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Act 1 - Coggle Diagram
Act 1
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Ambitious
“Stars, hide your fires... Let not light see my black and deep desires.”
Macbeth already has dark ambitions to become king, but he knows they are morally wrong. The contrast between “light” and “black” represents good and evil. The "stars" symbolize the illuminating forces of truth and conscience, while "light" represents morality. Macbeth wishes to obscure his intentions and the evil he contemplates, indicating a struggle between his moral compass and his ambitions.
Shakespeare shows that Macbeth is always aware of the immorality and consequences of his ambition rather than being completely innocent or manipulated into it.
This foreshadows Macbeth eventually hiding his intentions and murdering Duncan. The dark imagery suggests his increasingly evil actions throughout the play.
“I am settled, and bend up - each corporal agent to this terrible feat.”
The use of the word “Settled” shows that Macbeth has made his final decision, yet “terrible feat” acknowledges that he knows the murder is horrific.
Shakespeare indicates this tipping point, the moment when Macbeth's ambition overcomes his morality, making his decision a conscious choice.
This explicitly foreshadows and prepares us for Duncan's murder, and Macbeth's later willingness to commit even more violence to keep power, like Banquo's murder.
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