“Macbeth” Act I scene 1 1

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For a detailed explanation of methods refer to “Practical Analysis in the Classroom”, ,QWURGXFWLRQ and
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Where there is discussion, the sort of questions to ask are indicated in EROG LWDOLFV and the sort of information
you need to look for marked by bullet points.
Remember, discussions do not have to be whole class discussions. They can be organised how you like. E.g.
questions can be given to groups or pairs of students, or to individuals, or on worksheets and what is discovered
can be pooled at an appropriate point.

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Why do we start at the beginning? Because Shakespeare did (see $ ZRUG RQ ¦KRZDERXWV§ in “Practical
Analysis in the Classroom” )XUWKHU SRLQWV ZRUWK PDNLQJ). He chose to open this particular play in this
particular way and we want to try to appreciate why.
The opening scene of “Macbeth” needs to be seen as very powerful and its purpose to set the mood for the whole
play. Unfortunately, for today’s students, this can be difficult as witches usually cut a ridiculous figure
wandering about at Hallowe’en in pointy hats with green hair and detachable warts. With this in mind, the aim in
Unit One is to deal with this modern image and try to establish the Elizabethan/Jacobean view.
Shakespeare’s audience would immediately have seen the witches as a real and terrible source of possession and
palpable evil. Horrific accounts of witchcraft and of witch trials and punishment show how fear reached one of
its hysterical peaks at the end of the Sixteenth Century. Indeed, in 1597, the King himself, James 1st , published
his own treatise on witchcraft: “Demonology”. The powers of the “weird sisters” would be only too well known
and feared.
Most of this is a repetition of the work done on the opening scene in Year 8. If students looked at this scene then

throughs at Unit 2, and moving on to Units 4, 5 and 6 to establish the +RZDQG:K\ and try out staging.
- and remember it - you can move through it much more quickly now, starting straight away with the read-

Special Needs students can enjoy this opening scene as it stands and they can tackle as many of the questions and
activities as appropriate. A worksheet is provided.
This scene is best considered together with the following one which presents a view of Macbeth through the eyes
of the characters which we may not have expected from the association with the witches shown here.
APPROXIMATE TEACHING TIME: 1 HOUR 40 MINUTES (minus approximately 20 minutes if omitting
Units 1 and 3). Although the scene is so short, there is much to consider. Together with the next scene, it can
make a good written assignment, especially for less advanced students with reading difficulties as there is not too
much text to be tackled but plenty of ideas.

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It is recommended that you consider in some way the whole of Act 1 to establish mood, themes and character.
This act can also make a good assignment for which there are suggestions at the end of scene 7.
If you don’t have time or have decided not to deal with it in much detail, as always, do try to look at the opening
scene, which is only a few lines long. Then make sure the main points of the story-line leading up to the scene or
scenes you want to study are clear and characterisation and motivation are thought about, however briefly. Unit
One for each scene of Act 1 provides an overview in the form of a “quick reminder” unit. Clearly, this is not
needed if you are looking at the whole play in some detail.
1% There is no summary provided for this short opening scene. The scene itself with its synopsis at the top is
brief enough.

Teaching Shakespeare, Practical Analysis in the Classroom is written by Cherry Bryant

in consultation with Di Sharratt (with special reference to classroom prac tice). All materials © 2000/2001
“Macbeth” Act I scene 1 2

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to compare the Elizabethan/Jacobean concept of the supernatural as Shakespeare presents it with our modern
attitude in order to establish from the start that although the modern attitude to witches is to see them as rather
comic, for Shakespeare’s audience they would have been all too powerful and real.
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YOU WILL NEED
· a flip chart or two large sheets of paper which can be kept; you are going to use the second sheet later in Unit
3
· two different coloured marker pens.
In the centre of your large sheet of paper write the word :,7&+(6. Ask students for words or phrases which
they associate with the word ZLWFKHV and write these on your sheet in the form of a spider-graph. See what
develops and discuss. Your results are likely to be predictable: the usual pointed noses, black conical hats,
broomsticks etc. Warts are popular, as are spells, cats and long, skinny fingers. You may get one or two more
interesting ideas thrown up concerning fear and evil. Keep the sheet to compare with the work in Unit Three.

spell that ends the scene; also, when they come to Banquo’s description in 1,3 where he says ¦HDFKDWRQFHKHU
When students read the scene, they are interested to discover that one of the familiars is a cat and to hear the

FKRSS\ILQJHUVOD\LQJ8SRQKHUVNLQQ\OLSV§, they come to realise that their own ideas are relics of powerful
beliefs.

