... wind. The witches cry out to their familiars, "Anon anon". The wind gets stronger, the witches stand and raise their arms in the air, "Fair is foul and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air". At that point a pyrotechnic effect gives the illusion of bright blue flames filling the alley, and the theatre if filled with the sound of ... as much as a whisper of wind. The lights fade to darkness and the scene ends. The line "Fair is foul and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air" suggests that this is going to be a hard play to tell the difference between good and ev...

• Word Count: 1349
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... Shakespeare play. Duncan arrives at Macbeth's castle with no concern on his well-being, but only on how wonderful it is to be there, "This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air/ Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself/ Unto our gentle senses," (1.4.29-30). He doesn't suspect that he is a target of Macbeth's deceit to become King. Though Duncan doesn't suspect his doom ... , Lady Macbeth does, "The raven himself is hoarse/ That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan/ Under my battlements," (1.5.36-39). She knows that there is death lurking in the air, because a raven croacking on a house meant d...

• Word Count: 654
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... the mood of a scene, which gradually changes to become darker. When Duncan and other thanes arrive at Macbeth's castle, they describe it as "This castle hath a pleasant seat. The air/Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself/ Unto our gentle senses." (I, vii, 1) and "This guest of summer,/ The temple-haunting martlet, does approve,/.../Hath made his pendant bed and procreant ... cradle./ Where they most breed and haunt, I have observed,/ The air is delicate" (I, vii, 3). The castle is stated to put one at ease and calm, however in Act 2, Scene 3, Lennox says "prophesying with accents terribl...

• Word Count: 793
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... happen if he was to kill King Duncan, he says that  " Pity, like a naked new-born babe, Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, horsed Upon the sightless couriers of the air, Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, That tears shall drown the wind" (1.7.21-25). Here, "the sightless couriers of the ... air" are the winds, imagined as invisible ("sightless") horses. This elaborate metaphor suggests that pity for King Duncan will be like that kind of wind that blows so hard that it ... ...

• Word Count: 1376
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?" This gives the impression that whenever there is thunder, lightning, or rain that the witches are lurking in the "fog and filthy air" (I.i.13). In his description of MacBeth and Banquo's heroics the captain uses specifically the images of disaster. He says, "As whence the sun "gins his reflection shipwracking storms and direful ... to the disruption of the natural order chaos breaks out in Scotland. Lennox tells of the awful storm, "Our chimneys were blown down and as they say, lamentings heard I" th" air, strange screams of death" (II.iii...

• Word Count: 1290
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... and the involvement of the supernatural. The supernatural occurred in the appearances of the witches, in the appearance of Banquo's ghost, in the apparitions with their prophecies, and in the "air-drawn" dagger that guides Macbeth towards his victim. Each of these supernatural occurrences help make the play more interesting and suspenseful. In the beginning scenes of the play, Macbeth has ... led Macbeth to his success, and those at the end of the play led to his death. Another form of superstition in the play is in the image of an "air-drawn" dagger. This form of the supernatural led M...

• Word Count: 1522
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... four times during the course of Macbeth. It occurs in all the appearances of the witches, in the appearance of Banquoghost, in the apparitions with their prophesies, and in the air-drawn dagger that guides Macbeth towards his victim. Of the supernatural phenomenon evident in Macbeth the witches are perhaps the most important. The witches represent Macbethevil ambitions. They are the ... times in the past before it was prevented by law -statute purged the gentle weal- and yet the dead are coming back. The final form of the supernatural is the air-drawn dagger which leads Macbeth to his v...

• Word Count: 840
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... four times during the course of Macbeth. It occurs in all the appearances of the witches, in the appearance of Banquoghost, in the apparitions with their prophesies, and in the air-drawn dagger that guides Macbeth towards his victim. Of the supernatural phenomenon evident in Macbeth the witches are perhaps the most important. The witches represent Macbethevil ambitions. They are the ... times in the past before it was prevented by law -statute purged the gentle weal- and yet the dead are coming back. The final form of the supernatural is the air-drawn dagger which leads Macbeth to his v...

• Word Count: 989
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... four times during the course of Macbeth. It occurs in all the appearances of the witches, in the appearance of Banquoghost, in the apparitions with their prophesies, and in the air-drawn dagger that guides Macbeth towards his victim. Of the supernatural phenomenon evident in Macbeth the witches are perhaps the most important. The witches represent Macbethevil ambitions. They are the ... times in the past before it was prevented by law -statute purged the gentle weal- and yet the dead are coming back. The final form of the supernatural is the air-drawn dagger which leads Macbeth to his v...

• Word Count: 838
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... death in the whole play except the Thane of Cawdors's death. In that time people believed in Witchcraft. They believed they could fly through the air. They could predict the future. They could vanish into thin air. They could ruin crops. They could kill your sheep and livestock. They were capable of bringing disease and madness to people. They could control the ... ...

