Act 1 — Macbeth — AQA GCSE English Literature 8702
AQA GCSE English Literature · 8702
Act 1
The plot, part by part
What you need to know
The witches, the prophecies, Duncan's praise of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth's letter scene and the plan to murder Duncan.
What each scene establishes about character and theme, with key quotations.
Key quotations: 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair', 'Hover through the fog and filthy air', 'This supernatural soliciting / Cannot be ill, cannot be good', 'Two truths are told', 'There's no art / To find the mind's construction in the face', 'He was a gentleman on whom I built / An absolute trust', 'Stars, hide your fires', 'The raven himself is hoarse', 'too full o' the milk of human kindness', 'take my milk for gall', 'I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent', 'screw your courage to the sticking-place', 'Bring forth men-children only'.
Language and form: the witches' chiasmus and chanting rhythm, Lady Macbeth's imperatives, the milk imagery, and Macbeth's fear that 'We still have judgment here'.
