Summary: Act 1, scene 1
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.
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Act 1, scene 1 →
Summary: Act 1, scene 2
At a military camp near his palace at Forres, King Duncan
of Scotland asks a wounded captain for news about the Scots’ battle
with the Irish invaders, who are led by the rebel Macdonwald. The
captain, who was wounded helping Duncan’s son Malcolm escape capture by
the Irish, replies that the Scottish generals Macbeth and Banquo fought
with great courage and violence. The captain then describes for
Duncan how Macbeth slew the traitorous Macdonwald. As the captain
is carried off to have his wounds attended to, the thane of Ross,
a Scottish nobleman, enters and tells the king that the traitorous
thane of Cawdor has been defeated and the army of Norway repelled.
Duncan decrees that the thane of Cawdor be put to death and that
Macbeth, the hero of the victorious army, be given Cawdor’s title.
Ross leaves to deliver the news to Macbeth.
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Act 1, scene 2 →
Summary: Act 1, scene 3
On the heath near the battlefield, thunder
rolls and the three witches appear. One says that she has just come
from “[k]illing swine” and another describes the revenge she has
planned upon a sailor whose wife refused to share her chestnuts.
Suddenly a drum beats, and the third witch cries that Macbeth is
coming. Macbeth and Banquo, on their way to the king’s court at
Forres, come upon the witches and shrink in horror at the sight
of the old women. Banquo asks whether they are mortal, noting that
they don’t seem to be “inhabitants o’ th’ earth” (1.3.39).
He also wonders whether they are really women, since they seem to
have beards like men. The witches hail Macbeth as thane of Glamis (his
original title) and as thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is baffled by this
second title, as he has not yet heard of King Duncan’s decision.
The witches also declare that Macbeth will be king one day. Stunned
and intrigued, Macbeth presses the witches for more information,
but they have turned their attention to Banquo, speaking in yet
more riddles. They call Banquo “lesser than Macbeth, and greater,”
and “not so happy, yet much happier”; then they tell him that he
will never be king but that his children will sit upon the throne
(1.3.63–65). Macbeth
implores the witches to explain what they meant by calling him thane
of Cawdor, but they vanish into thin air.
In disbelief, Macbeth and Banquo discuss the
strange encounter. Macbeth fixates on the details of the prophecy.
“Your children shall be kings,” he says to his friend, to which
Banquo responds: “You shall be king” (1.3.84).
Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Ross and Angus,
who have come to convey them to the king. Ross tells Macbeth that
the king has made him thane of Cawdor, as the former thane is to
be executed for treason. Macbeth, amazed that the witches’ prophecy
has come true, asks Banquo if he hopes his children will be kings. Banquo
replies that devils often tell half-truths in order to “win us to
our harm” (1.3.121).
Macbeth ignores his companions and speaks to himself, ruminating
upon the possibility that he might one day be king. He wonders whether
the reign will simply fall to him or whether he will have to perform
a dark deed in order to gain the crown. At last he shakes himself
from his reverie and the group departs for Forres. As they leave,
Macbeth whispers to Banquo that, at a later time, he would like
to speak to him privately about what has transpired.
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Act 1, scene 3 →
Summary: Act 1, scene 4
At the king’s palace, Duncan hears reports of Cawdor’s
execution from his son Malcolm, who says that Cawdor died nobly,
confessing freely and repenting of his crimes. Macbeth and Banquo
enter with Ross and Angus. Duncan thanks the two generals profusely
for their heroism in the battle, and they profess their loyalty
and gratitude toward Duncan. Duncan announces his intention to name Malcolm
the heir to his throne. Macbeth declares his joy but notes to himself
that Malcolm now stands between him and the crown. Plans are made
for Duncan to dine at Macbeth’s castle that evening, and Macbeth
goes on ahead of the royal party to inform his wife of the king’s
impending arrival.
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Act 1, scene 4 →
Analysis: Act 1, scenes 1–4
These scenes establish the play’s dramatic
premise—the witches’ awakening of Macbeth’s ambition—and present
the main characters and their relationships. At the same time, the
first three scenes establish a dark mood that permeates the entire
play. The stage directions indicate that the play begins with a
storm, and malignant supernatural forces immediately appear in the
form of the three witches. From there, the action quickly shifts
to a battlefield that is dominated by a sense of the grisliness
and cruelty of war. In his description of Macbeth and Banquo’s heroics,
the captain dwells specifically on images of carnage: “he unseamed him
from the nave to th’ chops,” he says, describing Macbeth’s slaying
of Macdonwald (1.2.22). The bloody murders
that fill the play are foreshadowed by the bloody victory that the
Scots win over their enemies.
