Tegan McArthur

Elena Mineva
Connor Beatty

Macbeth Act I
Scene ii:

1. The battle being fought in this scene is between Scotland and Norway. Scotland,
thanks to Macbeth’s skill, claims victory. This battle is a form of rebellion sparked by the
thane of Cawdor’s betrayal of Scotland. He seeks the allegiance of Norway to help him
defeat and ultimately rule Scotland.

2. This scene includes the injured Sergeant and King Duncan referring to Macbeth as
“brave” and “valiant”. Through these direct comments, and through descriptions of his
actions in battle, Macbeth is assumed to be heroic, skilled in combat, and a fearless
patriot.

3. From the few lines that Duncan has is in this scene, a sense of professionalism is
displayed. His questions are to the point, and his exclamations deliver a clear message.
Banquo is scarcely mentioned in this scene. When his name appears, he and Macbeth
are described slaughtering enemy forces, being splattered in guts and blood as a result.
This limited detail implies that Banquo, like Macbeth, is a skilled and fearless fighter.

4. This scene’s references to blood, either direct or indirect, are found on lines 1, 20, 43,
and 46. This serve to remind the reader of the gruesome state of the battle. These gory
details may also act as foreshadowing to future bloody events in the play.

Scene iii:

1. The creepy, unnatural aura that the witches emit is augmented by the beginning of
this scene. Casual banter about driving people to insanity and finding dead people's
thumbs reminds the audience that witches have vastly different motives than humans.
Witches are demonstrated to be pure evil, which instills fear and apprehension into the
audience to prepare them for the rest of the scene.

2. The witch’s prophecy for Macbeth indicates that he was previously the thane of
Glamis, that he is presently the thane of Cawdor, and that he will become a king in the
future. Banquo receives an unclear prophecy from the witches. He is predicted to be
lesser and greater than Macbeth, not so happy, yet much happier than Macbeth, and he
is predicted to raise kings, but not be a king himself.

3. I share J. Dover Wilson’s view for the most part. I agree that Macbeth is fascinated by
his prophecy more than the witches themselves, but I believe that Banquo is also
 Tegan McArthur
Elena Mineva
Connor Beatty

somewhat interested in hearing his own prophecy. This is shown by him asking the
witches to tell him about his future. However, Banquo is more interested in the witches.
The fact that he ponders their awkward appearance demonstrates this interest.

4. An explanation for Macbeth’s foul reaction to his prophecy is that upon hearing he
would become king, he was forced to imagine the passing of his current king. The death
of one’s king was not taken lightly, so this image would have struck fear into Macbeth.

5. Macbeth's asides show him contemplating the possibility of replacing Duncan as the
king of Scotland. He weighs both sides of the situation. Macbeth would love to be king,
but he hates the image of king Duncan dead, especially by his own hands. Banquo’s
comments to Macbeth reveal his methodical and logical thought process. He mentions
that evil forces can tell truths to persuade individuals. He says this to remind Macbeth to
not act impulsively because of the prophecy he received. This also shows that Banquo
cares about Macbeth’s well-being, making him a good friend.

Scene iv:
1. An example of dramatic irony in this scene is that Macbeth (and the audience) are the
only people who know that Macbeth plans to kill Duncan. As dialogue is shared
between Duncan, Macbeth, Banquo, etc., Duncan’s elation over Macbeth’s victory in
battle causes him to reveal that Malcolm (his son, The Prince of Cumberland) will be the
next heir. This reaffirms Macbeth’s thoughts about killing Duncan to become king, and
reveals to the audience that Macbeth will in fact act upon these thoughts. Duncan,
Banquo, and the other characters onstage are unaware of this information, and continue
conversation and preparation for their celebration at Macbeth’s castle. Duncan believes
Macbeth is trustworthy, however he is mistaken.

2. Duncan’s major shortcoming is that he is too trusting, too naive. This can be seen in
[I.iv.13-16] when Duncan is speaking of the Thane of Cawdor’s betrayal to Malcolm.
Duncan states that “There’s no art To find the mind’s construction in the face.” which
explains his inability to foresee the Thane of Cawdor’s untruthfulness. Duncan also tells
Malcolm that the Thane of Cawdor “was a gentleman on whom I built An absolute trust.”
which verifies that Duncan has trusting characteristics, sometimes to a fault.

3. We can draw the conclusion that Duncan is indirectly investing in Macbeth and
Banquo (or their offspring) for future leadership or high stature. The imagery of planting
seeds, letting the seeds grow, and harvesting the plants could represent Macbeth and
Banquo’s children learning their successful ways while growing up, to eventually
assume a high position of power (ex. a thane, or possibly the king.)
 Tegan McArthur
Elena Mineva
Connor Beatty

4. These lines tell us that Macbeth plans on becoming the next heir, and killing Duncan
as well as overstepping Malcolm to do so. Macbeth’s mental state is extremely unstable
and stimulated by anger and loathing that he was not named heir instead of Malcolm.
However, Macbeth seems hesitant still to do the deed, as his statement “The eye wink
at the hand, yet let that be Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.” shows us that
he will have to kill to achieve his desires, something Macbeth is only comfortable with
doing on the field of battle.

