Neither the first nor the second scene includes the character of Macbeth. Shakespeare first introduces his thematic concepts in these scenes. In addition, he establishes the reputation (or fame) of Macbeth, which can best be introduced through the dialogue of others.
As noted above, Scotland is at war with the rebel forces led by Macdonald (mentioned in line 9) and the forces of the King of Norway (mentioned in line 31). In this scene Duncan, the King of Scotland, is at a camp near the field of battle. He is with his two sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, when they are approached by two messengers (Captain and Ross) who report on the success of the fighting.
The Captain is the first to report to King Duncan. The Captain relates how the Scottish rebel Macdonald initially seemed to be doing quite well and even had help from mercenary soldiers coming from the islands west of Scotland (Ireland and the Hebrides). But then the battle turned:
And fortune on his damned quarry smiling
Showed like a rebel’s whore. (lines 14-15)
Shakespeare uses personification (and a simile) here to depict fortune (or fate) as a female. To personify fate as a female is not unusual: during the Middle Ages fate was often referred to as Lady Fortune or Dame Fortune. But to describe Fortune as a whore or prostitute was unusual. Shakespeare is thus suggesting that Fortune is a low and base woman who cannot be trusted. The message is clear: Fate cannot be trusted, and Fate is fickle. Fate may seem to reward a person at one moment, but then bring ruin to that same person the next minute. And Fate carves out a disastrous outcome for Macdonald: Macbeth slices open Macdonald’s belly, cuts off his head, and puts the head on a spear for all the rebel forces to see (lines 22-23).
Macbeth is described as someone who disdains fortune (line 17). That means that Macbeth does not seem to care that Fate is on the side of Macdonald, who has superior numbers of troops and ships at the battle. But the line also suggests or symbolizes that Macbeth does not care about the forces of fate. Rather, Macbeth believes that he can control his own destiny by the force of his own personality and ability. In that sense, Macbeth is, perhaps, a Humanist hero.
Readers should also note the words used to describe Macbeth. The Captain describes Macbeth as “brave Macbeth” (16) and “valour’s minion” (19). In the second of these descriptions, valor (or bravery) is personified like a god who blesses and protects his minion (or favorite). Because Macbeth is protected by the god of bravery, he can defeat even the overwhelming odds facing him. Later, Ross describes Macbeth as “Bellona’s bridegroom” (54). Bellona is the Roman goddess of war, and thus Macbeth is a fitting husband for her. Macbeth, himself, then, becomes a god of war in this metaphor. Positive terms describing Macbeth’s abilities, honor, and worth continue throughout the first act of the play.
The reader should keep in mind the essential definition of tragedy: the protagonist is a person of high estate (national hero, lord, aristocrat, prince, or king) who experiences a fall. The word fall does not mean death (even though many tragedies end in death). Rather, it indicates a fall from honor, respect, and social position or standing. In the Classical play Oedipus the King, for example, the story does not end with the death of Oedipus. Rather, Oedipus is still alive at the end; but he has fallen from his position as King of Thebes. Moreover, he has fallen from a position of honor (as he realizes that he is a man who killed his own father and slept with his own mother).
The greatest tragedies thus usually begin with a noble individual who has achieved great worth and honor and dignity in his society. And Shakespeare certainly stresses the worthiness of Macbeth in the first act of his play.
The Captain also uses animal metaphors to describe the greatness of Macbeth and Banquo, Macbeth’s fellow leader in the fighting. The Captain tells King Duncan how Macbeth and Banquo suffered great losses and many injuries during their battle with Macdonald and how they were extremely exhausted after such a long and heavy battle. But before they could take a moment to rest, they were suddenly attacked by the forces of the King of Norway. The King of Scotland asks the Captain whether or not Macbeth and Banquo were dismayed (or frightened) by this new assault. The Captain responds ironically: “Yes, as sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion!” (35). In this double-metaphor, the Captain asserts the bravery of King Duncan’s men.
Norway & His Forces |
Macbeth and Banquo |
sparrows |
eagles |
hare |
lion |
In other words, Macbeth and Banquo are not any more frightened of Norway’s large army than an eagle would be scared by a sparrow or a lion would be scared by a hare (rabbit). Simply speaking, Macbeth and Banquo were not scared at all. And once again, despite fighting against a larger force, Macbeth and Banquo’s army defeated the invaders. As a reward for his bravery, King Duncan will grant a new title to Macbeth: the Thane of Cawdor. The word thane suggests an aristocratic title in Scotland, equivalent to duke or baron. Thus, in granting Macbeth this title, Macbeth is also becoming the lord who owns and controls the land of Cawdor and is the lord of the people who live there. The king is able to give this title away because the previous Thane of Cawdor was a rebel, like Macdonald. The previous thane has been captured at this point in the story, and King Duncan plans to execute him. This detail becomes important in the third scene of the act.
The third scene begins like the first, with the three witches onstage. Before Macbeth appears, the witches engage in dialogue (for 35 lines). The dialogue continues the idea of spectacle mentioned earlier. The reader should note the use of rhyme in the witches’ speech. They have a sing-song chanting sound that contributes to the mood or feel of the scene. But in addition to creating mood, the dialogue also reveals insight into their characters and a possible motive for their actions.
