The Significance of Act 1 Scene 1 in Relation to the Play as a Whole

The Significance of Act 1 Scene 1 in Relation to the Play as a Whole

Witches and evil are used to open Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. The author

establishes an atmosphere of dread and mystery, and introduces themes

of disorder and the supernatural in the first Act. Different parts of

Act 1 Scene 1 can be seen throughout the play and this makes Act 1

Scene 1 significant.

As the play opens the first thing the audience sees are the three evil

witches. I believe Elizabethan audiences would have reacted in a

negative way to the witches presence. The witches would have caused

shock and controversy amongst the audience. The possibility that

witches can determine the future would have stirred the audience

because in those days people suspected of being a witch was executed.

‘Thunder and lightning’ is used to help create the atmosphere of

‘Macbeth’. The ‘thunder and lightning’ is used to represent the

witches. We can see the link between the witches and the weather

because thunder and lightning is unpredictable like the witches. The

use of thunder and lightning is also used to help emphasize the

atmosphere of dread in the rest of the play. The tumultuous weather

also hints at the evil nature of the witches and of the rest of the

play.

The witches are the first people the audience see in the play. The

audience are introduced to the evil to show what the rest of the play

is going to be like. The witches symbolise evil and supernatural and

are significant because they predict the story before it happens.

Although we only see the witches three times they are the most

memorable characters because they can do supernatural actions and can

foretell the future. The first scene suggests that they are evil and

are going to influence the rest of the play in some way. The witches

even call them selves ‘‘weird sisters’’ which exemplifies the fact

that they know they are evil and abnormal.

When asked when the witches should meet next, one witch suggests