An analysis of act 1 of the tragic play macbeth by william shakespeare

Lady Macbeth worries Macbeth is too kind and honorable to fulfill his ambition and the prophecy. She decides to question his manhood to make him act.

Act I[ edit ] The play opens amidst thunder and lightning, and the Three Witches decide that their next meeting shall be with Macbeth. In the following scene, a wounded sergeant reports to King Duncan of Scotland that his generals Macbeth, who is the Thane of Glamis, and Banquo have just defeated the allied forces of Norway and Ireland, who were led by the traitorous Macdonwald, and the Thane of Cawdor.

Macbeth, the King's kinsman, is praised for his bravery and fighting prowess. In the following scene, Macbeth and Banquo discuss the weather and their victory. As they wander onto a heath, the Three Witches enter and greet them with prophecies. Though Banquo challenges them first, they address Macbeth, hailing him as "Thane of Glamis," "Thane of Cawdor," and that he shall "be King hereafter.

When Banquo asks of his own fortunes, the witches respond paradoxically, saying that he will be less than Macbeth, yet happier, less successful, yet more. He will father a line of kings though he himself will not be one. While the two men wonder at these pronouncements, the witches vanish, and another thane, Ross, arrives and informs Macbeth of his newly bestowed title: The first prophecy is thus fulfilled, and Macbeth, previously sceptical, immediately begins to harbour ambitions of becoming king.

King Duncan welcomes and praises Macbeth and Banquo, and declares that he will spend the night at Macbeth's castle at Inverness ; he also names his son Malcolm as his heir. Macbeth sends a message ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her about the witches' prophecies.

Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband's uncertainty and wishes him to murder Duncan in order to obtain kingship. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she overrides all of her husband's objections by challenging his manhood and successfully persuades him to kill the king that very night.

He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan's two chamberlains drunk so that they will black out; the next morning they will blame the chamberlains for the murder. They will be defenceless as they will remember nothing. Act II[ edit ] While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of supernatural portents, including a hallucination of a bloody dagger.

He is so shaken that Lady Macbeth has to take charge.

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In accordance with her plan, she frames Duncan's sleeping servants for the murder by placing bloody daggers on them. A porter opens the gate and Macbeth leads them to the king's chamber, where Macduff discovers Duncan's body.

Macbeth murders the guards to prevent them from professing their innocence, but claims he did so in a fit of anger over their misdeeds. Duncan's sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland, respectively, fearing that whoever killed Duncan desires their demise as well.

The rightful heirs' flight makes them suspects and Macbeth assumes the throne as the new King of Scotland as a kinsman of the dead king. Banquo reveals this to the audience, and while sceptical of the new King Macbeth, he remembers the witches' prophecy about how his own descendants would inherit the throne; this makes him suspicious of Macbeth.

Act III[ edit ] Despite his success, Macbeth, also aware of this part of the prophecy, remains uneasy. Macbeth invites Banquo to a royal banquetwhere he discovers that Banquo and his young son, Fleance, will be riding out that night. Fearing Banquo's suspicions, Macbeth arranges to have him murdered, by hiring two men to kill them, later sending a Third Murderer.

The assassins succeed in killing Banquo, but Fleance escapes. At a banquet, Macbeth invites his lords and Lady Macbeth to a night of drinking and merriment. Banquo's ghost enters and sits in Macbeth's place.

Macbeth raves fearfully, startling his guests, as the ghost is only visible to him. The others panic at the sight of Macbeth raging at an empty chair, until a desperate Lady Macbeth tells them that her husband is merely afflicted with a familiar and harmless malady.

The ghost departs and returns once more, causing the same riotous anger and fear in Macbeth. This time, Lady Macbeth tells the lords to leave, and they do so. To answer his questions, they summon horrible apparitions, each of which offers predictions and further prophecies to put Macbeth's fears at rest.

Teacher to Teacher: Lesson Context and Time Frame

First, they conjure an armoured head, which tells him to beware of Macduff IV. Second, a bloody child tells him that no one born of a woman shall be able to harm him. Thirdly, a crowned child holding a tree states that Macbeth will be safe until Great Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill.

Macbeth is relieved and feels secure because he knows that all men are born of women and forests cannot move.The witches hail Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and "king hereafter" (). Banquo asks Macbeth why he seems to fear this good news, then questions the witches about his own future.

Banquo asks Macbeth why he seems to fear this good news, lausannecongress2018.com In William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, the main character is often influenced by his imaginative mind, and evidence of this can be found in three scenes: act 2, scene 2 after the murder of king Duncan; act 3, scene 4 when banquo’s ghost haunts the feast; and act 5, scene 3 before the final lausannecongress2018.com://lausannecongress2018.com?text=Essays+on+Tragedy+of.

Macbeth.

Macbeth - Wikipedia

is a play that explores the nature of evil, ambition, and the qualities of kingship. Macbeth has been so consistently successful conceptually and theatrically because we can all relate to the eponymous hero's hubris (in Greek drama this 'hubris' is the arrogant ambition that leads to the tragic hero's ruin).

The play's pace allows us to become caught up in the series of actions that cloudsfactorogcom/book-guides/macbeth-william-shakespeare.

Are they agents of fate or a motivating force? And why do they suddenly disappear from the play in the third act?

Taro ed. "Macbeth Act 1 Summary and Analysis". GradeSaver, 23 June Web. Cite this page. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

Serpentine Imagery. · Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Tragic Hero One might choose to assent to the statement, “Macbeth is a tragic hero.” This conclusion may be based upon certain characteristics, proposed by Aristotle, which warrants him worthy of such a lausannecongress2018.com://lausannecongress2018.com  · Support your analysis with specific details from the play.

Primary Resource Macbeth, William Shakespeare Supernatural Shakespeare and Macbeth write, view, act, and close read (analysis activities) throughout the reading of play using essential questions as a guide, then write the essay.

The module is written using this lausannecongress2018.com