But - Wants him to think and behave in a manipulative way
be the serpent - To fool others and portray yourself in a contrasting way to your true
under’t” personality

46) LM: “Leave all the - Taking the role of a man

rest to me” - She feels as if she needs to be in control of the situation
- Unusual at the time for most women to behave in this way

Act 1 Scene 6
As Duncan arrives at the Macbeths’ castle (the location of his death), he continues to take comfort in what he
believes is their genuine love for him. Interestingly, both Duncan and Banquo seem to see the castle as a place
of tranquillity and beauty – ironic given that the evil plot to commit regicide is hatched within its walls.
47) D: “This castle Adverbs ‘nimbly’ and ‘sweetly’
hath a pleasant seat, - It is quite ironic
the air/Nimbly and - This is the castle where Duncan will die
sweetly recommends - Duncan is appreciative of his hosts and gives them respect they do not
itself” deserve

48) B: “The temple- Inversion of LM’s raven imagery

haunting martlet does
approve”

49) B: “this bird/Hath

made his pendant bed
and procreant cradle”
50) D: “our honoured - Accepts the hospitality of Lady Macbeth
hostess”

51) LM: “All our - Influenced choice of rhetoric

service … done double - Feigns hospitality
were poor and single
business”
52) D: “his great love
(sharp as his spur)”

53) D: “Give me your

hand”

Act 1 Scene 7
In a soliloquy, Macbeth wrestles with his conscience; he acknowledges that there is no justification for
Duncan’s murder but also reveals his willingness to risk punishment in the afterlife. Lady Macbeth’s vicious
attack questions her husband’s masculinity and once again, she convinces him of the ease with which the deed
can be done.
54) M: “If - Assasination is one of the main themes in the play
th’assassination/Could
trammel up the
consequences”
55) M: “We’d jump
the life to come”

56) M: “This even- - It was common for Kings to drink in chalices at the time
handed - Stereotypical myth
justice/Commends th’ - Many kings were supposedly killed in this way
ingredients of our - Brooding on the different ways
poisoned chalice/To
our own lips”
57) “his virtues/Will - Plosive sound ‘d’ reflects his distress and anguish over the situation
plead like angels, - Duncan is a king full of good virtues
trumpet-tongued
against/The deep
damnation of his
taking-off”
58) M: “Pity, like a - Being personified to a new born baby
naked new-born
babe”
59) M: “I have no - Shows that he has no conscience
spur/To prick the
sides of my intent”
60) M: “We will - He does not ask, instead he makes his decision clear without any hesitance
proceed no further in - Mercantile diction
this business” - Macbeth does not have any strength or courage to kill at this point

61) LM: “Was the - Not functioning properly

hope drunk?” “green - LM is mocking Macbeth’s masculinity
and pale” - Metaphorical language shows he has lost his will to live

62) LM: “Like the poor

cat i’ th’ adage?”

63) M: “I dare do all

that may become a
man,/Who dares do
more, is none.”

64) M: “I would, while - Reflecting her lack of empathy

it was smiling in my - No compassion even for her child
face,/Have plucked
my nipple from his
boneless gums,/And
dashed the brains
out”
65) LM: “Will I with
wine and wassail so
convince”

66) LM: “memory …

shall be a fume”
67) LM: “swinish
sleep”

68) LM: “False face - Iambic pentameter

must hide what the
false heart doth
know”