Macbeth
The first act of the play opens amidst thunder and lightning with the Three Witches deciding that their next meeting shall be with Macbeth. In the following scene, a wounded sergeant reports to King Duncan of Scotland that his generals – Macbeth, who is the Thane of Glamis, and Banquo – have just defeated the allied forces of Norway and Ireland, who were led by the traitor Macdonwald. Macbeth, the King's kinsman, is praised for his bravery and fighting prowess.
The scene changes. Macbeth and Banquo enter, discussing the weather and their victory ("So foul and fair a day I have not seen").[1] As they wander onto a heath, the Three Witches enter, who have waited to greet them with ...
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King, arrives and informs Macbeth of his newly bestowed title: Thane of Cawdor. The first prophecy is thus fulfilled. Immediately, Macbeth begins to harbour ambitions of becoming king.
Macbeth writes to his wife about the witches' prophecies. When Duncan decides to stay at the Macbeths' castle at Inverness, Lady Macbeth hatches a plan to murder him and secure the throne for her husband. Although Macbeth raises concerns about the regicide, Lady Macbeth eventually persuades him, by challenging his manhood, to follow her plan.
On the night of the king's visit, Macbeth kills Duncan. The deed is not seen by the audience, but it leaves Macbeth so shaken that Lady Macbeth has to take charge. In accordance with her plan, she frames Duncan's sleeping servants for the murder by planting bloody daggers on them. Early the next morning, Lennox, a Scottish nobleman, and Macduff, the loyal Thane of Fife, arrive.[2] A porter opens the gate and Macbeth leads them to the king's chamber, where ...
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born shall harm Macbeth" and he will "never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him". Since Macduff is in exile in England, Macbeth assumes that he is safe; so he puts to death everyone in Macduff's castle, including Macduff's wife and their young children.
Lady Macbeth becomes wracked with guilt from the crimes she and her husband have committed. She sleepwalks and tries to wash imaginary bloodstains from her hands, all the while speaking of the terrible things she knows.
Lady Macbeth sleepwalking by Henry Fuseli.
In England, Macduff is informed by Ross that "Your castle is surprised; your wife and babes / Savagely slaughter'd."[4] ...
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Macbeth. (2011, March 10). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Macbeth/95854
"Macbeth." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Macbeth/95854>
"Macbeth." Essayworld.com. March 10, 2011. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Macbeth/95854.
"Macbeth." Essayworld.com. March 10, 2011. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Macbeth/95854.
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