Macbeth Act 1 Scene 2

Type Mr Bruff notes on Macbeth

Reviewed

Structure

In this scene, we hear two different opinions about Macbeth from the sergeant
and the King

This has two effects:

Builds up anticipation in the audience for when they actually meet

Macbeth

Shows how well respected Macbeth is by the other characters in the play,
which gives the subsequent events in the play much more drama and
emotional impact

💡 “For brave Macbeth — well he deserves that name

Disdaining fortune with his brandished steel
Which smoked with bloody execution”

💡 “Till he unseam’d him from the nave to th’chaps,

And fixed his head upon our battlements”

Brutal and blood-filled imagery from the sergeant

We would expect the King’s response to be of horror, however, Macbeth’s

actions are seen as admirable and praise-worthy to the King, which gives us
an idea as to the type of world in which the play is set:

A masculine world-only men appear in this scene

Macbeth Act 1 Scene 2 1

 A world of violence and honor

💡 “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won”

We learn that the Thane of Cawdor betrayed Scotland and sided with the King
of Norway, and he is stripped of his title which is then given to Macbeth as a
reward for his bravery and loyalty

Here Shakespeare creates a paradox as the audience is supposed to see the

difference between a treacherous Thane and a loyal, brave one, but by the
end of the play Macbeth and the previous Thane are very similar, with
Macbeth going on to betray his King and country

This is an example of foreshadowing

Form

In this scene, the characters talk in prose (ordinary written language) and
iambic pentameter

Shakespeare’s use of blank verse for King Duncan immediately presents him
as noble, authoritative, and appreciative as this form of dialogue is reserved
for noble or upper-class characters

“O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman”: His reference to Macbeth as ‘cousin’ for

someone of lower rank than him is particularly generous

The structural decision by Shakespeare to have the scene start and end with
Duncan’s dialogue presents him as an authoritative character

The sense of authority is also reflected in the way only Duncan asks questions
which shows that he is clearly in charge

Macbeth Act 1 Scene 2 2