The Scottish Play--2 (stars hide your fires)

I have read Act One and am trying to pace myself, since this is one of the big ones (although a short big one) and I don't want to end up with just two posts for this play.

Scene One we get witches, and nothing but. Scene Two we get reports of a battle in which Macbeth (I think the name of the character is safe, just not the play) kills everybody. So, before we even see Macbeth, we hear his name in the context of witchcraft and the the context of battle, where he has been killing a lot of people. Macbeth's killing in battle is commended by all. This is violence that earns him the title of Thane of Cawdor. A different kind of violence, perpetrated later in the play, receives less commendation.

In Scene Two, a guy named Ross describes Macbeth's action to Macbeth: "Nothing afeard of what thyself did make: strange images of death." This is in war. Later, when it's more directly murder, Macbeth will for a while be very afeard of what himself does make: strange images of death. It's worthwhile to notice the different forms of violence, which are considered evil, and which good. What makes it reprehensible? War: good, capital punishment: good, killing your guest and king: bad, killing your rival's wife and child: bad. So on, so forth. There are other questions as well. What role do the witches' prophecies actually play? Would Macbeth have been king without murder? If he interprets the witches' second batch of prophecies more constructively, can he save himself?

If this play doesn't take you to a dark place, you're not reading it right. You almost can't help going to the dark place because Macbeth's imagination is so powerful, he pulls you along with him. And Macbeth is going to a very, very dark place (with the help of Lady Macbeth).