Macbeth
Mapping the Play
Act 1 Scene 2
What did Macbeth do to the rebel Macdonald?
What this means…
Quote…
How does the king reward him?
What this means…
Quote…
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Macbeth
What images can you see in this extract? Draw them! Who do they refer to?
“Smoked with bloody execution”
This describes Macbeth’s sword coming to
kill the rebel McDonald.
It is a violent image, suggesting that
Macbeth is fearsome, but the word
‘execution’ also suggests that what he is
doing is just.
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“Bellona’s bridegroom”
(husband of the goddess of war)
This compares Macbeth to the Roman God of War,
Mars. This suggests that he is a great warrior, and
god-like in his skill in battle.
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Macbeth
Act 1 Scene 3
How do Macbeth and Banquo react to the witches?
Write your idea, give quotes in a different colour, and analyse the quotes in a
different colour.
Macbeth
Banquo
Macbeth wants to hear more from the
witches:
“Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more”
This suggests that Macbeth is intrigued by the
witches’ prophecies, and makes us think that
he is going to become obsessed by the idea
that he might be king.
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Macbeth
Act 1 Scene 4
Macbeth and Banquo go to greet King Duncan, who is delighted with them.
Macbeth speaks very loyally to Duncan:
“The service and the loyalty I owe,
In doing it, pays itself.”
Acting loyally and doing service for the King is its own reward.
Duncan uses a metaphor to describe his relationship to Macbeth and Banquo:
“Welcome hither:
I have begun to plant thee, and will labour
To make thee full of growing.”
This suggests that Duncan is going to heap more rewards and favours upon
them, so that they will grow in status and honour like a plant. (Notice this
is an image of healthy nature).
Duncan then names his eldest son Malcolm as his official heir to the throne.
Macbeth’s response, in an aside (i.e. talking to himself) is this:
1. Who is the Prince of
Cumberland?
2. What does
Macbeth mean
here?
MACBETH
[Aside] The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires:
The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be,
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.
4. Can you work out what
the last two lines mean?
3. What do you
think Macbeth
is thinking
here?
In the play Macbeth writes a letter to Lady Macbeth, telling her all about
the witches. Write your own version of this letter, including Macbeth’s
thoughts and feelings after hearing the prophecies.
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Macbeth
Act 1 Scene 6
Synopsis (what happens in the scene):
o Lady Macbeth greets Duncan and Banquo as they come to Macbeth’s castle.
o They speak to each other with courtesy and formality.
o Duncan calls Lady Macbeth “our honoured hostess” and she says that all the
trouble it’s been to receive Duncan (i.e. to get a feast ready and prepare the
house for the King) is nothing compared to all of the honours he has given them.
Remember Macbeth’s line from scene 3:
“So foul and fair a day I have not seen.”
This is his first line in the play, as he says to Banquo that it is a “foul” (bad) day
because of the weather, but a “fair” (good) one because they’ve defeated the rebels.
Think about the witches’ spell from scene 1:
“Fair is foul and foul is fair”.
1.
What seems fair but is foul in Act 1 Scene 6?
2.
In the next scene, Lady Macbeth will try to convince her husband to kill the
king. How do you think she will do it? Write a list of arguments she could
make.
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