Act I, Scene 1 Selection Lines 1-14

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Macbeth Oral Project Act I, Scene 1 selection – Lines 1-14

1) Why did I choose this selection?

I chose this selection because of it’s air of mystery and sense of magic. The play opens with a frightening group of witches working on an incantation. They arrive without an introduction appearing onstage without excuse. I love how odd and unexplainable this seems. Also, they and even begin the play with a question, “When shall we three meet again, In thunder, lightning, or in rain?” What is that about? Have they met before?

Moreover, they talk with a sense of beauty. Even their first line has three rhyming hard

‘e’ sounds. Their odd sounds charm the ear. Since I enjoy their appearance and sound so much, I wanted to experience what it would be like to do it form myself. Even though they are most often portrayed by women, I didn’t see why I shouldn’t see how a man doing it would seem. Besides, only men performed it in Shakespeare’s time anyway.

b) What is the context of the scene?

This is the opening scene of the play and sets the stage for the entire production. Soon we hear from the witches the background of the play. Macbeth is revealed to be a nobleman and general in the Scottish army. Scotland is currently involved in a war.

Quickly, we learn that the Scottish king has died and that they will name a successor.

Wondering when they will meet again, they state they will, “When the hurlyburly’s done; when the battle’s lost and won.” Consequently, they foreshadow the craziness and violence to come in the play. Moreover, they set a spooky tone and scary mood. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” they state. Indeed, we learn that it is a time when morals are upside down and the country’s not working by proper ethical standards.

c) What is the literal meaning of the selection?

While the first moments of Macbeth are mysterious and odd, the literal meaning of the words of the witches are clear enough. After the first witch wonders about the conditions of their next meeting, the second witch replies when the ‘hurlyburly’s’ done. Since

‘hurlyburly’ means a tumult or crisis, they plan to meet after this confusion. She repeats this idea in the next line emphasizing that they’ll meet ‘when the battle’s lost and won’.

After this third witch adds that this will be ‘ere’ or before the set of sun. This could literally mean the end of the day, but like the rest of the scene have broader, more poetic implications such as someone’s death like the king. Subsequently, a witch wonders where they will meet. The second replies, “upon the heath” meaning a open land or moors filled with shubs. After this, the first witch cries that “Paddock calls!” While we might think a paddock has to do with the home of a horse, the Shakespeare glossary says that she’s more likely referring to a frog or toad, maybe her pet. Finally, the describe the dark times they are in, “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” Again, these are simple words we understand – good is evil and evil is good. While their meaning is pretty clear, their significance is to be revealed in the mystery of play to come.

d) What poetic devices are used? Shakespeare uses a variety of poetic devices to start the play. The first thing to notice is the structure. Though the characters are magical, they do not speak in iambic pentameter. In fact, they do not have any consistent line length. This adds to a sense of unease in the air. However, there are many rhymes in adjacent lines – “rain/again”, “heath/Macbeth”, “sun/won”, “fair/air”. However, some of these are not quite rhymes (rain/again, heath/Macbeth) which again adds to the nervousness. Additionally, there is repeated use of alliteration – ‘fog/filthy/fair/foul’,

‘meet/Macbeth’, ‘set/sun’. Similarly, there are repeated assonances – ‘we/three/meet’,

‘paddock/anon’, ‘hurlyburly’, ‘where/ere’. The combination of the unease of the meter and the uneven magic of the rhymes create a sense of mysterious evil that settles on the audience.

e) What are my performance choices? I tried to make performance choices to add to the sense of evil and disquiet. I chose to start with a older witches voice for the first witch. However, I didn’t want to play it particularly feminine to set the audience a bit off kilter. For the second I decided to go for a much higher voice and the third a much lower. I thought this would both make each character distinct and lend to the unease.

Also, I chose to wear a tilted pair of black baseball caps and sunglasses which in both dark color and shape look odd and disturbing. Finally, I added a paddock to my shoulder to show my connection to wild nature and reference to one of their pets. Hopefully, the effect won’t be too humorous but add to the disturbing nature of the piece.

Selection

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. 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. Third Witch Anon. ALL Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.