• Word Count: 1352
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... . There is a lot of irony in this small penultimate scene of act 1. Duncan comments on the pleasant atmosphere of the castle and how there is a very welcoming mood in the air. Lady Macbeth greets him with admiration and honour; yet more irony shown because she is hiding her intensions. All of the gratitude and thanks towards Macbeth shown by Duncan earlier ... on the terrible weather and strange events of the night. "The night has been unruly. Where we lay, Our chimneys were blown down, and as they say Lamentings heard I" th" air, strange screams of death," This is ironic because a death...

• Word Count: 2837
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: High School

... . Macbeth feels himself falter in self-doubt. His wife witnessing this, says to him: Are you a man? [] O, proper stuff! This is the very painting of your fear. This is the air-drawn dagger which you said Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts, Impostors to true fear, would well become A woman's story at a winter's fire, Authorized by her grandam. Shame ... ...

• Word Count: 1327
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... , trumpet-tongued, against  The deep damnation of his taking-off;  And pity, like a naked new-born babe,  Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, horsed  Upon the sightless couriers of the air,  Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,  That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur  to prick the sides of my intent, but only  Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps ... ...

• Word Count: 1136
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... are still unhappy. Lady Macbeth becomes plagued with sleepwalking episodes that eventually lead her to commit suicide. Macbeth feels an overwhelming sense of guilt and claims to see an,"air-drawn dagger (III, IV, 65)," and that he is,"in blood Stepp'd in so far, that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er (III, IV ... ...

• Word Count: 1246
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... evil nature, as they are followed by dark storms. After their entrance, the three witches chant, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair; Hover through the fog and filthy air" (I.i.12-13). This is mantra is an ideal example of the dark and dirty atmosphere that surrounds the witches. Further proving the connection between night and evil, Hecate exclaims, " ... ...

• Word Count: 820
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... broken by flashes of light and colour, some vivid and even glaring (334)." Another example is "the dagger hanging before Macbeth's eyes and glittering alone in the midnight air (335)."These are both scenes where small flashes of light that creates a light in the darkness... Throughout the entire play, the image of blood is put into the mind ... ...

• Word Count: 529
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... hell, which is ironic because only Macbeth and Lady Macbeth know about the darkness and sin of King Duncan's death so far. The porter scene is like a breath of fresh air during all the sadness happening around them. By the time King Duncan is found sorrow and darkness seeps through every area of the Macbeth family's life and " The queen like ... ...

• Word Count: 1978
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the conscience of Claudius. In the middle of the play during the murder scene, Claudius gets up and begs for the play to stop so that he can get some air. Hamlet is very angered by this because it confirms that Claudius did kill his father. Claudius begins to loose his composure after this because because he thinks that Hamlet will ... ...

• Word Count: 1027
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... creation Proceeding from the heat oppressed brain?" (II, I) They are reminders of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's evil plan to get rid of the King. Macbeth sees a dagger floating in the air, as he is about to kill Duncan. The dagger, covered in blood and pointed towards the king's chamber, represents the cruelty he is about to commit. Macbeth is not the ... ...

• Word Count: 779
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... four times during the course of Macbeth. It occurs in all the appearances of the witches, in the appearance of Banquoghost, in the apparitions with their prophesies, and in the air-drawn dagger that guides Macbeth towards his victim. Of the supernatural phenomenon evident in Macbeth the witches are perhaps the most important. The witches represent Macbethevil ambitions. They are the ... ...

• Word Count: 757
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... these great ideas into his mind making him feel really good about himself. However, he still questions their predictions. When he asks them to elaborate, they simply vanish into thin air. Macbeth wrote a letter to his wife telling her that King Duncan was coming to their castle that night for dinner, that he was named Thane of Cawdor, which the witches ... ...

• Word Count: 659
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... of persuasion and instigation from his wife, he kills King Duncan. Previously to the murder and immediately after, Macbeth''s ""heat-oppressed brain-- caused him to see images floating in the air, specifically the dagger that became bloody right before the bell rang as a signal to kill King Duncan. These images may have been messages from the witches, as yet another cause ... ...

• Word Count: 1825
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... love is not mutual. Contrarily, Lady Macbeth asked her husband, "What cannot you and I perform upon th' unguarded Duncan?-(20) While Duncan initially stated, "This castle has a pleasant seat; the air nimbly and sweetly recommends itself unto our gentle senses,""(16) it became the most ominous, and last, night of his life. Neither moon nor stars showed themselves, the owl screamed ... ...

• Word Count: 920
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... that if he did not do it he didn't love her and that he was a coward. Before Macbeth was about to murder the king, he saw a dagger floating in the air. He was not able to decide whether he was imagining it or not, however, he finally went through with killing the king. This shows that he still had some hesitations ... ...

• Word Count: 1673
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... morality. Macbeth realizes his ambition and his moral degeneration begins. It starts when Macbeth is standing outside Duncan's room and he begins to hallucinate. Macbeth visualizes a dagger floating in the air covered in blood. This bloody dagger encourages him and he murders Duncan. Now Duncan is murdered and small crowd gathers outside his room. Macbeth runs into the chamber and immediately ... ...

• Word Count: 659
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School