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to establish :KR:KDW:KHUH:KHQ
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KXUO\EXUO\ turmoil, battle;

remember to check for words not understood. The most likely will be:

*UD\PDONLQ - a grey cat;

3DGGRFN - a toad.
You will need to explain at this point that witches were thought to have IDPLOLDUV, or GHPRQVSLULWV who helped
them do their wicked work. These familiars often took the shape of creatures - usually animals or birds.
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After the second read-through, establish :KR:KDW:KHUH:KHQ
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· Three witches
· Macbeth (mentioned but not present)
· The witches’ familiars (mentioned but not present
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· The three witches appear amid thunder and lightning and discuss when and where they are next to meet and
in what sort of weather.
· The purpose of their next meeting is to meet with Macbeth.
· They go off to work with their familiar spirits until that meeting.
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· In some desolate place (from the stage directions).
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· During a storm some time before evening; ¦WKDWZLOOEHHUHWKHVHWRIVXQ§

Teaching Shakespeare, Practical Analysis in the Classroom is written by Cherry Bryant

in consultation with Di Sharratt (with special reference to classroom prac tice). All materials © 2000/2001
“Macbeth” Act I scene 1 3

· It seems as though they are meeting at the same time as a battle is going on elsewhere ¦:KHQWKHEDWWOH©V
ORVWDQGZRQ§.
· Historical time is not indicated.
On the Elizabethan stage, this could be indicated by additions to contemporary costume but witches are timeless.
Sometimes it would be established as the play progressed through references to certain events an audience would
be familiar with; or an audience could already know the story being told. In this case, James 1 (who was on the
throne when Shakespeare wrote this play) was the first Stuart king on the English throne and a descendant of
Banquo’s son Fleance - the founder of the Stuart line.
On stage today, directors will often choose historical periods which they consider best bring out the themes
relevant to their times.

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to begin to establish the +RZDQG:K\
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This links with Unit 1.
Ask your students to put their scripts out of the way and to place paper and pencil somewhere within reach. Then
ask them either to close their eyes and put their heads on their arms on the desk if you are in the classroom, or to
sit or lie down somewhere where they are not touching anyone else if you are in a drama studio or large area.
Tell them you are going to read the passage again to them.
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paper on the board. Again write the word :,7&+(6 and once more go round the group asking for ideas created
Allow a couple of minutes for them to do this in silence while you, meanwhile, put the second large sheet of

by the passage. When you have written these up in a spider-graph as before, go round again and ask which word
or phrase in the passage they think creates that impression. Write them up in a different colour alongside the
idea.

· Power and natural forces in turmoil - the stage direction for WKXQGHUDQGOLJKWQLQJ
E.g.

· Darkness and evil - ¦ILOWK\DLU§

x Mystery - ¦KRYHUWKURXJKWKHIRJ§
· Reversal of good and evil/everything evil - )DLULVIRXODQGIRXOLVIDLU§
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The majority will probably pick “Evil”, but “Menace”, “Power”, “Upheaval” etc. can all be discussed. The
validity of all suggestions should be considered. It’s just as important to establish that some suggestions aren’t
appropriate because they aren’t supported by the text.
Take the original sheet with their suggestions on and place it alongside this second sheet. Ask them to compare
the two.

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Hopefully they should pick Shakespeare’s and give an acceptable reason.

Teaching Shakespeare, Practical Analysis in the Classroom is written by Cherry Bryant

in consultation with Di Sharratt (with special reference to classroom prac tice). All materials © 2000/2001
“Macbeth” Act I scene 1 4

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to appreciate how the power and menace of the supernatural is created in this opening scene.
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Remind students that this is the entire opening scene of a play. The opening scene must capture our imaginations

this in mind as they consider further the +RZDQG:K\.

and set us thinking about what is to follow by creating an appropriate atmosphere/mood. Ask students to bear

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· Stormy, bad or foul weather.
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· It helps create the sense of upheaval and violence, of Nature in a state of turmoil.
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· One side will be victorious and the other side will be defeated.
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· Total disruption and turbulence, everything being thrown into confusion.
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· They must be able to see into the future.
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· They know exactly when and where Macbeth is going to be for the meeting they are planning.
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· They can FKRRVH whether to have WKXQGHU§ ¦OLJKWQLQJ§ or ¦UDLQ§ as though they are able to create their
own weather.
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· They are frighteningly powerful because they can control the elements.
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WKHEDWWOHZLOOEHRYHUDQGZKHQDQGZKHUHWKDWPHHWLQJZLWK0DFEHWKLVWRWDNHSODFH:KDWGRHVDOOWKLVWHOO
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· They have supernatural powers; ¦ PRUH WKDQ PRUWDO NQRZOHGJH§ as Macbeth will describe it later in the
play.
(Perhaps they can even influence the route Macbeth chooses when he returns from the battle? Influence his
mind?)
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· Again, they already know.
· It’s too secret and wicked to talk about.
· The audience is kept in suspense.
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Discuss any valid suggestions here: e.g. casting spells; creating the stormy weather for the meeting; influencing
Macbeth’s thoughts; any other dastardly deeds.
We need to be sure that as an audience we feel the powerful, supernatural wickedness of these creatures.
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· The fateful meeting with Macbeth.

