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How does Shakespeare present Macbeth to the audience in Act 1 Scene 1 and 2?
In the first two scenes, Macbeth is presented as brave warrior who is confident and loyal
towards the King
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From this we get an understanding of how the other characters in the play see
Macbeth as well as putting doubts in the audience’s mind whether Macbeth is truly like he is
described
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During the first scene, the audience will be filled
with suspense and curiosity about why these three unnatural figures are going to meet
Macbeth
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The suspense builds on as the setting of the first scene is a battlefield which creates
gloomy and dull atmosphere for the audience
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The weather includes ‘thunder and lightning’ which is wild
showing the unnatural events at the time
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This creates a sense of fear for the audience as they will start to think if Macbeth is
safe or in danger
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In this scene, the captain praises ‘brave Macbeth’ who performed a ‘bloody
execution’
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The image of courageous Macbeth continues to build
up as he portrayed as man who is ‘lapp’d in proof’ and ‘Bellona’s bridegroom’ meaning that
Macbeth is like God or like the husband of war
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Shakespeare uses a lot of language techniques to describe
Macbeth’s bravery
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The second scene enfolds with the
Captains and Duncan disgracing the ‘merciless Macdonald’ who was ‘worthy to be a rebel’
meaning that he was a traitor that acted against the King
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This quote is an irony used
by Shakespeare presenting Macbeth’s downfall at the end but for the audience it gives them
the knowledge of the consequences that can happen
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He is described as ‘valiant’, ‘worthy’ and a ‘slave’ towards
the King
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Some of the audiences may think that
Macbeth is really like this but for some it can come back to the mantra that the witches was
saying in the first scene which is ‘fair is foul, and foul is fair’, This paradox shows that nothing
is what it seems so you should not trust appearances
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Although the olden audience might see Macbeth is brave and courageous, the modern
audience will see that Macbeth is a bloodthirsty man who loves the battlefield, violence and
murder
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Shakespeare makes his violent act like ‘unseam’d him from the nave to th’ chaps’ an
irony for his own downfall at the end of the play
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The modern
audience will see him as a cruel human who is trying to replicate the ‘Golgotha’ and make his
murderous action as memorable as the scene of Christ’s crucifixion

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