Presentation on Macbeth, Acts I - III

1. : ACTS I-III
By MacbethStudentGr11

2. MAIN CHARACTERS
Macbeth
• The title character of the play is a man with
great ambition who goes to great lengths to get
what he wants
• Macbeth is persuaded by his wife, Lady
Macbeth, to go ahead with their evil plans
• He is willing to murder King Duncan and his best
friend Banquo in order to become King
• He is also a man of contradictions and is
tormented by his actions; his guilt makes him
miserable
Macbeth
http://www.hollowaypages.com/welles.htm

3. MAIN CHARACTERS
Lady Macbeth
• The husband of Macbeth, she is a woman who
pushes her partner to engage in evil deeds
• When it comes to murder, she is in favour
because it helps her get what she wants
• She is willing to risk whatever it takes to help her
husband obtain the crown and become King
• Lady Macbeth is manipulative and strong-
willed; she seems not to have feelings or
compassion
Lady Macbeth
http://www.robertmitchellevans.com/2011/0
1/17/sunday-night-movie-macbeth1948/

4. MAIN CHARACTERS
Banquo
• Banquo is brave in battle and leads the army
with Macbeth at the beginning of the play
• He believes in integrity and doing what is right
• Banquo is skeptical and wise, with an honest
and trusting nature
• He waits patiently for things to come to
him, rather than taking immoral actions
Banquo
http://johnmarcusbindel.com/acclaim.asp

5. MAIN CHARACTERS
King Duncan
• King Duncan is elderly; otherwise he would have
been out in battle at the beginning of the play
• He is impressed when he hears of Macbeth‟s
victory in battle
• He then proclaims Macbeth as the Thane of
Cawdor after finding out that the current Thane is
a traitor and orders him to be executed
• King Duncan is murdered by Macbeth at the
beginning of Act II and survived by his sons,
Malcom and Donalbain King Duncan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:King_Dunca
n_and_Malcolm_1948.JPG

6. MAIN CHARACTERS
Macduff
• Macduff is Macbeth‟s main enemy
• He is a man of simple, to-the-point statements
and believes in right from wrong
• He questions the story of the murder of King
Duncan, his attitude showing his skepticism
• His major role is in Act II so far in the play, after
the murder of Duncan
Macduff
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dan_Oherliy
_as_Macduff.JPG

7. MAIN CHARACTERS
The Three Witches
• The „weird sisters‟ play a part in fate as the play
develops
• They predict what Macbeth will become: Thane
of Cawdor and later King
• The witches have supernatural powers, like
predicting the future and creating storms
• Macbeth used their words as an invite to kill the
King, but it was not their fault that he chose that
action
The Three Witches
http://oldhollywood.tumblr.com/post/347142
12455/the-three-witches-in-macbeth-1948-
dir-orson

8. MOTIVES FOR MURDER
• The three witches had predicted Macbeth would
first become Thane of Cawdor, then King, early on
• Upon becoming Thane of Cawdor in Act
I, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth devise a scheme for
Macbeth to become King
• Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to kill King
Duncan, while Duncan is a guest in Macbeth‟s
castle
• Macbeth does not want to go through with it, but
Lady Macbeth questions his manhood and he
finally kills him with a dagger. Macbeth makes it
look like drunken servants murdered him
• In Act III, Macbeth decides to kill Banquo and his
son, Fleance, to ensure his crown as king;
however, Fleance escapes and the ghost of
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
by Dee Trimm
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/macbe
th-and-lady-macbeth-dee-timm.html

9. ACT I: MAIN POINTS
1. The three witches are seen at the beginning of the play and make plans to
meet Macbeth
2. King Duncan wants to know about the battle and discovers the current Thane
of Cawdor is a traitor; he then decides Macbeth will take over this role
3. Before Macbeth has heard the news, the three witches find him and predict
that he will be Thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They tell
Banquo that his heirs will become Kings one day too.
4. Macbeth is obsessed with the idea of becoming King, while Banquo is skeptical
of what the witches have told them
5. King Duncan states that his son Malcolm is now Prince of Cumberland, which
means he will become King after Duncan
6. When Lady Macbeth receives news of what‟s happened, she immediately
decides to take advantage of the opportunity to kill King Duncan while he is a
guest at Macbeth‟s castle that evening