Witches were generally regarded as evil creatures that were responsible for many of the problems that happen to mankind. The second witch tells the first witch that she had been busy killing swine (or pigs – line 2). The majority of people during that time depended upon raising crops and livestock to make a living. Diseases or natural disasters often would ruin the crops or kill the animals. Superstitious people of earlier times believed that evil supernatural forces were really responsible. They believed that they had been jinxed or hexed by the spell of a witch or that a fairy or sprite (like Puck in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream) had played a cruel trick on them. The second witch’s line, then, contributes to that supernatural belief.
The first witch also plans to cause problems for mankind. She explains (beginning in line 3) that the wife of a sailor refused to share her chestnuts with her. So, the first witch plots revenge. She knows that the husband of the woman had set off on a journey in a ship named the Tiger (line 6), and the witch will follow him. She has decided to get revenge on the wife by bringing harm to her husband. Oddly, the witch will not use a boat to follow the sailor. Instead, she will use a sieve (line 7). A sieve is a cooking utensil with a wire mesh bowl. It is used for straining the water out of noodles or vegetables. A sieve, then, is something that leaks. Obviously, if someone were to put a sieve on the sea (even a very large sieve) it would sink. But the witches are magical creatures that can keep even a sieve floating on top of the sea.
The witches can also control the weather. The second witch will help the first by providing a wind to make her sieve sail faster (10).
The first witch then describes the terrible illness that she will cause for the sailor. He will be unable to sleep or eat for 81 weeks (line 21), until he dwindles or shrinks away. The reader should note here that the word sennight is a contraction for seven nights. Thus, it means one week.
Moreover, the witch also plans to keep the
Tiger (the ship or barque) tossed by storms all during that time (23-24). To perform her evil magic, the first witch has a thumb of a ship’s pilot (26). This could be used as one of the ingredients in a magic potion that she would make.
What is remarkable in this passage is the extent of trouble that the witch will go to in order to get her revenge. And why does she want to get revenge? She does it because a fat woman would not share her chestnuts with her. The motivation is slight. It is practically nothing. Yet the revenge is very severe. The point being made here then is that witches cause evil for little or no reason. They are just purely evil beings who intend nothing but harm for mankind. So, why do the witches want to harm Macbeth? The answer is the same. There is little reason or no reason at all.
The careful reader should also note that the witches are referred to as the weird sisters (30). The word weird today means strange or extremely unusual. But the word actually derives from the Old English word wyrd, which means fate. This is how Shakespeare intends it. The three witches are connected to fate. But they are also connected to evil. Thus, they could be said to symbolize either fate or evil or, perhaps, both.
When Macbeth and Banquo first enter the heath where the witches are standing (after line 35), they are amazed by what they see. They are uncertain whether the witches are spirits, demons, or humans. Their uncertainty reflects the mixed superstitious beliefs of the people of earlier times, who were also uncertain whether witches were human or not.
Despite the sense of fear and wonder that Renaissance audiences may have experienced in a scene like this, Shakespeare also adds a little humor.
Banquo says the following to the three witches:
You should be women,
And yet your beards forbid me to interpret
That you are so. (43-45)
Banquo is saying that they cannot be women because they have beards. The common image of the witch during the Renaissance was an ugly old woman with a beard. Of course, during the Renaissance, male actors played all of the roles in a play. And so, large men with beards would be chosen to play the witches. Banquo’s line thus contains a double meaning: (1) You are not women, but spirits (supernatural beings); or (2) You are not women, but men (male actors). The three witches greet Macbeth, each, in turn, addressing him with an aristocratic title (46-48):
Macbeth knows that he is already the Thane (or Baron) of Glamis; but he is surprised, even shocked, when he hears the other titles being addressed to him. Of course, the reader already knows that Macbeth will soon be made the Thane of Cawdor. And, later in the play, Macbeth will be King of Scotland. The witches are predicting the future. They are prophesying the destiny of Macbeth. They are speaking the truth.
Macbeth and Banquo do not react to the witches in the same way. Banquo does not feel any fear at all; but Macbeth, who was fearless on the battlefield, experiences fear in this scene. Banquo even asks Macbeth why he seems startled and afraid of such wonderfully good predictions (49-50). Macbeth, however, senses the evil that underlies the predictions. He may be fearless when it comes to natural enemies and physical dangers, but he should (as a good Christian) fear supernatural enemies (like the devil) and spiritual dangers (that can bring harm to the soul).
FEARLESS |
FEARFUL |
natural enemies |
supernatural enemies |
physical dangers |
spiritual dangers |
Macbeth, in Christian terms, is wiser than Banquo in this scene.
The connection between evil and fate (destiny) is complex. Are the witches merely predicting a future event that will come true whether or not they tell Macbeth? Or does their telling Macbeth somehow cause him to act in such a way that the event does come true? Shakespeare appears to be suggesting that the latter explanation is more likely. Macbeth will, very soon in the play, take action based on the predictions of the witches. That action will be murder, it will be evil. And one may guess (based upon the speeches that Macbeth speaks later) that Macbeth would never have acted in such an evil manner unless the promise of his being king was not told to him by the witches. The witches thus inspire Macbeth to commit evil.
