What is the setting and stage directions in Act 1, Scene 1 of Macbeth and how do they support

the actors in creating an ominous mood for the play?

The setting for the first scene in Macbeth is an unspecified outdoor location, "open ground," which in
Scotland likely means moors or fields. The stage directions call for thunder and lightning, which in
itself is designed to tap into basic human fears and create an unsettling feeling; the open space
combined with a storm creates additional vulnerability. The characters in the scene are witches,
meeting to talk about a battle. Neither of these elements, witches or war, carry positive connotations
in most literary traditions. The final line of the scene calls for the witches to "hover through the fog and
filthy air." Closing the scene in this way provides an image of reduced visibility, things hidden, and a
sense of being unclean.
Why does Duncan immediately decide to make Macbeth Thane of Cawdor in Act 1, Scene 2
of Macbeth?

Macbeth defeated the treacherous Thane of Cawdor in battle, which makes Cawdor's title and lands
available. Still, Duncan could have easily assigned the title and lands to someone else. In fact, it
becomes clear in Scenes 3 and 4 that Macbeth does not expect to automatically receive Cawdor's
title. Duncan makes his decision based on Macbeth's valiant efforts on the battlefield and apparent
loyalty to his king. This is one of Shakespeare's most significant examples of situational irony in the
play. Although neither Duncan nor Macbeth would question Macbeth's loyalty at this moment, Duncan
is about to replace one traitor (Cawdor) with someone who will develop into a much more dangerous
traitor—Macbeth.

What is the full meaning of the witches' prophecy about Banquo in Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 3?

The witches call Banquo "lesser than Macbeth, and greater." This line means that Banquo will not
achieve the same rank as Macbeth but will achieve a greater legacy than his friend. However, the
second line of the prophecy is the most telling for both men's futures. The witches call Banquo "not so
happy, yet much happier." Banquo does meet an unhappy end, murdered while horseback riding, but
his life has been reasonably happy. Unlike Macbeth, he has little anxiety about things he has done,
and in death he is respected by his fellow noblemen. Macbeth's successes give him hope for his own
children, but he is not obsessive about it. By contrast, Macbeth is racked with guilt after he kills Duncan,
commits additional murders out of anxiety and ambition, and sees his marriage weaken before his
wife descends into madness and kills herself. In addition, Macbeth becomes despised by his
countrymen and will be known as a villain throughout history. In contrast, Banquo's quick death while
out riding with his son is unhappy but far better than Macbeth's fate.

Describe Macbeth's immediate thoughts about becoming king after he is awarded Cawdor's title in

Act 1, Scene 3.

Once he becomes Thane of Cawdor, the thought of murder does cross his mind. He calls this thought
a "horrid image that doth unfix my hair / And make my seated heart knock at my ribs." He also says
the idea of murder is "against the use of nature." He knows that taking action against Duncan would
upset the natural order, and he resists the idea of it. He also reflects that he might become king purely
by chance without doing anything. He knows he could take action to make his purported destiny come
true, but he hesitates to do so. Loyalty and honor still influence his character at this point.

What worries Macbeth about the prophecy pertaining to Banquo in Act 3, Scene 2?

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Macbeth fears Banquo or his children will overthrow or murder him just as he murdered Duncan in
order to take the crown. He feels he can't relax or have peace while this threat looms over him.
Although he does not yet have any children, he wants any that he might have in the future to have the
opportunity to carry on his legacy. Therefore, he acts to try to stop the prophesy about Banquo from
coming true, just as he acted to make his own prophecy happen. While he was successful in making
his own prophecy a reality, he fails when he tries to contradict Banquo's prophecy.

What is the significance of Banquo's ghost appearing at the banquet

in Macbeth Act 3, Scene 4?
Like the dagger in Act 2, Banquo's ghost may be real or a hallucination. Macbeth does not express or
feel any guilt about having Banquo murdered, which could indicate Banquo's ghost is the real thing.
Obviously, the ghost is a manifestation of Macbeth's guilt, and it also emphasizes the fact that Macbeth
cannot escape from the things he has done. His deeds will haunt him, literally. The ghost appears at
the banquet specifically, though, because Banquo promised he would be there before he went out
riding that afternoon. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were both determined Banquo should promise to
attend the feast, and so he does.

When she meets with the witches in Act 3, Scene 5, what does Hecate say that
reveals her true plan regarding Macbeth?

Hecate says she will create a magical illusion that will cause Macbeth to "spurn fate, scorn death, and
bear/His hopes 'Bove wisdom, grace and fear." Her plan is to use Macbeth's own weaknesses, his
ambition, and his arrogance, against him to cause him to abandon his good sense. By showing him
only a portion of his destiny, she will, paradoxically, move him to exert his own will in an attempt to
make that destiny come to pass. His exertions will move him toward his destiny—even though his true
fate is something completely different from the one he had envisioned.

