Macbeth Personal Notes: Act 1 Scene 3 (Part 1)

Macbeth Personal Notes: Act 1 Scene 3 (Part 1)
Macbeth Personal Notes: Act 1 Scene 3 (Part 1)

Setting: The scene takes place on a heath near Forres.

Heath: A heath is a barren wasteland. 

Forres: A city in Scotland where the castle of King Duncan is located. 

Weather: The scene starts with the witches meeting with each other on a barren wasteland. The weather is one that is according to the preferences of the witches. It is lightning through the sky. The lightning symbolizes the unbalance in nature that the witches cause with their supernatural powers, and it also foreshadows the turbulence in Macbeth's heart a little bit ahead in scene that the witches' prophecies will cause.

Witches' favorite pastime activity: The scene showcases that the favorite pastime activity for the witches is to kill swine (old English word for pigs) and cause trouble for the normal human beings. The scene starts with the First Witch asking where the other witches were. The Second Witch answers that she had been killing swine as a leisure activity. The First Witch replies by sharing an unpleasant experience she had with a village woman. 

The First Witch had asked for chestnuts from a lady in the nearby village when the lady was eating them. But she had refused to give it to the witch and told her to begone. The witch was furious and decided to cause trouble for her in some way. The First Witch with help of her familiar (probably a rat) found out that the husband of that lady is the captain of the ship called The Tiger which has gone on a voyage to Aleppo.

The witch then announces that she will turn into a rat without a tail with her powers and then sail on a sieve (a kitchen instrument with nets, used for separating solids from liquids) and take her revenge. The scene shows how the witches defy the laws of nature as sailing through the seas on an object with holes is impossible and transforming oneself to a rat is beyond the common understanding of human minds.

Revenge of the First Witch on the lady's husband: The First Witch tells to the other two that she has control over the winds and the compass that the captain of the ship carries to check the direction. The First Witch will torment the captain so much that he will become as dry and thin as a hay (grass). He will not be able to sleep neither in day nor in night. His eyelids like the penthouse lid will always be open. He will live as a man who has been forbidden even the basic of necessities like sleep and water. He will suffer for eighty-one weeks on his ship. Though his ship will not drown in the ocean, it will be tossed around by great storms. 

Posters of sea and land: The witches are supernatural entities. They are not bound by the laws and restriction like normal mortals They have vast amounts of power. The witches could travel swiftly and easily through the seas and lands with their supernatural powers.  

"So foul and fair a day I have not seen"

Macbeth comments on the weather that it is very foul. The weather might be influenced by the presence of the three witches who are waiting for Macbeth on the way to Forres. Shakespeare hints the similarities between Macbeth and the witches as they both have used the same word "foul" when they first make their appearance. Macbeth is assumably a favored victim of the witches because of the turbulence in his morality as he struggles between a brave hero and an ambitious villain. By fair Macbeth means about the results of the battle that he had fought. 

"That look not like the inhabitants of the earth, and yet are on it"

Banquo, the companion of Macbeth, is shocked to spot the three weird sisters who look withered by their flesh and wild by the clothes they are wearing. It is hard for Banquo to imagine such creatures could walk on the surface of the earth. 

Banquo turns to question them whether they live or are something that a person may find doubtful.

The witches in return signals for Banquo to be silent.

Banquo observes that these creatures must be women deducting from their wrinkled fingers and skinny lips, yet they have beards that makes Banquo doubtful of his deduction. 

"Good sir, why do you start" 

Banquo notices that his friend Macbeth is visibly shaken by the witches' prediction. Macbeth is an ambitious person, and he always wished to rise to the top. A King is the highest position in the noble hierarchy. Macbeth is shaken when he heard that his inner intentions may come true.

"Who neither beg nor fear your favors, nor your hate"

Banquo is a moral person and cannot be swayed by evil thoughts nor by the agents of the evil. He wishes to rise but he is still loyal. He has great faith in his guardian angels who will protect him from the persuasion of the evil.

"Saty, you imperfect speakers"

Macbeth calls out to the witches to tell him more about the predictions. He says that after his father, Sinel's death, he became the Thane of Glamis, but how will he become the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is not aware of the Thane of Cawdor's revolt and thinks that he is alive and is a prosperous gentleman. Macbeth asks them from where they got this strange intelligence of his future and why have they chosen this heath to stop Macbeth and Banquo to give such predictions.

