The play commences with three eerie witches chanting spells, they plan to meet someone named Macbeth then vanish; already we know that the play is going to be involved with something evil. In the beginning, Macbeth is recognized as a war hero in Scotland for his skillful fighting against a rebellion and King Duncan rewards him by appointing him to be the Thane of Cawdor. On his way home from battle, Macbeth meets with the three witches who prophesize that he will be the king of Scotland and at the same time that Banquo, who was with him at the time, will father a line of kings. From this point, we see Macbeth's ambition get the best of him; his desire to become king is great so with the push of t

Shakespeare is able to wisely use techniques in his story to specify the plot and clearly state the themes. First, Shakespeare uses foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is a technique in which the author hints at upcoming events in the story with an event or something that the character says. The most obvious events that displayed foreshadowing were the two scenes in the play with the witches. The first scene was when the witches prophesized that Macbeth would become king and that Banquo would father kings. Not only did this foreshadow the fact that Macbeth would become king, but the comparison of Macbeth's reaction and Banqou's reaction can foreshadow upcoming events. Macbeth seems scared but Banquo asks, " why do you start, and seem to fear / Things that do sound so fair?" (lines 51-52). Why indeed? Has he already been plotting to become king? Does he feel the witches have read his mind, and guessed how much he wants the crown? Or has his mind flashed ahead, wondering how this could possibly happen? In any case, his reaction is that of a guilty man. Banquo, on the other hand, makes fun of the witches. He is curious about what they have to say, but that is all. This tells us a lot. It tells us that there is a good possibility that Macbeth yearns for this crown; and as we find out later, he will stop at nothing to get it. The second scene with the witches was the apparitions. The witches prophesized to Macbeth that he should fear Macduff, not to fear anyone of woman born, and that he will not be defeated until Birnam Wood comes upon Dunisane. These apparitions foreshadow Macbeth's downfall because Macduff is the one who slays him, he is not of woman born (he was "untimely ripped), and on the day he was slain soldiers brought with them branches of Birnam Wood to camaflouge themselves. Shakespeare is also able to skillfully use symbolism. The most prominent example of symbolism that the author uses in this play is blood. We have the bloody dagger, the bloody servants, and most importantly, the bloody hands. When Macbeth had killed Duncan in the beginning, Macbeth said, "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood/clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather/ [redden]." (lines 59-61) Lady Macbeth replies by saying that his hands will wash easily and he will be cleared of the deed. So bl

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1550
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)