English12 Assignment 9 Macbeth 1. At this point in the play, the witches appear to be up to no good.

With their appearance right from the beginning of the play, their prophecy is surrounded by thunder and lightning. This seems to indicate some sort of foreshadowing. Macbeth and Banquo are obviously brave and courageous warriors, but it is not necessarily foul to fight violently, especially in those times. 2. Banquo is more down to earth as he takes the witches prophecies, that his children will be king, with a grain of salt. While Macbeth uses the fact that the witches first prophecy, that he would be the Thane of Cawdor, came true as proof that they might be telling the truth, Banquo warns his friend that news was still coming from the devil. He approaches the news rationally while Macbeth allows his mind to run away with the possibilities. 3. It appears that Macbeths motives to get to Inverness before Duncan might not be out of goodness. At the end of Scene 3, Macbeth thinks that being king requires action on his part, alluding to the fact that some plotting might be involved. Also, in Scene 4, Macbeth says to himself that Malcolm being the new prince is in his way of being king. So, he wants to get to Inverness to make his plans before Duncans arrival. 4. Lady Macbeth is ambitious, self-centered, and has a dark side. When she receives Macbeths letter with the news of his promotion and the witches prophecies, she says that her husband is not cruel enough to get the crown. She prays for the cruelty to seize this opportunity and also informs her husband to leave the plan to her. It almost seems as if she wants it worse than Macbeth. 5. Lady Macbeth practically questions Macbeths manhood when he gets cold feet about going through with the murder of Duncan. Lady Macbeths comments are highly manipulative and she knows how to get to under his skin, but he still worries about what would happen if they are unsuccessful. Her commitment to their plan is very male-like from Macbeths perspective. It is almost as if she is using male (logical) logic to get him to agree to the plan although her motive is emotional, because it is self-serving.