Act One Macbeth

Scene One:
Macbeth: “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still… And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood. Which was not so before.”-- Is this a dagger I see in front of me, with its handle pointing toward my hand? Come, let me hold you. I don’t have you but I can still see you. I see blood splotches on your blade and handle that weren’t there before. Macbeth is hallucinating about a bloody dagger in front of him. This quote shows the reoccurring event of hallucinations and blood throughout the play. The dagger represents the bloody trail which Macbeth is about to embark. The hallucination could be because Macbeth feels guilty about what he is about to do.
Scene Two:
Lady Macbeth: “A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight… Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead Are but as pictures. 'Tis the eye of childhood.” Lady Macbeth calls Macbeth foolish when he states that the blood and murder is a sorry sight. She also calls him a coward when Macbeth cannot go back. She says dead and sleeping people can’t hurt you any more than pictures can, and only children are scared of pictures. This shows how determined Lady Macbeth is and how strong she is. However she also states, “To wear a heart so white. A little water clears us of this deed. How easy is it, then! Your constancy Hath left you unattended.” She believes that water will wash away the crime and clear her conscience, but will her clean hands be enough to completely forget about the murder?

Scene Three:
Macduff: Macduff shows his loyalty to the king in this scene. He enters the castle to wake Duncan as was asked and soon learns the king had been murdered. He is in complete shock and wakes the rest of the castle to come see what has happened. He states how he cannot even speak about what has occurred and they will have to go and look for themselves. “Approach the chamber, and destroy your sight. With a new Gorgon. Do not bid me speak. See, and then speak yourselves.” Macduff’s reaction to the king’s death demonstrates how faithful he was to the king and that he will continue to help Malcolm and Donalbain in the future.
Macbeth: Macbeth is still nervous and upset about what he had done the night before. He speaks nervously and only in short sentences. Some of his responses include, “Not yet. I’ll bring you to him. Taws a rough night.” Later, Lady Macbeth even faints to hide her husband’s terrible deed and keep him from talking. Macbeth also kills the two servants before they are interrogated. “Oh, yet I do repent me of my fury, That I did kill them.” This is the second time Macbeth has murdered in the play. This shows that Macbeth will do whatever it takes to hid what he has done and could keep murdering to remain in power. Macbeth’s drive to stay in power is strong, but his conscience is still causing him to be nervous about the future.
Scene Four:
Macduff: Macduff shows that he does not like or trust Macbeth in the scene. Macduff says he will return to home of Fife instead of Macbeth’s coronation. This shows Macduff is not as loyal to Macbeth as he was Duncan. He then states, “Well, may you see things well done there. Adieu, Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!” This is an observation that they may not be has happy under the new regime as they were under the old one and hopefully things will become better.