Macbeth - Opening Scenes

The opening scenes of Macbeth really establish the characters, themes, and tones of the play. The first two scenes establish that the play is quite dark and will not be happy, as one scene opens on a stormy beach and the other on a grisly battlefield. The addition of the witches in these opening scenes also adds the supernatural theme to the play. The witches set into motion the desires and feelings of the characters by telling them about their future vaugley. And we see that begin to unfold for Macbeth when they say he will be king and soon he is lusting after the throne and plotting to kill Duncan and believeing Malcom is in his way. When Macbeth pulls Lady Macbeth into his plan and she becomes the driving force behind this plot to kill Duncan another theme of strong women behind strong men is also introduced.