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Macbeth Act 1 Scene 3

The witches gather again and prophesy that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and king. They tell Banquo that his descendants will be kings. Macbeth is then named Thane of Cawdor by Duncan, confirming the witches' power and making Macbeth consider killing Duncan to fulfill the prophecy of becoming king. Banquo warns Macbeth not to trust the witches but Macbeth ignores this warning.

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2K views12 pages

Macbeth Act 1 Scene 3

The witches gather again and prophesy that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and king. They tell Banquo that his descendants will be kings. Macbeth is then named Thane of Cawdor by Duncan, confirming the witches' power and making Macbeth consider killing Duncan to fulfill the prophecy of becoming king. Banquo warns Macbeth not to trust the witches but Macbeth ignores this warning.

Uploaded by

Iliana Vivier
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MACBETH

ACT 1 SCENE 3
 The witches gather again in preparation for
their meeting with Macbeth.
 They tell each other what they have been
doing.
 Macbeth and Banquo, who are on their way to
meet king Duncan, stumble upon them
 The witches now greet him as the Thane of
Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and as king
WHAT

‘hereafter’.
They tell Banquo that he will never be king
HAPPENS IN
himself, but he will be the father of a long line
of Scottish kings.
ACT 1
 Macbeth is already the Thane of Glamis. SCENE 3?
• Macbeth is not aware of the treachery of the
Thane of Cawdor.
• However, Ross and Angus arrive and tell him
that the Thane of Cawdor is to be executed for
treason and that his title was given to Macbeth.
• Now Macbeth begins to think about the third
prophecy and he begins to wonder if he might
become king too.
• Ross explains that the title was given to
Macbeth as a reward for his courage and
loyalty (huge irony) on the battlefield. WHAT IS
• Ross also says that Duncan plans to reward him
further. MACBETH’S
• This raises hope in Macbeth of being named
Duncan’s successor.
• This confirms Macbeth’s belief that the witches
REACTION?
could predict the future and he immediately
considers the murder of Duncan again.
• However, at the end of this scene he decides to
leave the future to chance.
WHAT IS BANQUO’S REACTION TO
MACBETH?

 Banquo notices Macbeth’s reaction and warns him not to trust the witches.
 He says the witches are evil.
 The witches try to manipulate people by seemingly dealing in truths (equivocation);
however it is merely a trick to win a person’s trust.
 They will finally use this false trust to cause a person’s destruction.
 HOW DOES MACBETH ANSWER BANQUO?
 Macbeth pays no attention to his warning – he only acknowledges the truth of what Banquo
is saying here, right at the end of the play, just before he is killed by Macduff.
• Loyal to king and country.
• Brave on the battlefield where he
fights alongside Macbeth.
• Not gullible and mature in his
outlook.
• He warns Macbeth against the
agents of evil like the witches.
• He is very patient.
• Unlike Macbeth and Lady
CHARACTE
Macbeth he does not take any
action, but is prepared to wait and
R TRAITS OF
see if the witches’ prophecy for BANQUO:
his family will come true.
BANQUO’S ACTIONS:

 Receives the witches’ prophecy for his lineage (who will be future kings of Scotland) but
does not take any action.
 He serves as a foil to Macbeth.
 Warns Macbeth not to take the witches seriously as he may come to harm.
 Encourages his son Fleance to flee when they were attacked by Macbeth’s hired murderers.
 Appears as a ghost at Macbeth’s banquet.
 Fate vs free will: The witches and their
prophecies represent fate.
 Macbeth is human. He has control over his
actions ( he represents free will).
 Thus, after hearing the prophecies he can
decide what he wants to do. On the other hand,
Banquo uses his free will and chooses to do
nothing about the prophecy he has received.


He decides to be patient.
The witches’ prophecies can be regarded as fate
THEMES
and then one could argue that Macbeth has no
choice at all in his actions. EVIDENT IN
 Also, Macbeth chooses not to pay attention to
Banquo’s warning with regards to the witches’ ACT 1
SCENE 3
evilness.
 It can be argued that Macbeth make the
prophecies come true by making certain
choices such as killing the king and the others.

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