GR.

12
ACT 1 SCENE 1
CHARACTER TRAITS:
• Very courageous warrior.
• Ambitious
• Lusts for power and wealth; therefore wants to be the King of Scotland.
• Weak because he is unable to kill Duncan without the influence and
pressure of his wife.
• He is jealous of Banquo.
• He is impatient because he acts instead of waiting for the prophecy to
come true.
• Moral conscience in the beginning of the play, feels guilty about having
the blood of the King on his hands.
• Self-reflective throughout the play, he thinks about what he has done
and what is happening to him.
MACBETH AS MAJOR
CHARACTER:
ACTIONS:
• Fights bravely for King Duncan in a battle against
Macdonwald (a Scottish traitor), the Thane of Cawdor
and the King of Norway.
• Becomes the new Thane of Cawdor.
• Kills King Duncan; then he arranges the killing of
Banquo and Macduff’s family.
• Goes into battle against an army put together by
Macduff and Malcolm.
SUMMARY
 We are introduced to the theme and the plot is
revealed.
 The play opens with a storm in a wasteland.
 Three witches are speaking during a storm on the
heath (wasteland).
 A battle is taking place close by and they arrange to
meet Macbeth when it is over.
THEME:
• ORDER VS DISORDER: • Their evil and ominous intentions are reflected
• A storm of thunder and lightning AND on earth in the fact that they summon the thunderstorms.
the ongoing battles. The witches seem to revel in
the current chaos. • The mood of the play is created here as one of
malevolence and wickedness.
• The three witches are introduced here. They
gather in an outdoor location while they create • Their interest in Macbeth and plan to meet him
thunderstorms. They agree to meet again after the indicates:
battle is over.
• Their ability to see into the future, thus knowing
• The purpose of their next meeting is to meet with
Macbeth. Once this meeting is arranged, they
when the battle will be over AND where
disappear from the scene, called away by Macbeth will be thereafter.
Graymalkin (grey cat) and Paddock (toad) – these • More importantly: their interest in Macbeth
are their familiars or messengers between them
arouses the suspicion of the audience for it
and the devil. These familiars assist them in doing
implies Macbeth is susceptible to evil.
evil.
 EVIL IS DESCRIBED AS
DESIRABLE, WHILE
GOOD THINGS ARE
THEME:
REJECTED – THE
WITCHES SHOW A APPEARANCE VS
TOTAL DISREGARD
FOR WHAT IS GOOD OR REALITY
‘FAIR IS FOUL,
FAIR;
THEY HAVE
PREFERENCE FOR
WHAT IS EVIL OR AND FOUL IS FAIR’
FOUL.
 Reversal of values: in the
beginning the forces of
OTHER good, represented by
THEMES: Duncan, are overthrown
by the forces of evil,
REVERSAL OF represented by Macbeth
VALUES and Lady Macbeth. The
moral order has been
GOOD VS turned upside down.
EVIL Good vs evil: witches vs
king Duncan
THREE WITCHES: CHARACTER TRAITS
• They meet in the opening scene to discuss their fate for Macbeth.
• They meet with Macbeth and Banquo.
• They tell Macbeth he will be Thane of Cawdor and then King of
Scotland.
• They tell Banquo he will not be king, but his sons will be kings.
• They meet Hecate who is angry as to why she was not part of the plan to
win Macbeth’s soul.
• They meet with Macbeth again to show him the three apparitions which
foretell his future.
• The witches are manipulative and cunning. They use Macbeth’s greed
for power against him.
• Have supernatural powers and knowledge of future events, they clearly
enjoy using these powers to create havoc.