William Shakespeare, famous English playwright, often started his plays with powerful scenes and mood-setting action. Act 1 of Macbeth, is no acceptation to the traditional important and exciting Shakespeare introductions. This act displays the deceptive environment in which Macbeth lives (which is a major theme in this play), depicts the characters' personalities and motives, and finally portrays the constant struggle between good and evil. The first act of Macbeth is important as it draws interest to the play by revealing the forces of good and evil and a deceptive environment within society. By opening the play in this manner, Shakespeare entices his audience to maintain interest in the whole play as the outcome (Macbeth's fate) is not clear.
             Macbeth's world is a place where the good is bad and the bad is good. From the very first scene, the deception within Macbeth's world is clearly defined. When the witches say "fair is foul and foul is fair" (1.1.11) in scene one, the play's theme is quickly introduced to the audience. The quick introduction of the deceptive world gives the audience excitement as they are left in suspense. One cannot readily determine who the good and bad characters are for the remainder of the play. During scene two the audience starts to become more familiar with Macbeth as an army captain recounts Macbeth's courageous efforts in the war in support of king Duncan. The general, talking about Macbeth, says, "If I say sooth, I must report they were/ As cannons overcharged with double cracks, so they/ Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe/" (1.2.36-38). Through this, Macbeth is portrayed as a valiant soldier. In scene one, the witches present a world in which the forces between good and evil are not easily identified. Macbeth is described as a valiant and noble person however the audience cannot simply accept this to be true (because fair is foul and foul is f...