Act 1 Scene 1
LO: Understand
how Shakespeare
creates a dark and
eerie tone.
Act 1 Scene 1
Quick Summary
Thunder and lightning crash above a
Scottish moor.
Three haggard old women, the witches,
appear out of the storm.
In eerie, chanting tones, they make plans to
meet again upon the heath, after the battle,
to confront Macbeth.
As quickly as they arrive, they disappear.
Thematic Considerations
Stage Directions: ‘Thunder and lightning.
Enter three WITCHES.’
- Feminism
- Appearance vs. Reality
- The Supernatural
- Speech Style: Troachic Tetrameter vs.
Iambic Pentameter
Contextual Considerations
- Speech Order: Witch One, Witch Two, Witch
Three
Great Chain of Being
Witchcraft
Views on Women
Reaction of the audience
Religion
- Imagery
- Equivocation (Catholic
doctrine)/Contradiction and Double meaning
Tasks
What is the significance of the stage
directions at the beginning?
How does Shakespeare use speech
to differentiate the Witches from the
other characters?
Th
Find two examples of language
technique. Explain their effect on the
readers.
Extension: Imagine you were a Jacobian audience member watching Macbeth. Write a letter to your friend explaining how the
Witches made you feel and why.
Fill in the Gaps
Extension - Write a paragraph that links what we’ve read so far to
context.
Tasks
Basic Context
‘Fair is foul and foul
is fair,’
- The Supernatural
- Views on women
Tasks
‘Fair is foul and foul
is fair,’
Deeper link to
Advanced Context.
Equivocation and Catholic
dogma/ Gunpowder plot vs.
Protestant James vs. Macbeth’s
psychological ambivalence.
Exploring the Atmosphere
How does Shakespeare create a Dark and Eerie
atmosphere at the start of the play?
Write 3 PEE paragraphs that explore the question above.
Use evidence from the text and link it to context (2 pieces
of evidence per paragraph).
Quick Intro – Three line summary + Context point
Paragraph 1 – Focus on Stage directions.
Paragraph 2 – Focus on imagery.
Paragraph 3 – How the Witches speak.
Paragraph 4 – Contextual links (Alternatively, make
contextual links in every paragraph.
KEY WORDS
Pathetic Fallacy
Oxymorons
Rhyming Couplets
Ambiguous
Corruption
CONTEXT TO CONSIDER
Great Chain of Being
Witchcraft
Views on Women
Reaction of the audience
Did you know?
King James was obsessed with
witchcraft and wrote a book called
‘Demonology’. He was also the patron
of Shakespeare’s theatre company.
Plenary
1) In your books, explain what
you’ve covered today.
2) Give at least one example
of:
Language
Structure
Form
Homework – Complete the question
Due:
How does Shakespeare create a
Dark and Eerie atmosphere at the
start of the play?