Macbeth

Act I Scene iii

Summary
• In this scene, we meet Macbeth for the first time.
• With a clap of thunder, the Witches reappear.
Having demonstrated their power by casting
a terrible curse upon a sailor whose wife offended
one of them, they
encounter Macbeth and Banquo as the two soldiers
ride from the battlefield.
• The witches hail Macbeth first by his title Thane of
Glamis, then as Thane of Cawdor and finally as king.
They then prophesy that Banquo’s children will
become kings. Macbeth demands to know more
but the witches vanish.
• Ross and Angus arrive to tell Macbeth that he has
been given the title Thane of Cawdor by Duncan.
 Modern
English text
Analysis

• Act 1, Scene 3 is pivotal to the play. It instigates much

of the play's plot and tragic character development and
introduces several of Macbeth's important themes. Not
only do the witches' words ignite a fire under Macbeth's
already simmering ambition, but they also cause
Banquo, Macbeth, and the audience to question what
is reality, which provokes many questions
about fate that the play will then explore. The witches'
appearance is also the first time gender is commented
on in the play; gender will also go on to be a major
theme.
• Like other Shakespearean protagonists Macbeth is indecisive; he is not committed wholly
to killing the king and at this moment is only considering the action.
• It is significant that Macbeth’s first line is ‘So foul and fair a day I have not seen’, which is
similar to the witches’ phrase ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’, suggesting Macbeth and the
witches are connected.
• Noteworthy in this scene is the way in which Shakespeare registers the psychological
response of both Macbeth and Banquo. The questions "Whither . . . ?", "Were . . . ?",
"Have we . . . ?" and so on paint a picture of shared incomprehension. Shakespeare
cleverly combines Macbeth's and Banquo's confusion at the Witches' vanishing with
their disbelief at what has been spoken. The reference to "the insane root that takes the
reason prisoner" suggests the working of a powerful drug, and the clear impression is
that they feel they have been dreaming.
• Macbeth’s firm and thoughtful tone in the opening alliteration “two truths are told”
stresses how serious he takes the Witches’ predictions. Shakespeare presents this
passage as a soliloquy in order to convey Macbeth’s true inner thoughts and motives. As
this is Macbeth’s first soliloquy, it emphasizes the strong possibility of Macbeth heading
down a dark journey as he cannot forget the Witches’ predictions “(it) cannot be ill,
cannot be good. If ill, / Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth?”
• Macbeth feels that committing regicide will be a “supernatural soliciting”.The
word “supernatural” demonstrates that Macbeth acknowledges that such an act
is “against the use of nature.” It suggests that if Macbeth kills Duncan, he will forever be
trapped in the supernatural world for his dishonourable action.
The alliteration of “supernatural soliciting” sounds incredibly seductive, and therefore
highlights Macbeth’s lust and thirst for the crown.
• There is a physiological response to his unnerving thoughts as the ‘horrid image
doth unfix my hair’ and ‘my seated heart knock at my ribs’, emphasising the
horror of Macbeth has with himself at his thoughts.
• The personification “my seated heart knock at my ribs” once again depicts the
increasing fear that Macbeth experiences as his heart is not “seated” with its
connotations of calmness and steadiness but “knock(ing)” which is associated
with alarming fear.
• As Macbeth struggles with his conscience and fears “my thought, whose murder
yet is but fantastical,/ Shakes so my single state of man,” he is uncertain whether
or not he should take the prophecy into his own hands and murder Duncan or, let
time decide his fate “time and the hour runs through the roughest
day”. The consonance ’s’, Shakes so my single state of man”..
• The alliteration “smothered in surmise” demonstrates how Macbeth’s vivid imagination
causes him to struggle with fear and hesitate undergoing the action that is foreseen by
him as a “horrid image.” These mental images are of significance throughout the play as
it is evident that Macbeth’ conscience results in him “seeing” a dagger and also Banquo’s
ghost.
• The antithesis “and nothing is,/ But what is not” is deliberately broken up into two lines
to demonstrate the ambiguity of Macbeth’s thoughts and the confusion which evidently
contributes to his overall fear. Macbeth’s actions become overpowered by his
imagination until ‘nothing is but what is not’ or imagination carries more weight than
action. The partial alliteration of ‘smother’d in surmise’ and the antithesis of ‘nothing is
but what is not’ makes this notion seem again, particularly seductive to the audience.
The word ‘smother’d’, with it’s connotations of oppression, further amplifies the notion
and even suggests that Macbeth’s imagination takes the place of his will.
 • Comment on how Shakespeare in
Act 1 scene 3 of "Macbeth" gives
the audience a clear insight into
Macbeth's character.
Question