Scene v:
1. The reader’s first impression of Lady Macbeth is that she is a strong independent
female character that strives for power. In her second soliloquy it is revealed she is
determined and fearless when she calls upon the spirits (I.iv,47). She asks the spirits to
thicken her blood, to basically make her stronger like a man, because she realises
Macbeth is going to need help carrying out the plan of killing Duncan. Lady Macbeth
asked prayed that the spirits would make her more manly because she has to help
commit a gruesome crime, which was believed could only be done by men.

2. In Lady Macbeth’s first soliloquy (I,v), after reading her husband’s letter she thinks he
is too kind hearted by nature and cannot handle what the three witches have foretold. In
Lady Macbeth’s eyes Macbeth cannot deal with such great power. In previous acts
Macbeth has already thought about killing Duncan, so as of that point on he might not
be as kind hearted as Lady Macbeth thinks he is. Lady Macbeth makes a good point to
assume that Macbeth as a character is very kind and wouldn’t do such a thing like kill
the king, by many people Macbeth is viewed as a hero and someone of great honour
and pride. Having Macbeth think about murder is unexpected.

3. We see in Lady Macbeth’s first soliloquy that she calls upon the spirits to “unsex her”
meaning she wants them to take away her femininity so that she can go on to doing
manly deeds. Lady Macbeth wants this because she wants to help Macbeth kill Duncan
so he can take his position on the throne as king of Scotland. Lady Macbeth associates
being a woman with being kind and nurturing, so she believes that if she asks the spirits
to take those qualities away she can commit manly crimes, like murder. The speech
Lady Macbeth gives is similar to the comments Banquo makes towards the three
witches (I,iii,46-49). In Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy she talk about losing her feminine side
so she can become more manly, almost as if Lady Macbeth is going to turn into a witch
herself. In scene three Banquo compares the three witches to men by pointing out their
hairy chins and choppy fingers, so both of the speeches refer to the three witches.

4. When Macbeth came home his wife further convinced him to take action and seize
the throne, but at the same time she told him that she would take care of the majority of
 Tegan McArthur
Elena Mineva
Connor Beatty

the business in fear he would back down and not do the deed. She does this because
she sees Macbeth as a kind hearted person, but now they both have the seed of
wanting power planted in their heads it won’t be as difficult as Lady Macbeth initially
thinks it will be.

Scene vi:
1. The dramatic irony in the opening dialogue between Banquo and Duncan is that
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have been plotting to kill Duncan. Banquo and Duncan are
not aware of this, and are instead speaking of how pristine and orderly Macbeth’s castle
is. The cleanliness and lack of flaws in Macbeth’s castle can be compared to the
contaminated, flawed thinking of Macbeth and his wife, as his castle’s perfection is
symbolic of Macbeth’s image in the eyes of Duncan and Banquo. However, the
dramatic irony tells us that this image is not truthful.

2. Duncan highly respects Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, and trusts them completely.
One must be quite relevant to gain the trust and good graces of the king; Lady Macbeth
must uphold this image despite her and Macbeth’s plan to kill Duncan.

3. Lady Macbeth greeted Duncan at the gate instead of Macbeth most probably
because Macbeth had not completely accepted the plan to kill Duncan yet as Lady
Macbeth had. Macbeth is still loyal to Duncan, and later reveals that he does not have a
robust reason to kill someone who has only shown him respect and honour.

Scene vii:
1. Macbeth’s reasons for not killing Duncan are he would be betraying the king’s trust,
he cannot kill someone who he hosts in his own home, Macbeth is also Duncan’s
subject and lastly he feels like he cannot kill the universally admired king.

2. After Macbeth says he can’t go through with the plan Lady Macbeth quickly starts
persuading him that he can. Macbeth then starts to worry about their plan failing, so
then Lady Macbeth tells him that as long as he is courageous and bold there is no way
they can’t succeed in killing Duncan; she has absolute faith in their master plan.

3. This scene reinforces the characteristics Lady Macbeth begged the spirits for. She is
now able to commit manly crimes unlike before. We see that happening when she
smears Duncan’s blood on the faces and bodies of the guards lying outside the king’s
room in order to plant the evidence on them. Lady Macbeth develops a strong desire for
success as well, shown by what she is willing to do for Macbeth in order for him to rise
and become king.
 Tegan McArthur
Elena Mineva
Connor Beatty

4. Lady Macbeth’s plan is to help Macbeth become king by killing Duncan. The way this
mirrors the last word in act 1 scene i “Fair is Foul, and foul is fair” is that even though
the Macbeth’s committed a “foul” act it can still be considered as having a “fair” aspect
because now Macbeth would be king, which is what they want.