ACT 1
1.1
1. What is the effect of beginning the play with the witches? Whom are the witches going to
meet, and when? Notice the language of lines 10-11 and watch for it later in the play.
2. What imagery is used in this scene? What tone does this imagery develop?
1.2
1. What do we learn about and from the "bloody Captain" (1.2.1-44)? Who is Macdonwald and
what has he done? What has been done to him and by whom? Did that end the problem with
rebels (1.2.29-34)?
2. What do we learn from Ross and Angus (1.2.45-62)? Who was the traitor in this different
revolt? What does King Duncan say about the traitor and about his title (1.2.63-65)?
3. How is Macbeth described? What does this first mention indicate about him? What title does
he hold?
1.3
1. What is the effect of what the witches tell each other in 1.3.1-27)? What is the effect of the
specifics they tell? Are these details important to the plot of the play? Why are they here? What
does the First Witch mean by line 9? Keep the line in mind; "do" is an important word in this
play. How do the witches prepare for Macbeth's arrival, and what do they say (1.3.28-35)?
2. Does Macbeth's first line (1.3.36) remind you of anything we have heard before? What do the
witches look like (1.3.37-45)? What do they tell Macbeth (1.3.46-48). What happens to Macbeth
then? How do we know? (See 1.3.49-55.) What does Banquo ask the witches and what do they
tell him (1.3.55-67; notice the paradoxes in 1.3.63-65, similar in structure to 1.1.10-11 and
1.3.36). What do we know that Macbeth doesn't know in 1.3.68-76)?
3. How does Banquo explain the witches (1.3.77-78)? What does Macbeth learn from Ross and
Angus (1.3.87-114)? What is Macbeth doing in lines 114-156? Note where he is speaking to
himself, where he is speaking only to Banquo, and where he is speaking to everyone. How is
Macbeth reacting to what the witches have said and to what Ross and Angus have said? Read
Banquo's speech in lines 120-125 carefully for a statement related to the themes of the play.
Then read Macbeth's speech at 1.3.126-141 carefully. What is he saying? What is he beginning
to think about? Notice an echo of the paradox of "fair is foul" in lines 140-141.
4. How does Macbeth explain his behavior (1.3.148-149)? How much of his thought does he
plan to share with Banquo (1.3.152-154)?
1.4
1. How did Cawdor die (1.4.1-11)? How does the King respond (1.4.11-14)? Keep these lines in
mind. What does Duncan say about the ability of men to deceive others?
2. How does the King greet Macbeth and Banquo (1.4.14-35)? Note the imagery of planting and
growing. What announcement does the King make in lines 35-42? (Prince of Cumberland is the
title of the Scottish heir apparent, like Prince of Wales for the English.) Where does the King
intend to go (1.4.42-47)? How does he react in his aside to the King's announcement of his heir
(1.4.48-53)? What is going on in Macbeth's mind?
1.5
1. Has Macbeth reported accurately to his wife (1.5.1-12)? How does she respond? Read her
speech in lines 13-28 carefully. How does she describe Macbeth? Does this match what we have
seen of him?
2. How does Lady Macbeth respond to the news that the King is coming? Read her speech in
lines 36-52 carefully. What does she intend to do? What does she have to do to herself to let that
happen?
3. Who is in charge when Macbeth arrives (1.5.52-71)? Has Lady Macbeth decided what to do?
Has Macbeth? What does she tell him to do, and what will she herself do?
1.6
1. Read the opening speeches (1.6.1-10) carefully, noting the imagery. How honest is Lady
Macbeth's welcome (1.6.10-31)?
2. What irony is present in Duncan’s view of Inverness?
1.7
1. Read Macbeth's soliloquy in 1.7.1-28 carefully. Notice the repetition of "done" in lines 1-2.
How ready is Macbeth to kill the King? What is he worried about in lines 1-12? What special
rules of hospitality is Macbeth violating (lines 12-16)? What motivation does Macbeth attribute
to himself (lines 25-28)?
2. What is Lady Macbeth complaining about in lines 28-30? What does Macbeth then say, and
how does Lady Macbeth reply? Read their discussion in lines 31-82 carefully to see what
positions each holds and what means each uses to convince the other? Who is the stronger person
in this scene?