In Act one, scene three the three witches prophesize to Macbeth that he will become Thane of Cawdor and ‘King hereafter.’ Macbeth and Banquo are amazed at this information, Macbeth is already thinking about murder: ‘whose murder yet is but fantastical.’ Rosse and Angus tell Macbeth that he is Thane of Cawdor thus proving the first part of the witches’ prophecy right. This is a dark scene, it maybe early morning suggested by ‘so foul and fair a day I have not seen’, to suggest this stage would be backlit in dim blue. The lack of light increases the tension. Little scenery would be used this allows eth actors to move more freely and this means that the movement of the witches could be synchronised showing they are one. The dark light makes the audience focus on the subject, flashing white lights suggests thunder and lightning, sound effects could be used to create a thunder clap, and this is a prophetic fallacy, reflecting the evil of the witches. To suggest the ‘blasted heath’ wind sound effects will be used. The effects help the audience suspend their disbelief in order to communicate with the play. The witches would be lit with red, because Banquo exclaims, ‘What, can the devil speak true.’ Red is associated with the devil and could link the witches with the paranormal, thus creating suspense and fright with the association of evil.
The witches play a key role in act one, scene three. During this scene they reveal their supernatural links using rhyming couplets and talk of sailing in a sieve: ‘but in a sieve I’ll thither sail.’ To develop the theme of being inhuman, they could chant in a monotonous tone. During the scene, the witches act as one, they are intimate with each other and often speak consecutively. The line ‘The weird sisters’ hand in hand,’ suggests that they are close to show this their proxemics and orientation will suggest intimacy. The faces of the witches should be white to reflect the red spot light this shows the link between the witches and the devil. They should wear black cloaks and move about in swooping motions to suggest them being bird-like. Macbeth says ‘Into the air, and what seemed corporal Melted as breathe into the wind’; the witches should fly off stage to suggest melting into the air. When the witches speak, there should be no distinct accent, but they should speak softly and flowingly. The witches use rhyming couplets such as ‘I’ll drain him dry as hay, Sleep shall neither night nor day,’ to suggest an incantation, in conjunction with this the soft flowing speech should enable the audience to detach from reality and create a distinct boundary between the human characters and the inhuman witches. The witches act together in my stylised interpretation of the script. When they prophesize about Macbeth they speak consecutively, ‘All hail Macbeth! Hail thee thane of Glamis .
All hail Macbeth! Hail thee, Thane of Cawdor.
All hail that shalt be King hereafter. ‘This shows how the witches interact with each other, to stage their relationship they should laugh or ‘cackle’ together, as if eth prophecy is a joke.
Macbeth and Banquo had been fighting in a battle, so they would be tired and haggard from this, he also may be injured, for this reason Macbeth should walk on with his arm around Banquo supporting himself to show the injuries and to show immediately they are both close friends. They would also be slow looking up enquiring about the weather, ‘so foul and foul a day i have not seen.’ As they enter the lights should turn blue as the red lights would create a false image of Macbeth and Banquo. Because they come from a battle in which Macbeth has showed himself to be ‘like valour’s minion,’ they would be wearing blood stained armour which reflects both his nobility but also his blood thirst which is revealed in the latter part play. They will be talking very informally, showing they are close friends. To emphasise Macbeth’s change in personality when he finds out about the prophecy, ‘whose murder is yet fantastical,’ the lights should turn red again. This creates contrast and adds the suspense.
Through this scene there is tension between the witches, Banquo and Macbeth. Banquo and Macbeth don’t know who or what the witches are: ‘what are these, ‘For this reason Macbeth and Banquo would be stood together away from the witches, to suggest they are frightened, they should have their hands holding the hilt of their swords. Their bloody language should subtly show the audience they are unnerved by this. Their shoulders should be hunched, their eyes open wide and looking around tentatively. When the witches reveal the prophecy it is a dramatic in the play, Banquos line ‘That he seems rapt withal,’ suggests that Macbeth is motionless because of this dramatic news. To really articulate and dramatize this moment, flashing strobe lights could be used in conjunction with thunder sound effects. This relates to the scene setting: ‘Thunder. Enter three witches.’ The thunder is a metaphor for the evil of the witches. To show Macbeth’s shock at the prophecy, a spotlight should concentrate the light on Macbeth’s face. This will direct the audience’s attention to his facial expression. The actor playing Macbeth should keep still and have his mouth open slightly, this is to create an effect of awe and develop the audience’s emotional understanding of Macbeth.
From line eighty eight to the end of the scene Macbeth delivers soliloquies intermittently. These soliloquies reveal Macbeth’s inner thoughts and feelings, he says ‘I thank you gentlemen.’ He is revealing that he believes the prophecies to be true. The soliloquies focus on Macbeth so the lighting of the other characters should be dimmed to show Macbeth is not talking to them. The soliloquies are important because they show Macbeths ambition swelling up inside and the excitement, ‘The greatest is behind,’ to show this Macbeth should pace the length of the stage in deep thought. Before Macbeth delivers his soliloquy, Rosse and Angus inform Macbeth that he has become Thane of Cawdor as the witches’ prophesized. Unlike the witches, Rosse and Angus speak in blank verse, thus showing their importance and that they are close to God. In contrast the witches don’t speak in blank verse, this shows there alignment with the Devil.
Shakespeare’s uses a variety of linguistic techniques to show the ambition of Macbeth and the evil of the witches; for example soliloquies, rhyming couplets and prophetic fallacy. The importance of characters can be shown using blank verse and iambic pentameters, but how the play is staged has an impact on how people perceive the characters and understand them. Lighting could be used to suggest personality and scenery, the witches lit in red suggests evil and blue is a neutral color suggesting good. These techniques help the understanding of the play and ultimately suspend disbelief.