Witches Vanish

The witches suddenly disappear into the air without answering Macbeth's questions.

Mayank Vikash is a passionate and driven tech enthusiast with a deep-rooted love for all things technology. As a dedicated tech student, Mayank has spent years exploring the ever-evolving world of coding, programming, and digital innovation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Translate

Popular posts from this blog

Letter to SBI Bank Manager of Local Branch to reduce the interest rate on home loan

Image
Letter to SBI Bank Manager of Local Branch to reduce the interest rate on home loan House no.  , Road no.  , Bistupur, Jamshedpur - 831002. 18th December, 2023. The Manager, SBI, Road no. , Bistupur, Jamshedpur - 831002.      Subject [To reduce the interest rate for Home Loan] Sir, I am [Name] and I have an account in your bank (A/C ......). I have been authorized a home loan from your bank which currently has an interest rate of 9.35%. The interest rates have resulted in a huge financial burden for me. I request you to reduce it to a moderate rate which I can cope with.  Yours faithfully, [Name]
Read more

Imagine that you were all alone at home on a winter night. Suddenly there was thunder, lightning and heavy rain. There was no electricity, and the inverter in your house stopped working. Narrate how you felt and what you did at that time.

Image
An image of a house in winter covered with snow Staying alone at home is the experience every teenager craves to get once. It is a different adventure, for you can do whatever you want, like playing games at high volumes, running all around the house, and exploring the restricted parts like the garage and basement. But as the saying goes, "The biggest adventure does not take long to become the greatest nightmare". Something like this happened to me recently when I had gone to stay in my father's childhood home for the winter holidays in Himachal Pradesh. My grandfather built the house in the small and sparsely populated yet beautiful village of Kangra. We often choose it as our tourist destination because of its heavenly landscapes and majestic mountains. We headed there this time not just to spend the holidays but also to attend the marriage ceremony of my cousin. I had a severe stomach ache on the wedding day, so my parents had to leave me at home and go to the wedding.
Read more

Imagine a situation where you get an opportunity to change one thing in your school. What would it be? Why do you want to change it? How would you bring about the change?

Image
  Imagine a situation where you get an opportunity to change one thing in your school. What would it be? Why do you want to change it? How would you bring about the change? School is a place where the young generations are bestowed with knowledge and wit. It is a place of education and learning where various subjects are taught to the students without keeping in mind their religion, gender or race. It is the place where everyone is equal and everyone has equal opportunity to get fundamental knowledge in each major subjects.  There are various subjects that are taught in the school. Majority of the subjects are taught in written form as practical lessons would be not possible to conduct for such a large number of students for each subject. But there is one subject that is taught mostly practically in our school and that is Sports.  During the sports period, the students are made to the warm up exercises before the match (which are usually regional games). During the first few classes, w
Read more

Narrate an experience that shows appearances can be deceiving

Image
A person standing in the railway station dressed in a good looking attire It is a common habit of humans to make judgements at the first look. It does not matter if we are seeing a person or a thing for the first time, our minds do not need to take a second look before coming to a judgement. If we look at a person, we quickly look at his clothes and shoes and come to the assumption that he is poor or rich. The same is the case with things, we decide for ourselves whether a substance is expensive or cheap just by its glittering and glistening. Over time, many learned personalities have taught us to "not judge a book by its cover." Through his various plays and writing, William Shakespeare, the popular eighteenth-century English writer, has sent the message to not fall for outward appearances. I have recently expereinced an incident that explains why is it important to not rely on just outward appearances to make a judgement about a person. I was travelling by train during my s
Read more

Summers are becoming hotter with each passing year. Write a description of one such very hot day. What did you see and hear as you walked outside? How were birds and animals affected?

Image
Summers are getting hotter with each passing year Essay on "Summers are becoming hotter with each passing year. Write a description of one such very hot day. What did you see and hear as you walked outside? How were birds and animals affected?" India is famous all around the world for its different seasons and extreme as well as pleasant climate. The unique features of the Indian subcontinent are found nowhere else. India mainly experiences five seasons Spring, Summer, Monsoon, Autumn and Winter. Summer is considered the best among other seasons by the Indians, but its popularity is decreasing drastically each day as the temperatures are constantly increasing because of climate change. Summer is when the country experiences most death because of extreme weather conditions. It is becoming unbearable for the people as the day temperatures outside reach 50°C. Summer was often associated with fun and enjoyment, but that is not the case anymore. Summers are one of the most excitin
Read more