Contrast Lady Macduff with Lady Macbeth based on Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 and
Act 4, Scene 2.
Lady Macduff is clearly angry and irritated with her husband for leaving her unprotected, but even as
she asks her son what he will do without a father, her tone lacks the bitterness of Lady Macbeth. Lady
Macduff does not question her husband's manhood, though she does question his love for his family.
Her interaction with her son appears mildly playful and she calls him "poor monkey," which seems
affectionate. In contrast, Lady Macbeth has outwardly rejected the prospect of having children if
motherhood might make her soft. When confronted with her killers Lady Macduff puts up the womanly
defense that she has done no harm. Though this is true she knows that people who do no harm die
all the time. Lady Macbeth could not honestly say she has done no harm and would be unlikely to put
forth a defense that could be described as womanly.

Destiny versus Free Will

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After the three witches introduce their prophecy that he is to become king, Macbeth takes to the
suggestion with alarming speed. Until this point, he is loyal to King Duncan and has just fought in battle
to stop a rebellion against the king and bring one of the perpetrators, the Thane of Cawdor, to justice.
When Macbeth is awarded Cawdor's former title, he chooses to believe the rest of the prophecy; from
then on, a lust for power and revenge appears to drive his actions. In this sense, he exerts his will in
service of the prophecy. The same can be said of Macbeth's belief in the other visions that "predict"
his invincibility. His belief in destiny causes him to act rashly and directly leads to his destruction.
Throughout the play, Shakespeare demonstrates that exercising free will has its consequences.
Although the prophesies serve as a powerful catalyst for their actions, both Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth show that their minds are divided in their pursuit of power. Lady Macbeth, initially firm in her
resolve to act and to influence her husband's actions, eventually becomes racked with guilt, which
manifests in hysteria and bizarre actions (her incessant handwashing and sleepwalking). Macbeth,
initially goaded by his wife, freely chooses to follow her directives and then begins acting on his own,
as when he orders killers to dispatch Banquo, Fleance, and Macduff's family. Macbeth's acts deliver
the rewards he seeks (the kingship and power), but guilt gnaws at him, as seen in his fight with
Macduff, when he reveals, "My soul is too much charged / with blood of thine already" (Act 5, Scene
8).

Usurpation In Macbeth- Macbeth, there is a tyrant who has usurped the throne; he is not the rightful
king, is not of the royal bloodline. Macbeth has stolen something sacred, since the divine right of kings,
during the time of the Renaissance, is moral law. It's arguable, that Macbeth has committed one of the
most heinous and sinful crimes that can be considered during Shakespeare's time. Macbeth's
overambitious nature, along with his wife's, leads him down this path, and this theme of ambition
driving man to his downfall and destruction leads to the necessity for justice to correct this dangerous
and ambition and restore order.

Macbeth is Shakespeare’s most profound and mature vision of evil. In this play, Shakespeare presents
the overspreading influence of evil over the guilty and ambitious minds which lead them to commit the
most treacherous villainy that affect not only the man and the state. Shakespeare in this play also
provides the essential morality and courage which in their progression defeat the evil and restore the
natural order of things.

Regicide In Macbeth Context

The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible
for the killing of a monarch.
According to the Medieval Scottish society in which the play is set, King Duncan is the
representative of God on Earth; to kill Duncan is to betray the deity himself, resulting in damnation
to an eternity in hell.
poetic justice
The play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is a story about a man named Macbeth and
his quest for power. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a brave and noble soldier, who is
crowned as Thane of Cawdor by King Duncan. After becoming Thane of Cawdor, he and Banquo
come across three witches who give them each three predictions. The witches predict that
Macbeth will become the Thane of Glamis, the thane of Cawdor and then King. At first these
predictions mean nothing to Banquo and Macbeth, but then Macbeth starts thinking that if the
witches were right about one prophecy, then it must be true that he will become King. This
prophecy mixed with the influence of his wife, lead him to kill King Duncan. After Macbeth became

