Themes Established in the First Act

Many works of literature introduce some of the major themes to the reader during the first chapter or opening scene. The first act of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth introduces many of the main themes that are portrayed throughout the play. Macbeth is about an intelligent and brave man, Macbeth, who purposely murders his king. Macbeth then must immediately kill two other people as a consequence of his first murder. The murders put Macbeth on a road to disgrace and a violent death. Three major themes portrayed in Act One are the corrupting power of immoral ambition, the relationship between cruelty and gender and the difference between appearances and reality.
The main theme of Macbeth, the corrupting power of immoral ambition, is most strongly introduced in the play’s...