"No other subject taught in school is as important as Moral Science." Express your views for or against this statement

Image
For the statement "No other subject taught in school is as important as Moral Science." Express your views for or against this statement A school is where the youngsters are taught the fundamentals in every major subject. They are taught Mathematics, Science, English, Computer Science, and regional language - in India Hindi is taught in most schools. Children till primary schools are taught Moral Science, but in higher grades, it needs to be given more or sometimes no attention. The school forgets how this important subject can help the students to become a better person.  Children are enrolled in schools at an early age. They do not know the ethics and behaviours at such an age. Therefore, it is the responsibility of both - schools and the parents - to teach the children these basic yet important lessons. A person without ethics is no better than a non-living rock. Trees also have ethics; every living organism does. Therefore, it becomes crucial to teach the children the eth
Read more

Narrate an experience when you chose struggle over success. State how did you emerge out of this ordeal and what lesson you learnt from it.

Image
  Narrate an experience when you chose struggle over success. State how did you emerge out of this ordeal and what lesson you learnt from it. Almost all the stories are based on the moral teaching of choosing the tough path instead of the one which seems easy. It has been taught to us that we should not strive for success but focus on doing the work and success will start following us. But it is easier to say than to actually do it. Whenever we found ourselves in a situation where we can choose one of the two paths, we choose the one that seems to take us to our goal easily and quickly. I was once in a similar situation. Last month, I was selected from my school to take part in the Inter-School Writing Competition. I was supposed to write an essay on Environment Conservation and methods to make cities cleaner and pollution free. The word limit was two thousand words. I liked to write, so it was something I would love to do so, but there was one problem: I was required to submit my essa
Read more

Abhisara - the Tryst Notes

Image
Upagupta, the disciple of Buddha, lay asleep in the dust by thr city wall of Mathura. Lamps were all out, doors were all shut, ans stars were all hidden by the murky sky of August. Whose feet were those tinkling with anklets, touching his breast of a sudden? He woke up startled, and the light from a woman's lamp fell on his forgiving eyes. It was Vasavadatta the dancing girl, starred with jewels, Clouded with a pale blue mantle, drunk with the wine of her youth. She lowered her lamp and saw the young face, austerely beautiful. 'Forgive me, young ascetic,' said the woman, 'Graciously come to my house. The dusty earth is not a fit bed for you.' The young ascetic answered, 'Woman, go on your way; When the time is ripe I will come to you.' Suddenly the black night showed its teeth in a flash of lightning.  The storm growled from the corner of the sky, and the woman trembled in fear. A year had not yet passed. It was eveing of a day in April, in the Spring. The b
Read more

Macbeth Personal Notes: Act 1 Scene 2

Image
Macbeth Personal Notes: Act 1 Scene 2 Setting: The scene is set in a camp near Forres "As seemeth by his plight" An injured sergeant is standing in front of the King Duncan. Duncan asks from his servants who the bleeding man is and concludes from his condition that he is in condition to report the latest developments of the revolt. "Who like a good and hardy soldier fought 'gainst my captivity" Malcolm, the elder son of the king, answers his father and tells him that the bleeding man is a sergeant, who fought to prevent him from being taken as a war prisoner.  "Doubtful it stood" The battlefield stood doubtful. It was difficult to say which side was winning as the soldiers from both sides were tired and as two swimmers who were exhausted holds onto each other so that neither can swim, the soldiers held each other making it impossible for either of them to win. Macdonwald => the name of the rebel. "Worthy to be a rebel" Macdonwald is worthy
Read more

You visited a heritage site with your classmates and teachers. Describe what you saw and learned from your visit.

Image
Essay on visit to a Heritage Site A heritage site is a landmark or a monument of historical importance. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) administers such sites. They can help us to learn a lot of things about the history and culture of a place. A Heritage site is not only limited to a monument or a landmark but also includes ancient ruins, structures, buildings, cities, deserts, forests, islands, lakes, mountains, and wilderness areas. Schools and Colleges frequently plan a trip to heritage sites to teach the students about their significance, structure, importance, and features. Heritage sites date back several centuries and help students learn about ancient architecture. Students can also learn about primitive ways of living, culture, and faith by visiting and studying these heritage sites. I recently visited a World Heritage site with my classmates and teachers as a part of my school trip for summer vacation. We visited the Konark Sun Temple
Read more