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then as “Thane of Cawdor” and “king hereafter.” Banquo questions Macbeth’s response: why does he “start and seem to fear / Things that do sound so fair”? Banquo then asks what the future holds for him. The three weyard sisters tell him that his children shall be kings, and though he will be “lesser” than Macbeth, he will be “greater.” Macbeth asks how he is to become the Thane of Cawdor, or king, as this “Stands not within the prospect of belief,” but the sisters vanish without further speech. Their ethereal quality is emphasized by Macbeth and Banquo’s description of them in terms of “bubbles,” “air,” and “breath.” Banquo questions their existence, but Macbeth focuses on the prophecies.
    Lines 92–171: Ross announces that Macbeth is now Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth asks, “Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?” highlighting recurrent images of apparel and of concealment and disguise. Angus explains that Cawdor has been executed for treason. From this point in the scene, Macbeth is divided from the other characters by his increasing number of asides, indicating the separation and tension between the private and public aspects of himself. He asks Banquo if he hopes that his children will become kings, now that part of the prophecy has come true, but Banquo is uncertain, warning that “instruments of darkness tell us truths” only to “betray” us. Macbeth then talks aside about the prophecies, moving toward “the swelling act” of his becoming king. We see that he is already thinking of taking destiny into his own hands as his mind presents him with a “horrid image,” and he concludes, “Come what come may,” one of his many references to time, destiny, and inevitability.
Act 1 Scene 4
    Malcolm, King Duncan’s elder son, reports Cawdor’s execution. Duncan praises Macbeth before announcing that he is settling the succession to the throne onto Malcolm, giving him the title Prince of Cumberland. Macbeth takes his leave to tell Lady Macbeth of Duncan’s intended visit and talks in an aside of his “black and deepdesires.” The contrasts between his asides and his speeches to Duncan emphasize the growing tensions between his ambition and his loyalty.
Act 1 Scene 5
    Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth’s letter reporting the three weyard sisters’ prophesies, but fears that he is “too full o’th’milk of human kindness” to “catch the nearest way” of becoming king (i.e. murdering Duncan) and says that without “the valour of [her] tongue,” he will not act. Lady Macbeth’s spell-like soliloquy invokes spirits to “unsex” her and fill her with “direst cruelty.” She rejects her femininity, and with it the associated stereotypes of weakness and compassion. When Macbeth arrives she shows her apparent dominance over him as she urges him to be less open in his emotions and to disguise his true self: “look like th’innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t.” She will take care of everything else.
Act 1 Scene 6
    Lady Macbeth greets Duncan and his court.
Act 1 Scene 7
    Macbeth’s soliloquy reveals his indecision, focusing on the moral consequences of killing Duncan, who is there “in double trust” as his kinsman and his king, but also as his guest. Describing Duncan’s goodness, Macbeth acknowledges that there is no impetus to commit murder except his own “Vaulting ambition.” When Lady Macbeth interrupts, Macbeth tells her that they cannot go through with the plan. She again shows her dominance and ability to manipulate him by questioning his masculinity: “When you durst do it, then you were a man.” Despite this requirement that Macbeth live up to traditional gender roles, she once again rejects them on her own behalf, arguing that having sworn to do something, even pluck a suckling child from her breast and dash its brains out, then she would do it. Her plan is that she will make Duncan’s guards drunk, and then,when Duncan is asleep, they will