Banquo continues to speak to the witches while Macbeth remains in a startled state. The witches also make two predictions for Banquo (65): (1) that he shall be the ancestor of kings, but (2) he shall never be king himself. Later Macbeth will remember these predictions; and that will cause him to experience a different kind of fear and to commit further acts of evil.
After the witches have left, two Scottish lords (Ross and Angus) greet Macbeth and Banquo
(beginning in line 87). Ross informs Macbeth that he is now the Thane of Cawdor (103). Both Macbeth and Banquo are surprised that the witch’s prediction has come true. And Banquo reacts with the following: “What, can the devil speak true?” (105). Even Banquo realizes by this time that the three witches, who had vanished into thin air (line 76), are creatures of evil who cannot be trusted.
At this point in the scene Macbeth delivers several asides. An aside is a line that is spoken but not heard by all of the other characters on the stage. Usually, it is a line that is not intended as dialogue. Rather, it is intended to represent the thoughts of the character. The actor, in a sense, is whispering or speaking to the audience; but the other characters do not seem to notice or pay attention. The aside is a common convention in theater. Theater is representational. It represents reality, but often does not follow realistic practice. In order for the Renaissance playwright to reveal the thoughts of a character, the use of an aside (or soliloquy) became a standard practice.
In Macbeth’s first aside (114-15), he thinks about how the first two predictions are true and wonders whether the third will also come true: “the greatest is behind” (115). The third prediction, that Macbeth will become King of Scotland, is the greatest of the predictions. The word behind here means “yet to come true.” Macbeth is already thinking how wonderful it would be if he were to become king. The thought thrills him and makes him forget, for the moment, the source of the prediction. Macbeth becomes so excited by the possibility that he forgets that the source of the prediction is evil.
A different kind of aside is one that is spoken for one other character to hear, but not all of the characters on stage. Macbeth speaks to Banquo (11618) with this kind of aside. Ross and Angus do not hear what Macbeth is saying. Macbeth asks Banquo if he is not excited over the hope that his children will become kings, as the witches predicted.
Banquo also responds with an aside (118-24). Once again, Ross and Angus do not hear what is being said. Unlike Macbeth, Banquo is thinking about the evil source of the predictions:
And oftentimes to win us to our harm
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles to betray’s
In deepest consequence. (121-24)
Banquo is warning Macbeth that the witches possibly only told part of the truth in order to cause great harm to them. The witches are instruments of darkness.
They serve the devil, they are evil.
Macbeth thinks about Banquo’s words, and once again his thoughts are presented in the form of an aside (126-28 and 129-41). Macbeth, perhaps in trying to convince himself, thinks that the predictions are neither good nor evil: “cannot be ill, cannot be good” (130). He believes the truth of the second prediction suggests goodness; but if he will “yield to that suggestion” (133), he will be doing something evil. The “suggestion” here is his own evil thought; and his thought is that the only way for him to become king is to kill the present king. Macbeth must kill his lord, King Duncan, if he himself wants to be king.
Macbeth imagines killing King Duncan, and that “horrid image” causes his hair to stand on end (134) and his heart to pound violently and nervously (135). The horror of such an evil act makes the fearless warrior afraid.
Macbeth also realizes that to kill his lord is an act “against the use of nature” (136). The word use here means custom. Killing one’s lord is something that is not acceptable either from a social or religious standpoint. In the medieval Italian poem, The Divine Comedy, Dante depicts the Inferno or Hell as a deep hole or pit that is nine levels deep. Sinners are placed at various levels according to the type of sin they commit. The worst sinners are placed in the lowest levels. The ninth level, where the worst sinners are placed, is reserved for those who commit the offense of treachery. There are several kinds of treachery, and the very worst is treachery against one’s own lord. This is the sin that Satan (or Lucifer) committed. Satan committed treachery against God, who was Satan’s lord. And because Satan committed this terrible sin, he himself is being punished in the ninth level of hell. From the medieval Christian standpoint, then, Macbeth would also be committing the worst sin imaginable. By killing his king, he would then be damning his soul to the lowest and worst level of hell.
The pagan Anglo-Saxons also viewed treachery against a lord or king to be one of the worst crimes in their society. Only a man completely without honor would commit such a deed. One may recall the words of Wiglaf in Beowulf when he addresses the soldiers who abandoned old King Beowulf when Beowulf went to face the dragon. The soldiers’ abandonment of their king was also a betrayal; and those soldiers and the entire nation of the Geats suffer severe consequences as a result of their actions.
The story of Macbeth is a medieval one, and Shakespeare utilizes medieval belief to magnify the horror of Macbeth’s intention to kill the king.
Macbeth (as the aside continues) attempts to push away any thought of evil and any feelings of fear. He thinks that “present fears are less than horrible imaginings” (136-37). In other words, the horrors in his imagination are far worse than anything that is actually happening. The horror, he is