Shakespeare’s
shortest and bloodiest tragedy
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Born April 23rd, 1564
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Most famous playwright in English
literature
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Gifted storyteller like predecessor
Chaucer
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Wrote for audiences and not purely
as a means of personal expression
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Contributed many words and
phrases to Modern English
(assassinate, fashionable, cheap)
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Some argue he did not write all
plays attributed to him….
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Many of Shakespeare’s plays
performed here….
Barn turned into theatre
Puritans burn it down (Evil
theatre! Boo!)
Globe built!
Globe burns (Darn cannon!)
Globe rebuilt! (Yay!)
Globe burns (Fire of London!)
New Globe Theatre in Southwark
Reconstructed in the 1990’s
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Only men were permitted to perform
Boys or effeminate men typically
were used to play the women
Costumes were often the company’s
most valuable asset
Costumes were made by the
company, bought in London, or
donated by courtiers
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1 shilling to stand
(groundlings- common folk)
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2 shillings to sit in the balcony
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1 shilling was 10% of
commoners’ weekly income
 Most
stood throughout performances- it got
rowdy- and smelly! (why smelly?)
 Held
 No
about 3, 000 people
real sets or lighting-(rhyming couplets...)
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Set in 11th century Scotland
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Mixture of fact and legend (as is
Julius Caesar)- more on that later
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Written for King James I
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Queen of Denmark (James’s sister)
was visiting
Tragedies such as Macbeth,
Othello, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, &
King Lear, and Romeo & Juliet
contain the following dramatic
conventions…..
Long
Soliloquy:
speech, usually made alone
by a character on stage, revealing
inner secrets, desires, fears
Stage
Directions:
Writing within a play (drama) to
help staff bring the play to life
and to help reader picture the
action; it is written in italics and
within brackets on page
private
Aside:
remark directed only to
the audience or just some of the
characters on stage
*Stage directions tell us if the
quotation is an aside….
Dramatic
Irony:
Type of irony that occurs when
the audience knows more about
what will happen than the
characters
Exposition:
The introductory part of any
literary work that describes the
mood, introduces the reader to all
elements of the setting, key
characters, etc.
A
Paradox:
statement that appears to be
confusing or contradictory but
that actually makes sense with
some careful thought
ACT I Review
The Exposition
Act I, Scene 1
• Notice the creepy, dark,
eerie mood seen right at
start of the exposition.
• 3 witches wish to
“meet Macbeth” before
sunset and after “the battle’s lost and won….”
• Notice the paradox in line 10 “Fair is foul, and foul
is fair.” This will not make sense until we read
further…..
• Scene ends with rhyming couplets to indicate the
end of the scene. Rhyming couplets used here AND
earlier in the scene to emphasize key plot points.
Act I, Scene 2
• The scene is set on a
battlefield where Macbeth’s
army has been fighting the
army of the rebel- and
traitor- Macdonwald.
• King Duncan asks wounded
captain to comment on the
course of the battle. This
captain has proved his valor
by fighting to save the
King’s son, Malcolm, from
capture by the rebel
Macdonwald’s forces.
Act I, Scene 2
• Macbeth killed
Macdonwald- he “unseamed
him from the “nave to
chops.” He acted bravely to
protect Duncan’s kingdom.
• Ross, a thane, (Scottish
nobleman) tells us that the
“Thane of Cawdor”–is also
a traitor. Duncan orders him
to be executed.
• Rhyming couplet- Duncan
states that Macbeth will now
become the new Thane of
Cawdor for his bravery….
Act I, Scene 2
• Note the anachronism in
line 62 when Ross states,
“Ten thousand dollars to our
general use….” He is talking
about how the Norwegians
will pay Scotland $ since
they lost the battle.
• Anachronism: the mention
of an idea, object, person,
etc. within a literary work
that did not exist when the
literary work was written.
• Recall that anachronistic was
a former “Word of the
Week…”
Act I, Scene 2
• Why is the use of the word
“dollar” in Macbeth an
example of an
anachronism?
• ‘The word 'dollar' existed
while Shakespeare was
writing. However,
Shakespeare didn't seem to
know what the 11th century
Scottish called their
currency, so he chose the
term ‘dollar’ which was
actually incorrect, not in
keeping with the history of
11th century Scotland.
Act I, Scene 3
• The term “weird sisters”
term first came from Greek
mythology. 3 witches are
referred to as “weird sisters.”
Weird, from Middle English,
means “destiny or fateserving.” This shows that
they determine Macbeth’s
fate….
• Paradox from scene 1 is
revisited as seen in line 38.
Act I, Scene 3
• Macbeth and Banquo
(nobleman) randomly meet
these witches.
• Witches make 2 predictions
for Macbeth’s future:
You will become Thane of
Cawdor AND King!
• Witches to Banquo:- “Thou
shalt get kings, though thou
be none.” (You won’t be
kings, but your descendants
will be). Also, they predict
Banquo will be “greater”
than Macbeth and
“happier…”
Act I, Scene 3
• Macbeth doesn’t understand
these predictions, but is
happy to hear he’ll be king.
