From the beginning we can tell that the witches can foretell the future, and are creating some unpleasant magic, which is to involve Macbeth. This creates suspense for the audience, wandering what is going to happen next. The facts that the witches want to meet Macbeth should raise some suspicion in the audience. The witches first mention Macbeth in the eighth line, when they explain that they will meet Macbeth upon the heath. This shows the audience that the witches must know of Macbeth and leaves them assuming that Macbeth will be greatly influenced and affected by these three witches throughout. But the audience still not clearly sure what is going on.
Perhaps the most chilling part of the opening, is when the witches overturn the values in which we believe: ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair.’ This basically seems like a warning that things are not what they appear to be, as if they are referring to people, explaining that not everybody should be trusted. This adds to the audience’s fear about what will happen to Macbath.
In Macbeth the witch’s lines are extremely short and cryptic, this adds and indicates tensions and excitement. The whole section is written in rhyme, with short seven or eight syllable lines, which might be a chant. The fact that Shakespeare uses very short lines and varies the rhythm in a number of ways helps to interest the audience. It is obvious to them that the witches are chanting a magical spell throughout their brief encounter with Macbeth. This creates a bleak and mystical atmosphere, together with suspicion as to why they are using their magical power.
The language in Act 1 reflects on the fact that Macbeth is a dark play about evil, death, murder and ambition. And because our human nature most of the audience will be attracted to these subjects and will be curious to see what will happen next and what will comes out at the end. The witch’s language manages to reveal their personalities as sinister, mysterious and untrustworthy.
Although the first scene is exceptionally short, it manages to tell the audience that the witches will meet again ‘When the hurly burly’s done’, after the battle, on a heath, and there they will confront Macbeth.
It has been written many times that Macbeth was converted from its original form to please King James I. It is suggested that Shakespeare altered certain themes and characters before the first public performance and things were even added during a special performance at the King's Court.
James Stuart was already King James VI of Scotland when Queen Elizabeth's death made him James I of England as well. In the late 1500's, Scotland had a witch craze, with many people convicted of wicked secret practices without physical evidence. James I, who believed the witch hysteria, wrote a book about the supposed hidden world of wicked witches, entitled Demonology.
The mood of the play is set in Act 1, although the action doesn’t start until scene 2. The presence of supernatural forces in the opening of Macbeth provides for much of the play’s dramatic tension and the pleasure of King James I. ‘When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightening, or rain?’ This is the opening line. King James I believed he has been a victim of witchcraft himself. On his return to Scotland from Denmark in 1590 he encountered storms at sea, subsequently blamed on a group of Scottish witches. Shakespeare deliberately made the three weird sisters appear against a background of ‘thunder and lightening’ is also for the reason of flattering the King.
Macbeth deals with the fictional ancestors of the Stuart line (Banquo, Fleance) and presents Banquo as loyal, brave and wise warrior strong enough to avoid the temptations of the witches. This is deliberately flattering. King James was a direct descendant of the worthy Banquo and would have pleased to see that his ancestor so honoured in public. Also in this way James could see a bit of himself, thus becoming part of the action, in this way Shakespeare pleased the King by showing a great value of respect.
In scene 5, when lady Macbeth was reading the letter from Macbeth telling her about his meeting with the witches. She fears that his nature is not ruthless enough, is "too full o' th' milk of human kindness," to murder Duncan and assure the completion of the witches' prophesy. So Lady Macbeth calls on the heavenly powers to "unsex me (her) here" and fill her with cruelty, taking from her all natural womanly compassion. This is another important scene that Shakespeare deliberately used to grab the audiences’ attention and entertain King James. Back to when the play is first showed in public, women are seen as a weak, virtuous and only capable of doing house duties. However in this play Lady Macbeth actually wants to become a man, this would certainly shock many audiences. The character of Lady Macbeth is shown as a bit freakish and twisted, audience would be desperate to see what happens next and what she will turn out to be at the end and most importantly what effects she could have on her husband Macbeth.
From the first act, audience already get the sense that this play is going to be a very dark and ruthless tragic. In Act 1 Shakespeare had already introduced many characters in the play and give audience a basic idea of what they are like just enough to grab their attention but yet haven’t completely reveal everything, created a sense of mystery and built a curios atmosphere among the audience. In scene 4 and 5, Shakespeare started to focus on the true natures of the characters. He deliberately put Banqou in the first Act to flattering the King. He uses the three evil witches to grab audiences. The first Act is vital to the whole play. It sums up the atmosphere of the play -- dark, mysterious and a sense of evil.
