It also calls into question the world’s moral compass and the way people think and act in response to difficulty. Sign up and get instant access to creating and saving your own notes as you read. Act 1: Scenes 57 Act 2: Scenes 1 & 2 Act 2: Scenes 3 & 4. Throughout all this, Shakespeare’s language demonstrates the urgency of the wartime circumstances. A list of the metaphors and similes in Macbeth Search all of SparkNotes Search. King Duncan also condemns the Thane of Cawdor to execution. Her husband’s to Aleppo gone, master o’ th’ Tiger But in a sieve I’ll thither sail, 10 And like a rat without a tail, I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do. Aroint thee, witch the rump-fed runnion cries. Second, the King takes away the Thane of Cawdor’s title and presents it to Macbeth as a reward for his valor. A sailor’s wife had chestnuts in her lap, 5 And munched, and munched, and munched. Toward the end of the scene, two critical events occur: first, the Norwegians ask for a truce. Under his command, the odds favor the Scottish, who ultimately win. The witches prophecy of Macbeth becoming king that sparks his. However, that changes under Macbeth’s leadership. The plays opening line introduces the audience to the themes of ambition, fate, and guilt. Just like the first army captain, the Thane says the battle’s two sides are evenly matched. As quickly as they arrive, they disappear. In eerie, chanting tones, they make plans to meet again upon the heath, after the battle, to confront Macbeth. Three haggard old women, the witches, appear out of the storm. The Thane of Ross arrives to report on the ongoing battle. Thunder and lightning crash above a Scottish moor. Macbeth creates a scene which resembles Golgotha, the place where Jesus Christ was crucified. Together, Macbeth and Banquo represent their country’s highest aspirations. Notably, the Scottish coat of arms contains lions, which symbolize bravery and strength. He likens Macbeth and Banquo, respectively, to a fearless eagle and lion of the troops. The captain goes on to describe Macbeth’s battlefield valor with flowery language. Under Macdonald, Scotland stands no chance of winning, and fortune becomes a “smiling.whore.” The onus of leadership falls upon the shoulders of the “brave Macbeth,” who brings Scotland to victory. His message is clear: Scotland is losing the war. Ultimately, the captain explains, both men die from oxygen deficiency. He describes inertia between the opposing sides, describing them as two men drowning together, each holding tightly to the other and ensuring their mutual demise. Macbeth reveals his true thoughts here about Banquo: he cannot bear the idea that one day Banquos children will become kings. On the one hand, these contradictory statements are the kind of riddles we would expect from witches on the other, the lines suggest a paradox that runs throughout the play: Life frequently presents a confused picture of events in which discerning truth from falsehood is difficult.As the army captain reports to King Duncan, he employs figurative language to illustrate the unpredictable nature of the war. The women's language is also full of the imagery of witchcraft and of chaotic weather: thunder, lightning, rain, fog, and "filthy air." The lines "When the battle's lost and won" and "Fair is foul and foul is fair" are the most significant in the scene. The Three Witches' speech is written in short rhyming verse that imitates the casting of a spell. However, Macbeths heroism leaves a lasting impression. Finally, on a sad note, the Thane of Cawdor has abandoned Scotland to side with the enemy. Second, Macbeth has led the war against the Norwegians gallantly and demonstrated unrivaled patriotism. The bleakness of the scene is a dramatic representation both of the wild Scottish landscape in which the play is set and the more universal wilderness of man's existence. First, a member of his army, the brave Macbeth, has killed Macdonald, one of the rebels. The Old English word "wyrd," or "weird" means "Fate," which is exactly the origin of these Witches: They are the Fates of classical mythology, one of whom spun the thread of a person's life, one of whom measured it, and one of whom cut it. Macbeth begins in "an open place" - a place without any landmarks or buildings - with the appearance of the three "weird sisters," as they later call themselves. In a desolate place blasted by thunderstorms, Three Witches meet to predict the future.
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