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King, Macduff and Banquo have suspicions that it was Macbeth who slayed Duncan. Macbeth
kills Banquo and tries to kill Macduff to avoid being caught, unfortunately Macduff has already
assembled an army to kill Macbeth. When the army reaches Macbeth, Macduff fights him and
kills him. With Macbeth gone, Malcolm rightfully becomes King of Scotland. The conclusion of
Macbeth contains a high degree of poetic justice because of the slaying of Macbeth, Macduff
being the man to slay Macbeth, Malcolm becoming King of Scotland and Lady Macbeth
committing suicide.
Poetic justice is established when Macbeth is slain, because he had killed many people, all of
which were innocent and had done nothing wrong to Macbeth. He finally gets proper justice when
Macduff kills him for his actions throughout the play.
Poetic justice occurs when Malcolm becomes King of Scotland because he was supposed to be
King since King Duncan’s death but instead Macbeth becomes king. Malcolm gets his poetic
justice when he finally gets what he rightfully deserved since his father died.
Poetic justice occurs when Lady Macbeth commits suicide because she was a big part of the
murder of King Duncan and gets what she deserved when she kills herself because of her own
guilt. She deserved to die because of what she did to influence Macbeth into killing King Duncan.
Aristotle Definition Of Tragedy
He defines tragedy as "the imitation of an action that is serious and also as having magnitude,
complete in itself." ... The basic difference Aristotle draws between tragedy and other genres,
such as comedy and the epic, is the "tragic pleasure of pity and fear" the audience feel watching
a tragedy.
Aristotle Definition Of Catharsis
Catharsis, the purification or purgation of the emotions (especially pity and fear) primarily through
art. In criticism, catharsis is a metaphor used by Aristotle in the Poetics to describe the effects
of true tragedy on the spectator.

Aristotle Definition Of Hamartia

Hamartia Definition
Hamartia is a personal error in a protagonist's personality, which brings about his tragic
downfall in a tragedy. This defect in a hero's personality is also known as a “tragic
flaw.” Aristotle used the word in his Poetics, where it is taken as a mistake or error in
judgment.
Aristotle Definition Of Hubris
Hubris is extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character, which ultimately brings about his
downfall.
Aristotle mentions hubris in his book Rhetoric:
“Hubris consists in doing and saying things that cause shame to the victim … simply for the
pleasure of it. Retaliation is not hubris, but revenge. … Young men and the rich are hubristic
because they think they are better than other people.”

Aristotle Definition Of Reversal

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“reversal”) the turning point in a drama after which the plot moves steadily to its denouement. It is discussed
by Aristotle in the Poetics as the shift of the tragic protagonist's fortune from good to bad, which is essential
to the plot of a tragedy.

Macbeth - Macbeth is a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis who is led to wicked thoughts by the
prophecies of the three witches, especially after their prophecy that he will be made thane of Cawdor comes
true. Macbeth is a brave soldier and a powerful man, but he is not a virtuous one. He is easily tempted into
murder to fulfill his ambitions to the throne, and once he commits his first crime and is crowned King of
Scotland, he embarks on further atrocities with increasing ease. Ultimately, Macbeth proves himself better
suited to the battlefield than to political intrigue, because he lacks the skills necessary to rule without being
a tyrant. His response to every problem is violence and murder. Unlike Shakespeare’s great villains, such
as Iago in Othello and Richard III in Richard III, Macbeth is never comfortable in his role as a criminal. He
is unable to bear the psychological consequences of his atrocities.

Lady Macbeth - Macbeth’s wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position. Early in the
play she seems to be the stronger and more ruthless of the two, as she urges her husband to kill Duncan
and seize the crown. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls victim to guilt and madness
to an even greater degree than her husband. Her conscience affects her to such an extent that she
eventually commits suicide. Interestingly, she and Macbeth are presented as being deeply in love, and
many of Lady Macbeth’s speeches imply that her influence over her husband is primarily sexual. Their joint
alienation from the world, occasioned by their partnership in crime, seems to strengthen the attachment
that they feel to each another.

Banquo - The brave, noble general whose children, according to the witches’ prophecy, will inherit the
Scottish throne. Like Macbeth, Banquo thinks ambitious thoughts, but he does not translate those thoughts
into action. In a sense, Banquo’s character stands as a rebuke to Macbeth, since he represents the path
Macbeth chose not to take: a path in which ambition need not lead to betrayal and murder. Appropriately,
then, it is Banquo’s ghost—and not Duncan’s—that haunts Macbeth. In addition to embodying Macbeth’s
guilt for killing Banquo, the ghost also reminds Macbeth that he did not emulate Banquo’s reaction to the
witches’ prophecy.

King Duncan - The good King of Scotland whom Macbeth, in his ambition for the crown, murders. Duncan
is the model of a virtuous, benevolent, and farsighted ruler. His death symbolizes the destruction of an order
in Scotland that can be restored only when Duncan’s line, in the person of Malcolm, once more occupies
the throne.

Macduff - A Scottish nobleman hostile to Macbeth’s kingship from the start. He eventually becomes a
leader of the crusade to unseat Macbeth. The crusade’s mission is to place the rightful king, Malcolm, on
the throne, but Macduff also desires vengeance for Macbeth’s murder of Macduff’s wife and young son.

Malcolm - The son of Duncan, whose restoration to the throne signals Scotland’s return to order
following Macbeth’s reign of terror. Malcolm becomes a serious challenge to Macbeth with
Macduff’s aid (and the support of England). Prior to this, he appears weak and uncertain of his
own power, as when he and Donalbain flee Scotland after their father’s murder.