Act I - My Thoughts (Post 1)

My Thoughts on Act I

What do I know/think about the play so far?  What are my thoughts on Shakespeare, Macbeth and this play so far?

Shakespeare is well-known for having written a great number of plays in the late 1500s to 1600s. Compared to today’s English, Shakespeare’s use of the language can be quite difficult to understand. Something he is famous for is using iambic pentameter in his plays, which gives it a nice rhythm.

So far, the play Macbeth has started off with the three witches, which makes me wonder what type of a role they will have going forward and why they're important. They are strange women who later on make comments to Macbeth and Banquo that foreshadow what will happen.

In the beginning of the act, we see that Macbeth is a captain who has won a battle in the war that the Scottish soldiers are fighting in. When King Duncan finds out that the Thane of Cawdor is a traitor, he decides that the Thane of Cawdor will be executed and then makes Macbeth the new Thane. However, in Scene III, it is the witches who tell Macbeth about this before he finds out from King Duncan’s group.

I have no idea about the power of these witches but they seem to know things that will happen in the near future, like when they state that Macbeth is “thane of Cawdor” and how he “shalt be king hereafter!” (Act I, Scene III). But because King Duncan is currently King of Scotland, Macbeth knows that King Duncan will have to die before Macbeth himself can be crowned the new King of Scotland.

At the end of the first act, Macbeth is speaking with Lady Macbeth and they devise a plan to kill the current King of Scotland, Duncan. He is a house-guest for the evening and they plan to murder him and let the drunken servants take the blame.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth by Dee Trimm

Image source: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/macbeth-and-lady-macbeth-dee-timm.html