Hello and welcome to "Read it and (Don't) Weep," the podcast that will help you breeze through your high school literature classes. Are you tired of struggling to understand the themes and characters in classic works of literature? Well, I’ve got you covered! I am your host, Jackey Taggart, and I taught high school English for almost 20 years. Join me each episode as I dive into the world of high school literature and break down the essential elements of each work. From Shakespeare to Steinbeck, I'll cover it all. My goal is to give you valuable insights and analysis on some of the most popular high school literary texts, as well as tips and tricks for acing your tests and essays. Let’s start reading!

Act 1, Scene 6

Hello and welcome back to "Read it and (Don't) Weep."  We have reached the moment of no return in Macbeth. In the previous scene, Lady Macbeth laid out the murder plot, and now we shall see the terrifying calm before the storm, and the final mental battle between husband and wife. If you have not yet read up to this point in the play, it would be a good idea to get caught up with your reading and listen to my other episodes before continuing.

Scene 6 opens before Macbeth’s castle at Inverness. The stage directions indicate flutes and torches, suggesting a warm welcome for their visitors.

The guest of honor, King Duncan, arrives with his sons Malcolm and Donalbain, along with Banquo and several Scottish nobles and military leaders, including Lennox, Macduff, Ross, and Angus.

If dramatic irony were a physical force, it would flatten the King right here. If you do not already know, dramatic irony is when the audience knows something important that the characters in the story do not. Duncan, the man who is potentially about to be murdered by his host, arrives and immediately comments on how pleasant and welcoming the castle feels, even praising the fresh, gentle air.

Banquo seconds this beautiful, relaxing atmosphere. He points out that the martlet, a bird associated with peaceful, sacred places, seems to favor the castle, building its nests all over the structure. He notes that there isn’t a ledge, corner, or decorative surface where the birds haven’t settled, taking this as a sign that this place must be especially pure and pleasant.

Remember our earlier discussions about fair is foul and foul is fair. Here we see clear example of that idea, the air at Macbeth’s castle smells delicate and pure (which is fair or good), but the house is filled with murderous intent (which is foul or bad. Really bad in this case).

Lady Macbeth enters, the "honored hostess ready to set her dark plan in motion. Duncan greets her warmly, explaining that the loyalty and affection people show him can sometimes feel like a burden, but he accepts it with gratitude because he knows it comes from genuine love.

Lady Macbeth’s response is a master class in false courtesy. She insists that no amount of service they could offer would ever be enough to repay the immense honor Duncan has shown them by visiting their home and elevating their status. She claims they are completely devoted to him and grateful for the favors he has recently bestowed on their family. She is laying the compliments on really thick!

Duncan, completely charmed, asks about Macbeth, the Thane of Cawdor. He explains that he tried to follow close behind him and even planned to arrive first but says Macbeth’s eagerness and loyalty drove him home faster than the king could travel.

Duncan then takes Lady Macbeth’s hand and asks her to lead him to her husband. He speaks warmly of Macbeth, saying how highly he values him and that his favor toward him will continue. Keep these traits of both Macbeth and Ducan in mind as you continue reading Act 1.  As the scene ends, King Duncan enters the castle, unaware that he is walking into the home of the man who will soon betray and murder him.

Before continuing on the last scene in Act 1, take a moment to record your thoughts in your reading journal.  Think about this, in this scene, Duncan repeatedly praises Macbeth’s home, loyalty, and character, even though the audience knows he is in grave danger. How does this dramatic irony highlight the theme of appearances versus reality, and what might Shakespeare be suggesting about the danger of trusting what appears to be good?

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Act 1, Scene 7

Scene 7 takes place inside the castle, near the dining hall. We see servants carrying dishes, indicating that dinner is being prepared and that Duncan is  almost finished eating. Macbeth is alone, debating the murder.

This is his first real attempt to think the murder through logically. He starts by wishing that if killing Duncan would immediately secure the crown with no consequences then it would be best to do it quickly and get it over with. He’s imagining a world where murder ends the problem instead of creating new ones. We, as readers, know that this is impossible as actions always have consequences.

Continuing on, Macbeth immediately admits that isn’t how the world works. Actions have consequences, and he worries that violence tends to come back on the person who started it. In other words, people who use violence to get ahead often end up destroyed by the same kind of violence. He also believes there will be a moral judgment after death, which shows he understands the spiritual stakes as well as the political ones.

He then thinks about his relationship with Duncan. Duncan is his king, his kinsman, meaning someone he is connected to through loyalty and obligation, and a guest in his home. In each of those roles, Macbeth should be protecting him, not plotting his death.  On top of that, Duncan is a good and gentle ruler. Think about his kind, gentle nature which we saw in scene 6.  Macbeth knows that killing such a virtuous king would shock the nation and cause grief, outrage, and possibly rebellion.

By the end of the speech, Macbeth reaches a clear conclusion. He has no real justification for the murder. The only thing pushing him toward it is ambition, and he knows that kind of ambition can be reckless and self-destructive. At this moment, he has essentially reasoned himself out of Duncan’s murder, showing that his future is not fixed by fate but shaped by his own free will and the choices he makes.  

Lady Macbeth enters after her husband leaves the dinner. Macbeth tells her plainly that he does not want to go through with the plan. He points out that Duncan has just honored him, and he doesn’t want to throw away the good reputation and new title.

Lady Macbeth immediately attacks him personally. She is such a sweet wife to her husband.  She calls him a chicken and tells him he was all for this plan when they were  talking about becoming king, but now that it’s real, he’s backing out because he is a coward. She basically tells him he wants to be king, but he’s not man enough to do what it takes to make it happen.  When Macbeth pushes back and says there are limits to what an honorable man should do, she shuts that down and pushes even harder.

To prove how serious she is, she gives a brutal example, saying that even if she were holding her own child, she would have “Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out had I so sworn / as you have done to this.” Yikes! She is definitely not Mother of the Year material.   She uses this horrifying image to show Macbeth how far she is willing to go and to make his hesitation seem weak by comparison.

Macbeth, clearly shaken, asks the question that shows his deepest fear “If we should fail?”

Lady Macbeth immediately takes control again. She insists they won’t fail if he just holds his nerve, and then she lays out the plan step by step. Duncan will be exhausted and sleep heavily. She will get the guards drunk so they pass out. While they are passed out, Macbeth will kill Duncan using the guards’ weapons and then frame the guards by smearing them with blood. I don’t know about you, but Lady Macbeth scares me just a little bit.  

At this point, Macbeth gives in. He admires her confidence and finally commits to the plan. Before they leave, he reminds them both that they must hide their true intentions behind friendly appearances. Together, they exit, now fully determined to carry out the murder. 

Before moving on to the next scene, take a moment to pause and reflect on all that just happened, because it is a lot.  First, by the end of this scene, Macbeth agrees to the murder even after listing all of the reasons not to do it. What does this suggest about the role of free will in the play, and how responsible is Macbeth for what happens next?  Second, in this scene, Lady Macbeth uses several persuasive techniques to convince Macbeth to act. Which of her arguments seems most effective, and what does this reveal about their relationship and the way power works between them?

 Closing

Thanks for listening to this episode of Read it and (Don’t) Weep. Be sure to subscribe to the show so you will be notified when new episodes are released. If you liked today’s show, please leave a review so others can discover my show.  If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, drop me an email at readitanddontweep@gmail.com, or reach out to me on social media. I would love to hear from you. The links are in the show notes.  

Thank you for listening.  I am Jackey Taggart and remember to Read It and Don’t Weep.