Question

The first act sets the tone for the rest of the play. What sort of mood do you detect from the stormy setting at the outset of the play, the presence of the witches, and the description of battle?

(Macbeth)

Answer 1

• Act 1 Scene 1 in William Shakespeare's Macbeth is a very short scene that does a great job of setting the scene for the rest of the play by creating an atmosphere of deep foreboding. The only characters are the three witches. The scene is described as “a desert place” with “thunder and lightning.”