Teaching Shakespeare, Practical Analysis in the Classroom is written by Cherry Bryant

in consultation with Di Sharratt (with special reference to classroom prac tice). All materials © 2000/2001
“Macbeth” Act I scene 1 5

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· Chant their rhyme. It’s an incantation (a spell), in the form almost of a riddle.
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· That whatever is good is turned to evil and whatever is bad is good. In other words, good and evil are
reversed, the world is turned upside down and evil rules.
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· Present tense.
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· It tells us that whatever the riddle refers to exists QRZ.
You are trying to get from them that what actually exists now is a world in which values have already been
overturned, a world which is in chaos and where wickedness and evil rule.
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· ¦+RYHU§ gives the impression of the evil being everywhere, looking down menacingly and being all-seeing;

· ¦IRJDQGILOWK\DLU§ are their natural element - a foulness.

it could also refer to the witches themselves. They and the evil are one and the same.

Ask them now how Shakespeare has changed their original ideas about witches. Make sure that they understand
that witches were accepted as the agents of evil, or the devil whose objective was to win the souls of human
beings and encourage them (of their own free will?) to choose evil.
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· Real evil, controlled by the Witches and involving Macbeth.
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to help students appreciate how the rhythm of the verse helps create the atmosphere and mood.

for a stressed syllable and a lighter one for the weak stresses. What this should do is throw the name 0DFEHWK
You will need to demonstrate and lead them. Ask them to beat out the rhythm on the desk, making a heavier beat

into prominence.
Also, they should come to appreciate how after the word ¦DQRQ§ the riddle is also thrown into relief and the
chanting pace stresses nearly every word ready for the witches to whirl away and disappear into the filthy air
until it is time to meet Macbeth. Let one or two brave individuals try out this riddle and see just how menacingly
effective they can make it.
Once you have beaten out the scene again, with what should be increased confidence, ask them if the sound
makes them think of anything. What you are hoping to get is the idea that it sounds like a drum. If the word
“drum” is not forthcoming, then ask them if they can hear the sound of a drumbeat as you tap it out and try to
persuade them that they can!
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What you are looking for is “in battle” and, thankfully, someone usually comes up with the suggestion. If no-one
does, ask them if they have heard of a battle drum and if they know why it was used - to lead an army into battle.
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· The battle for his soul.
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· Confident that they will win.
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· He is evil or there is something in him that makes him ready to be influenced by evil?
He is set in an evil context by the Witches who are agents of evil - or the Devil.

Teaching Shakespeare, Practical Analysis in the Classroom is written by Cherry Bryant

in consultation with Di Sharratt (with special reference to classroom prac tice). All materials © 2000/2001
“Macbeth” Act I scene 1 6

usual 5 of the LDPELF SHQWDPHWHUV (should already be in their glossaries) of the verse spoken by the other
You may like to point out that the lines the Witches speak each contain only 4 stressed syllables instead of the

:KHQ shall ZH three PHHW aJDLQ

characters. This will serve as a reminder of the usual verse form of the play.

In WKXQder, OLJKWning, RU in UDLQ?

Lines with four stressed syllables are called WHWUDPHWHUV (glossaries if appropriate).
They are also using UK\PLQJFRXSOHWV (glossaries again?) much of the time.
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· That they are not like other people, they’re from a different world?
· Their language emphasises their strangeness?
· Suitably definite, insistent rhythm for casting spells?

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to see how the scene can be directed to communicate a pervading sense of powerful evil.
Put your class into acting companies and ask them to consider ways of depicting the witches in performance. By
this time any thoughts of comic broomsticks and pointed hats should have been dispelled, but there is still the
problem of conveying their sinister nature.
Ask them to look for any discernible differences between the witches which could be brought out in their
performance. For example, apart from going off to her familiar, Graymalkin, all the First Witch does is ask
questions. Is she perhaps a young novice? The other two supply the information. Does one of the others seem to
be in command? If so, should you make her the eldest?
How could the idea of “second sight” be suggested? Could it be effective to have one, two or all of them
physically blind? Why might this work? Might it show that they have “inner eyes”, they do not need to “see” in
the normal sense? Would this add anything to the sense of their supernatural power? And so on.
When they are considering costume, you might remind them that in Shakespeare’s day anyone suspected of
witchcraft would be put to death (many hundreds were persecuted and put to death as witches in Elizabeth’s

