Scene 1

Banquo, Fleance and Macbeth are present in this scene. The location of this scene in in a court within a castle.

Banquo is unable to sleep due to over-contemplating the witches prophecy that he will have sons to be kings. Macbeth denies thinking about the witches to Banquo (possibly to conceal the true lengths that he is planning to go to make the witches prediction that he shall be king true). At this point in the play we are unsure if Banquo is suspecting of Macbeth’s plan.

At the end of Scene 1 Macbeth communicates a powerful soliloquy that allows the reader to gain a deeper insight to the thoughts, emotions and concerns that Macbeth is feeling about killing Duncan. In his soliloquy Macbeth has a vision of a blood stained dagger that seems to be leading him towards killing Duncan. Since the dagger is just a figment of Macbeth’s imagination yet to him it seems so real and powerful we begin to suspect that Macbeth is losing himself in order to be someone else (the king).

Question- would the dagger be more powerful if it was invisible or visible on stage?

” There’s husbandry in heaven;

Their candles are all out” – Banquo

Scene 2

Macbeth goes off to kill Duncan after Lady Macbeth has drugged his chamberlains and placed the dagger ready for Macbeth to kill him. Macbeth then returns from killing Duncan with his hands covered in blood and becomes deeply gripped with guilt by killing Duncan. Macbeth is also troubled that he is not able to say “Amen” (possibly because he is no longer one with god after killing the king). Lady Macbeth becomes angry when she realises that Macbeth has the dagger with him (murder weapon) so she goes to place the dagger back herself, once again it shows that Lady Macbeth is the main person behind killing Duncan and that although she was unable to kill the king herself, she is the one that has initiated and carried out the plan. When Macbeth’s moral conscience comes out Lady Macbeth still feels no remorse and stays executing the plan.

“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood

Clean from my hand” – Macbeth

After Macbeth kills Duncan he feels as though that the whole ocean will not be able to clean the blood from his hands. The deeper meaning of this could be that Macbeth believes that nothing will ever be able to wash away his sins and that his guilt will haunt him until he eventually passes. Macbeth then says that he thinks that on top of all the ocean being unable to cleanse him, his sins would even turn the sea that was once green (pure) red.

Scene 3

Lady Macbeth returns from placing the daggers with the drunk chamberlain. A knocking is heard on the gate so the castle porter goes to open the door, at the door is Macduff and Lenox. The porter jokes with them about the effects of alcohol as he leads them in to the castle. Macbeth enters and Macduff asks him where Duncan is, Macbeth replies that the king is still sleeping and leads Macduff to the kings room. Macduff runs out of the room in horror and declares that Duncan has been killed. Macbeth and Lenox run into the room to see if it is true while Lady Macbeth fakes shocks and exclaims that she is horrified that an act like this could have happened in her castle.

Malcolm and Donalbain (Duncans sons) show up and find out that their father has been killed and that it is presumed that his Chamberlains were the one that killed Duncan as they were found with the bloody daggers. Donalbain is suspicious of the Chamberlains deaths but Macbeth explains that he was in so much of a fury he was unable to contain all his emotions, therefore he killed them. Lady Macbeth then faints and is taken away (possibly as a way to move the attention away from Macbeth and onto her self.)

“Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious,

Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man:

The expedition of my violent love” – Macbeth

Malcolm and Donalbain speak aside to each other that they no longer feel safe in the castle and plan to leave. Malcolm and Donalbain feel that they are probably the next ones to be killed or will be suspected of killing Duncan to receive the title of King they plan to leave to different countries and split up as they will be safer if they are apart. Malcolm plans to leave to England and Donalbain to Ireland.

“There’s daggers in men’s smiles” – Donalbain

Donalbain is saying that underneath the pleasant smiles of men there is malicious intentions. From this we understand that Donalbain does not trust Macbeth. He believes that Macbeth being genuine is a front. Daggers also represents the murder weapon that Macbeth used to kill Duncan.

Scene 4

Outside the castle Rosse and an old man have a conversation about Duncans murder. They exchange the strange events that have occurred in the past few days, such as Duncans horses eating each other, the sun refusing to rise and an owl killing a falcon (falcons are supposed to be top of the food chain). Macduff exits the castle and joins Rosse and the old man, he announces that Macbeth has been declared king by the other lords and is currently riding to Scone to be crowned as king. Rosse plans to head to Scone to witness the crowning of Macbeth while Macduff plans to return to Fife.