The Murder of Duncan- Act 2 Scene 1

Lady Macbeth has to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan. She develops  a plan to set up the two servants to make it seem like they were the ones who committed the murder. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth thought that if they used the servants daggers and covered them with blood, people would believe they were the one's responsible for Duncan's murder.

In scene 1 of act 2 when Macbeth is walking to Duncan's room to murder him he walks "with Tarquin's ravishing strides." Shakespeare refers to Tarquin in several of his plays and poems. The plays where Shakespeare refers to Tarquin include Macbeth, Titus Andronics, Cymbeline, and The Rape of Lucrece. Tarquin was a Roman prince who sneaked into a roman woman's bedroom and raped her. Since Macbeth is sneaking in the middle of the night to go commit a crime is why it is relevant to compare him to Tarquin. The ringing of the bell is what makes Macbeth go through with the murder.

The Three Witches

The Macbeth Witches

In the 17th century witchcraft was normally blamed on women. In Macbeth the witches were described as having beards which makes them seem non feminine. In Scene 1 of Act 1 the witches are accompanied by thunder and lightning which makes the scene a lot more dramatic. Almost every time the witches enter a scene their entrance is accompanied by thunder.  In the last line of Scene 1 of Act 1 all of the witches say "Fairs is foul, and foul is fair, Hover through the fog and filthy air." In that last statement they are entranced in the confusion of good and bad, beauty and ugliness.

In Scene 3 of Act 1 the second witch had been "killing swine." Witches were often accused of killing pigs. In this scene is when the witches announce that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and that Banquo's sons will be kings. Macbeth questions the witches asking them where they got that knowledge from. From this point on is where Macbeth has to make a decision if he is going to do what he needs to do to become Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is about to be influenced by Lady Macbeth and end up murdering Duncan.