The opening scene establishes a brooding sense of doom. Shakespeare uses a frightening spectacle to grip his audience. There is nothing perfunctory or boring about Act I that sets the mood of the play. We see a trio of howling, shrieking ugly hags gathered in a thunderstorm, cackling greedily over their evil plans. It is worthwhile to remember that the audience in Shakespeare’s time did believe in witches, and many witches were tried and executed. Even the skeptics, and there were some, were unsure in their in their disbelief. He primarily to show that for the

In the text of the play, the language of paradox and the quickness of the question and answer format carry the sense of confusion: a battle will be “lost and won” before the “set of the sun” on a day when the sun apparently does not shine. The antithesis suggests a metaphysical game, which is about to be played with good and evil. Events the mind can conceive. As reminded at the beginning of the scene that it is late past midnight, theatrically even states that “over the one-half world nature seems dead.” He observes further that there are no stars, “their candles are out,” and realize that Mac Beth has been granted his wish “Stars hide you fires…”(I, iv, 50) and “Come thick night…(I, v, 49). There is no doubt to the audience that there is something ominous in the air.

Again Shakespeare places Banquo and Mac Beth side by side so that their contrasting natures as evident, and yet here we see that even the noble Banquo is tempted by thoughts of what the witches have prophesied. His “cursed thoughts” are like Mac Beth’s “horrible imaginings” (I, iii, 38); he rejects them when he is rational and awake, but he despairs that when he falls asleep, he is a victim of them. He cries out for merciful powers to give him the strength to overcome the temptations of such thoughts and his remarks heighten the tension and suspense, alerting the audience to the fact that important events are about to occur.

This could be taken as a straightforward blessing, the atmosphere of mistrust and conspiracy in the play evident even in apparently innocuous exchanges would make it not inconceivable that the old man might direct his lines to Ross as a petty time-server and toady of the royal court: “make good of bad and friends of foes!” (41)

duration of this play, ugliness, evil uses thus these witches, while only a part of Shakespeare’s spectacular opening scene, and power will be united to achieve chaos and murder.

Some topics in this essay:
Mac Beth, Mac Beth’s, Shakespeare William, Duff Ross, Act IV, Mac Duff, Banquo Fleance, Momentarily Shakespeare, mac beth, Mac Beth�the, Newgate Prison, mac beth’s, mac duff, lady mac, lady mac beth, scene 2, beth named, mac duff’s, bad friends, mac beth named, thunder lightning,