Macbeth — Act 1
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Who is he?
Duncan’s celebrated soldier, tempted by kingship. In this act he understands his obligations but agrees to murder the king.
Actions and development
Act 1 · 1: 1.2: Others praise his courage before we meet him.
Audience / reader: Public praise encourages initial admiration before the audience hears his secret desires.
Act 1 · 2: 1.3: Prophecy awakens thoughts of kingship; becoming Cawdor makes the witches seem credible.
Audience / reader: His fearful response shows that the thought of murder troubles him.
Act 1 · 3: 1.4: Malcolm is named heir. Macbeth conceals desires that conflict with loyalty.
Audience / reader: Duncan’s trust makes Macbeth’s concealed intentions disturbing.
Act 1 · 4: 1.7: He rejects the murder, debates with Lady Macbeth, then commits to their plan.
Audience / reader: The audience can recognise a deliberate choice, not an unavoidable fate.
What the character says — “If chance will have me king”
Macbeth · 1.3
Method: Conditional language and personification
He imagines kingship arriving without action. Yet he has already pictured murder: apparent passivity coexists with dangerous desire.
What the character says — “Stars, hide your fires”
Macbeth · 1.4
Method: Imperative; light and darkness
He asks the heavens to conceal his ambition. An aside lets the audience hear what Duncan cannot: the split between loyalty performed and desire hidden.
What the character says — “He’s here in double trust”
Macbeth · 1.7
Method: Soliloquy and moral reasoning
As Duncan’s kinsman, subject and host, Macbeth should protect him. He recognises murder as betrayal; his awareness makes responsibility harder to evade.
What the character says — “vaulting ambition”
Macbeth · 1.7
Method: Riding metaphor
Ambition resembles a rider who leaps too far and falls. Macbeth diagnoses his own dangerous motive: no rightful cause justifies killing Duncan.
What the character says — “False face must hide what the false heart doth know”
Macbeth · 1.7
Method: Repeated ‘false’; rhyming closing couplet
He now chooses deception. The emphatic close turns hesitation into shared resolve, preparing the audience for the crime in Act 2.
What others say or describe — “brave Macbeth”
Captain · 1.2
Method: Public praise and delayed entrance
We meet his reputation before the man. Violence is initially admired because it protects the king. His later betrayal reverses this loyal public image.
Structure and dramatic choices
A praised reputation comes before his first entrance; asides reveal the hidden ambition beneath it.
Soliloquy lets the audience hear his moral objections before he chooses murder.
Relevant context
Setting: medieval Scotland. Jacobean audiences associated the murder of a rightful king with a threat to political and religious order.
Duncan is also his relative and guest: the planned crime violates family, political and household duties.
Check your understanding
Why does Shakespeare let us hear praise of Macbeth before showing his private thoughts?
Which quotation best proves that Macbeth understands his duty to Duncan? Explain one word or method.