Macbeth Act One

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Discuss Shakespeare’s dramatic technique in Act one scenes 1 to 7.

The chief character of the play is Macbeth. He is first of all Thane of Glamis and then inherits the title thane of Cawdor from an executed traitor. Instigated by a prophecy from the Witches that he will become king, and urged on by his wife, he murders King Duncan, and has himself proclaimed king. To secure his position, he is driven to commit further criminal acts, and plunges his country into civil war. After he is killed in battle by Macduff he is described as a ‘dead butcher’.

        The first scene is set on the ‘moor’ that is bleak and desolate. This scene is one of desolation and devastation. The desolate countryside metaphorically separates the humans from the Witches who are used to open the play to introduce the idea of fate and destiny. From the stage directions, the ‘battlefield’ creates a scene of death, carnage and destruction in line 4, ‘when the battle’s lost and won’ and line 12 and 13, ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’ a paradox is offered. How can fair be foul? How a battle be lost and won? The Witches’ chant in rhyming couplets and their speech is deliberately equivocal to create confusion in the mortals, as it is open t interpretation. He rhyming couplets give the effect of an incantation, while the thunder and lightning echo the noise of the battle. Similarly strange is thepaaradox that closes the scene: contained within it is the oxymoron, ‘fair is foul, and foul is fair’, a paradoxical idea that the Witches are able to transform what is good into evil, and make what is evil appear virtuous. These are also the first words spoken in the play by Macbeth, the echo establishes an unconscious contact with the Witches and is dramatically effective.

        We discover that the Witches are on the ‘moor’ ‘to meet with Macbeth’. They seem to know where Macbeth will be. Once again they show that they can foretell the future. What can Macbeth the play’s eponymous hero have to do with these abnormal, ‘weird woman’ who ‘look not like th’inhabitants of earth’? How does he fit into their plans? The opening scene heightens the audience’s expectations, as Macbeth will soon appear on stage, the audience will try and establish exactly why the Witches hope t meet him.

        Witches held great significance for a Jacobean audience who believed in witchcraft. Witches were the objects of morbid and fevered fascination during this era. The Jacobeans were afraid and superstitious. They suspected that the Witches were credited with powers and could predict the future, fly, cause fogs and tempests, bring on night in daytime, kill animals and curse people, with fatal diseases as well as induce nightmares. By the use of this technique, Shakespeare knew that he would get his audience’s attention with the opening scene. Although brief, this scene sets the supernatural atmosphere of the play, which is central to its dramatic action.    

        In scene two, Shakespeare cleverly moves the scene to establish a different mood when introducing the humans. The seething battlefield replaces the moor, foul thunder is replaced by the sound of the military alarum and the humans replace the Witches. In this scene we meet Duncan, the King of Scotland, and his sons, Donalbain and Malcolm. Duncan’s supremacy is instantly established for he is the first to speak. They receive a report of the battle fought against the King of Norway and Macdonwald, the thane of Cawdor who has proved disloyal to Duncan. From the report he audience learns about the heroism and bravery of one of the King Duncan’s generals, Macbeth. Shakespeare continues to build suspense as he introduces the humans.

        The audience are also introduced to evil in man and the evil in warfare. The playwright’s use of language helps to bring the battle to life and emphasises Macbeth’s importance. Dynamic verbs like, ‘smok’d’, ‘brandish’d’ and ‘unseam’d’ suggest Macbeth’s skills and courage as his sword ‘smok’d with bloody execution’.

        Once again we hear about Macbeth before we see him. Hw=e is spoken of in glowing terms and he becomes a hero in the eyes of the audience. Though he is referred to as a ‘worthy gentlemen’, there is still the memory that his name is connected with the Witches.

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        ‘Brave Macbeth’ kills Macdonwald by carving ‘out his passage’ ‘till he unseem’d him from the nave to the chops’ ‘with his brandish’d steel’ that ‘smok’d with bloody execution’. Part of this description highlights Macbeth’s bravery and valour, but the captain’s description of Macbeth’s ‘unseeming’ of Macdonwald can be interpreted in different ways. Shakespeare intentionally paints an ambiguous picture of Macbeth. Macbeth, however, is still not satisfied until he had ‘fix’d [Macdonwald’s] head’ upon the ‘battlements’. The decapitation of Macdonwald would support a more negative reading of Macbeth as oppose to his courageous behaviour.

        Scene two concludes with an ironic note ...

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