suitable for Hallowe’en). So how VKRXOG they dress? Could putting them in “ordinary” clothes emphasise how
reign) so probably no-one would want to advertise the fact by wearing a distinctive outfit (especially not one

evil among us can go unnoticed? Or does setting them apart through their costume add to the impact of the idea
of evil working on us from the outside?
Let them rehearse the scene, help where necessary. Get them to practise different ways of saying the lines. For
example, they might like to emphasise the hissing sound whenever there’s an “s” sound; or does this sound silly?
How will they deal with the rhythm? Emphasise it to try to convey the relentless beat of evil? What sort of voices
and movements would help convey the evil?
As the scene is very short, it might be possible to see all the presentations. Students certainly enjoy having their
performances seen and it will enable them to discuss which ones captured their interest and why.

Elizabethans might have done it. Give them the three sketches (provided at the end of the ,QWURGXFWLRQ DQG
Finally, after their performances, discuss how they would get their Witches on and off the stage and how the

H[SODQDWLRQRI3$&) for reference and to keep VDIHO\for future use. Would they have used the trapdoors in the
floor of the stage, plus more thunder and lightning? Could they have appeared on the gallery at the back of the
stage or would this make them too far removed from the audience and diminish the impact? Could they have
come through the curtains towards the back of the stage which marked off the “inner stage” where characters
could be hidden and discovered?

Teaching Shakespeare, Practical Analysis in the Classroom is written by Cherry Bryant

in consultation with Di Sharratt (with special reference to classroom prac tice). All materials © 2000/2001
“Macbeth” Act I scene 1 7

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There is thunder and lightning and three witches appear on stage. They discuss when and where they are next to
meet and in what sort of weather. They decide it will be after a certain battle which is now being fought and
which they know will be over before sunset. They agree to meet on the heath and reveal that the person they are
going to encounter there is Macbeth. Once they have sorted out their arrangements, they are called away by their
“familiars” - evil spirits given to them by the Devil to help them in their witchcraft.
A desert place.
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When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
6HFRQG:LWFK
When the hurlyburly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.
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That will be ere the set of sun.
)LUVW:LWFK
Where the place?
6HFRQG:LWFK
Upon the heath.
7KLUG:LWFK
There to meet with Macbeth.
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I come, Graymalkin!
6HFRQG:LWFK
Paddock calls.
7KLUG:LWFK
Anon.
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Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
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Teaching Shakespeare, Practical Analysis in the Classroom is written by Cherry Bryant

in consultation with Di Sharratt (with special reference to classroom prac tice). All materials © 2000/2001
“Macbeth” Act I scene 1 8

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Worksheet
There is thunder and lightning and three witches appear on stage. They discuss when and
where they are next to meet and in what sort of weather. They decide it will be after a certain
battle which is now being fought and which they know will be over before sunset. They agree to
meet on the heath and reveal that the person they are going to encounter there is Macbeth.
Once they have sorted out their arrangements, they are called away by their “familiars” - evil
spirits given to them by the Devil to help them in their witchcraft.

 The three witches are deciding what sort of weather they want next time they meet. This
shows they can control it and so they must be very

 The witches know the battle is going to be over before sunset and they know exactly
where Macbeth is going to be and when he will be there. This shows us that they are able to

 The witches can control the weather. They can also see into the future because they
know when the battle is going to be over and where Macbeth is going to be. These sort of

powers are called ___________________________ powers.

 The witches speak about when they are going to meet, where they are going to meet and
who they are going to meet. They do not talk about why they are going to meet Macbeth.
Cross out any explanations you do not think are reasonable.
(a) They have no idea why they are going to meet Macbeth and so cannot talk about it.
(b) They know why they are going to meet Macbeth and do not need to talk about it.
(c) It is too secret and wicked to talk about.
(d) Shakespeare wants to keep his audience in suspense.

 The witches say that whatever is good is bad and whatever is bad is good. In other
words, the world is turned upside down and evil rules. The riddle they chant which show us
this is:

 The play opens with thunder and lightning and three witches. We learn that a battle is
being fought. The three witches cast spells and are going to perform evil deeds. The dark
and wicked atmosphere this creates will affect the rest of the play.
This opening prepares us for real evil controlled by the witches who have supernatural
powers. Whatever is going to happen involves Macbeth. This warns us that there is
something in Macbeth’s character which

Teaching Shakespeare, Practical Analysis in the Classroom is written by Cherry Bryant

in consultation with Di Sharratt (with special reference to classroom prac tice). All materials © 2000/2001