(He’s already “thane of
Glamis.”)
• Ross and Angus enter, telling
Macbeth that Duncan has
made him “Thane of
Cawdor.”- first prediction
came true!
• Banquo doesn’t trust the
witches and tells Macbeth
this, calling the
witches…“instruments of
darkness.”
Act I, Scene 3
• Macbeth is starting to
become intrigued by the idea
of murdering Duncan so that
he can become king.
• The asides here show us
what Macbeth and Banquo
are thinking about what the
witches have said.
• Macbeth: ‘if chance will
have me king….”personification- (maybe I
can become king without
having to murder
Duncan)….
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Act I, Scene 4
Macbeth is on his way to the
palace. Duncan values
bravery and loyalty, but he
may be too trusting. He had
trusted the Thane of Cawdor;
he even trusts Macbeth!
Reader is introduced to
Malcolm,- Duncan’s son
Macbeth becomes nervous
when Duncan makes
Malcolm Prince of
Cumberland…..Why?
“Stars hide your fires…”Macbeth doesn’t want people
to know his thoughts….
Act I, Scene 4
• More on: “stars,
hide
your fires;/ Let not
light see my deep and
black desires..”
• What’s the big deal?....
• This shows he doesn’t want
people to see his true
nature….Macbeth is now
willing to kill not just
Duncan but also Malcolm,
who is set to become Prince
of Cumberland.
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Act I, Scene 5
Regicide: murder of a king
Scene begins with Lady
Macbeth’s soliloquy as she
reads Macbeth’s letter alone
on stage; she’s ruthless and
will do anything to see the
witches’ predictions come
true….
She doesn’t think Macbeth is
ruthless/cunning enough to
do what must be done to kill
Duncan….
Line 38- She talks of a raven
in line 38- an omen (sign)
predicting Duncan’s death
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Act I, Scene 5
She calls upon weird spirits
to help her in the quest to
have Macbeth crowned king.
“unsex me here…”- (make
me like a man so I can do
what must be done- even if
that means murder)metaphor
Lady MacB to Macbeth:
“look like ‘the innocent
flower…”- simile
She will help Macbeth. She
will be the ‘mastermind’ of
the plan to take down
Duncan…..
Act I, Scene 6
• Lady Macbeth, Duncan, and
Banquo, as well as other
attendants and nobles all
await Macbeth’s arrival at
Macbeth’s castle.
• Strong dramatic irony is
present throughout this
scene: we the audience know
that Duncan’s good mood,
his admiration of Macbeth,
and Lady Macbeth’s kind
words to Duncan are not
what they appear. The
audience, unlike Duncan,
knows that evil is lurking…
Act I, Scene 7
• Scene opens with a
soliloquy. At first, he
struggles with the idea of
assassinating Duncan. He
believes it will be difficult to
pull off. Duncan is beloved.
Also, Macbeth has feelings
of guilt. He states that it is
“ambition” and greed for
power that motivates him….
• Notice in his chat with Lady
Macbeth, that he says, “we
will proceed no further in
this business….” line 31
Act I, Scene 7
• Lady Macbeth insults
Macbeth’s manhood to
motivate him to commit to
killing Duncan. Lines 47-55
• Lady Macbeth comes up w/
the plan: get Duncan’s 2
guards drunk/slip something
into their wine so they cannot
protect Duncan, use the guards’
daggers to murder Duncan,
plant the bloody daggers on
them after the murder, framing
them….
• This scene ends with the
inciting incident, or exciting
force of the tragedy.
Act I, Scene 7
• inciting incident/ exciting
force: event setting the
central conflict into motion,
propels the plot forward.
(basically a turning point)
• In Macbeth, the inciting
incident/exciting force is
found when our tragic hero
agrees to commit murder.
He states, “I am settled….
False face must hide what
the false heart doth know.”
He is now firm and resolute
in his decision to commit
regicide, or kill Duncan.
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TRAGIC HERO: “Man of high
standard who falls from that high
because of a flaw that has affected
many” – Aristotle
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Macbeth is one of the most famous
examples of the tragic hero.
 TRAGIC
 person
HERO:
of high rank whose
downfall is caused by his
own behavior 
 exceptional person of great importance
 suffers a tremendous downfall
 Downfall has huge consequences- usually
affects a
whole nation
 has huge character flaw (tragic flaw- what’s this? )
 Tragic flaw causes downfall, brings about his ruin
A
tremendous weakness that causes the hero’s
complete downfall/destruction
Macbeth’s tragic flaw can be argued in any number of
ways, but one should definitely recognize that he
suffers from a bad case of distorted ambition and
greed for power.
Act I Key Terms
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Soliloquy
Aside
Stage Directions
Dramatic Irony
Exposition
Allusion
Paradox/Foreshadowing
Anachronism
Simile/Metaphor
Omen
Tragic Hero and Flaw
Inciting Incident
Rhyming couplets (note use and
placement)