10. ACT I: MAIN POINTS CONT.
7. Lady Macbeth discusses her murder plans with Macbeth, who doesn‟t agree
to kill Duncan, but doesn‟t refuse either
8. King Duncan‟s group arrives at Macbeth‟s castle and Lady Macbeth gives
them a warm welcome. It is a home of evil and death, with the hostess
patiently waiting to kill King Duncan
9. When they are alone, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have a discussion where
he says he can‟t go through with the murder. Lady Macbeth questions his
manhood and urges him to murder King Duncan to achieve their goals
10. Lady Macbeth mentions the details of their plan: to kill Duncan and place the
blame on the drunken servants
11. Macbeth is convinced that the murder must now take place.
http://mac-beth2512.tumblr.com/

11. ACT II: MAIN POINTS
1. Banquo is talking with his son Fleance late at night, and says he feels uneasy
2. Macbeth comes to talk with Banquo at the castle and Banquo presents a ring
as a gift from Duncan to Lady Macbeth; Banquo says he can do whatever he
can for Macbeth
3. Macbeth prepares to commit the murder of Duncan in a soliloquy; he then has
a vision of a floating dagger that he cannot grasp, then runs red with blood
4. After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth goes back to Lady Macbeth, covered
in blood and visibly upset
5. Lady Macbeth tries to calm him down, mentioning that what‟s done is done
6. Macbeth believes the blood will never wash from his hands and would like to
undo what he has done
http://theinconsequentialepistlesofjohn.blogspot.ca/2012/07/is-this-dagger-
which-i-see-before-me.html

12. ACT II: MAIN POINTS CONT.
7. A drunken Porter is seen outside the gates, who says that liars are note able to
„equivocate‟ to heaven
8. Macduff and Lennox enter the gate, and Macbeth finds out they are there to
wake Duncan
9. Macbeth and his wife lie through all of the discussions and pretend they know
nothing of the murder of King Duncan
10. King Duncan‟s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, enter the castle and Macduff
seems to be suspicious when Macbeth says he himself killed the servants, who
appeared to be responsible for Duncan‟s death
11. Malcolm flees to England, while Donalbain goes to Ireland for safety
12. Macduff provides the news as „matter-of-fact‟ and it seems that he doesn‟t
believe that what he has been told, actually happened.

13. ACT III: MAIN POINTS
1. Banquo is suspicious about how Macbeth became King and suspects that
Macbeth killed him; he remembers the three witches said his heirs will be kings
2. Macbeth enters as King and invites Banquo to a feast that evening, finding out
Banquo‟s plans for the day to help him figure out how to best murder his friend
3. Macbeth knows he must kill Banquo and Fleance in order to get rid of them as
threats to his crown. He meets two murderers to set the plans for that evening
4. Lady Macbeth begins to wonder what her husband is up to; he isn‟t including
her in his evil plans anymore and can see his conscience is bothering him
5. Macbeth mentions that plans have already been set and Lady Macbeth is
amazed that he has become so evil
6. That evening, a third murderer joins the first two men; they kill Banquo but
Fleance escapes

14. ACT III: MAIN POINTS
7. The new King and Queen, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, attend to the guests
of their feast. The first murderer arrives with blood on his face, telling Macbeth
that Banquo is dead
8. Banquo later appears as a ghost that only Macbeth can see, sitting in
Macbeth‟s spot at the table. The guests think that Macbeth is not well, as he is
acting like a crazy person from fear
9. Banquo disappears then returns, and Lady Macbeth asks the guests to leave
10. Macbeth speaks to Lady Macbeth, mentioning how Macduff refused to come
to the dinner and that he wishes to see the three witches again
11. Macduff has gone to ask for the English king‟s help to overthrow Macbeth
while Malcolm has made it safely to England
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Banquo.jpg

15. “
”
SOME HOLY ANGEL / FLY TO THE COURT OF
ENGLAND… THAT A SWIFT BLESSING / MAY SOON
RETURN TO THIS OUR SUFFERING COUNTRY / UNDER
A HAND ACCUSED!
- Lennox
Act III, Scene VI, Lines 45-48