Why Is This Funny Act 1 Sc I

Macbeth Please see the bottom of the page and the highlighted text for full explanatory notes and paraphrases. ACT I  SCENE I A desert place. [Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches] First Witch When shall we three meet again In thunder, lightning, or in rain? Second Witch When the hurlyburly's done, When the battle's lost and won. Third Witch That will be ere the set of sun. 5 First Witch Where the place? Second Witch Upon the heath. Third Witch There to meet with Macbeth. First Witch I come, graymalkin! Second Witch Paddock calls. 10 Third Witch Anon! ALL Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air. [Exeunt] Next: Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 2 Explanatory notes below for Act 1, Scene 1 From Macbeth. Ed. Thomas Marc Parrott. New York: American Book Co. (Line numbers have been altered.) ____ Shakespeare's dramatic genius is especially to be noted in the art with which he manages his beginnings. The first scene of Macbeth strikes the keynote of the play. The desert place, the wild storm, the appearance of the witches, "the wayward rhythm" of their songs, all help to prepare us for a drama in which a human soul succumbs to the supernatural suggestions of evil and ranges itself along with the witches on the devil's side. We hear of a battle that is even now being fought, we hear of the trysting-place of the witches at the conclusion of the fray, and last of all we hear the name of the man they are planning to meet. No sooner has the name "Macbeth" been uttered than the calls of the attendant spirits are heard and the witches hurry off. The action of the scene is over with the naming of the man against whose soul these ministers of darkness are plotting. 1. The dialogue of the witches is a sort of chant. It is thrown into a verse form, trochaic tetrameter, which Shakespeare rarely uses except for supernatural beings, witches, fairies, or the like. In order to bring out the rhyme the last syllable is dropped from the end of each line. In line 2 the rhythm is reversed and the stress falls on the second syllable of each foot. In line 8 the stressed syllable in the third foot is omitted. This forces us to pause in the middle of the line and so secures additional emphasis for the closing word, "Macbeth." We may imagine the Third Witch pausing for a moment while her sisters gather round her and then shrieking out the name of the hero in an ecstasy of devilish joy. 12, 13. The couplet with which the witches take their departure is a confession of their creed. All that is good, "fair," to others is evil, "foul," to them, and vice versa. This applies to both the physical and the moral world; they revel in the "fog and filthy air," and in every sort of mischief and evil-doing from killing swine to entrapping human souls. ________ How to cite the explanatory notes: Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Thomas Marc Parrott. New York: American Book Co., 1904. Shakespeare Online. 10 Aug. 2010. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth_1_1.html >. ________ More Resources  The Chronology of Shakespeare's Plays  Establishing the Order of the Plays  How Many Plays Did Shakespeare Write?  Shakespeare Timeline  Shakespeare's Reputation in Elizabethan England  Words Shakespeare Invented  Quotations About William Shakespeare  Portraits of Shakespeare  Shakespeare's Boss: The Master of Revels  Top 10 Shakespeare Plays  Shakespeare's Metaphors and Similes  Shakespeare's Blank Verse  Shakespeare Timeline  Edward Alleyn (Actor)  What is Tragic Irony?  Characteristics of Elizabethan Tragedy

More to Explore Macbeth: The Complete Play with Commentary  The Metre of Macbeth: Blank Verse and Rhymed Lines Macbeth Character Analysis  Figures of Speech in Macbeth  Metaphors in Macbeth (Biblical)  The Theme of Macbeth  Is Macbeth the Third Murderer? Macbeth, Duncan and Shakespeare's Changes  King James I and Shakespeare's Sources for Macbeth  Contemporary References to King James I in Macbeth  The Royal Patent that Changed Shakespeare's Life  Soliloquy Analysis: If it were done when 'tis done (1.7.1-29)  Soliloquy Analysis: Is this a dagger (2.1.33-61)  Soliloquy Analysis: To be thus is nothing (3.1.47-71)  Soliloquy Analysis: She should have died hereafter (5.5.17-28)  Differences Between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth  Explanatory Notes for Lady Macbeth's Soliloquy (1.5)  The Psychoanalysis of Lady Macbeth (Sleepwalking Scene)  Is Lady Macbeth's Swoon Real? _____ Did You Know? ... In Shakespeare's primary source for Macbeth, Holinshed's Chronicles, the Weird Sisters are "goddesses of destinee", but they are far more sinister in Shakespeare's version. Read on... _____  Explanatory Notes for the Witches' Chants (4.1) Macbeth Plot Summary (Acts 1 and 2) Macbeth Plot Summary (Acts 3, 4 and 5)  How to Stage a Production of Macbeth (Scene Suggestions)  A Comparison of Macbeth and Hamlet  The Effect of Lady Macbeth's Death on Macbeth  The Curse of Macbeth  Shakespeare's Sources for Macbeth Macbeth Q & A  Essay Topics on Macbeth  Aesthetic Examination Questions on Macbeth  What is Tragic Irony?  Stages of Plot Development in Macbeth  Time Analysis of the Action in Macbeth Macbeth Study Quiz (with detailed answers)  Quotations from Macbeth (Full)  Top 10 Quotations from Macbeth  Crafting a Sympathetic Macbeth  The Moral Character of Macbeth  Origin of the Weird Sisters  Temptation, Sin, Retribution: Lecture Notes on Macbeth Untie the winds: Exploring the Witches' Control Over Nature  Characteristics of Elizabethan Tragedy  Why Shakespeare is so Important  Shakespeare's Language  Shakespeare's Influence on Other Writers

olszewskiagnsur.blogspot.com

Source: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth_1_1.html

Share this post