In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way.
People say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, but in many cases you can judge a work by its first chapter or scene. Such a work is Shakespeare’s Macbeth. After reading the play, the reader should recognize witchcraft, and the meaning of fate as a major theme. Now if they look back at the very first chapter, the same elements are there. Shakespeare introduces the witches in the very first scene and then uses them throughout the play to reinforce the struggle between fate and freewill and the line between good and evil.
The three witches in Macbeth, during their first scene, say “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Shakespeare). This one little line begins one of the major struggles in Macbeth, good and evil. The audience is at first confused by this line, but as the play progresses they see how it is a commentary on Macbeth as a character. Is he truly evil? Or is he just a man tempted by others to commit crimes? Does that make him evil? These are all questions emphasized in that one line, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Shakespeare).
From that first scene on, the witches predict things in Macbeth’s future, but by doing so they question whether it’s truly his choice to become king, or if he was always fated to be king. The audience can believe two things about Macbeth’s future: he was fated to live and die the way he did or he formed his life around the witches’ predictions. Either way, those three witches greatly influenced his life, directly or indirectly. Shakespeare doesn’t beat around the bush; he introduces the witches and the theme of fate versus freewill.
Beginning Macbeth with the appearance of the three witches was no random plot choice; Shakespeare deliberately used the witches as a way to introduce the themes of fate versus freewill and good versus evil.
Hey Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the points you made about . I also felt like the first scene was a great foreshadowing of what happened later in the play. I also liked that you used specific quotes from the play. It gives readers a more in depth support of the thesis without using too many words. However, on the AP test, I don't think you'll be able to have a copy of the novels or plays, so it will be difficult to site your sources specifically. It'd be hard to memorize exactly what line, act, and scene each quote is from, wouldn't it? I also felt like this essay summarized the play a little too much. For the most part, it's fine, but since we assume that the AP readers have read this play before, I don't think it's necessary to summarize as much.
Another note: in the first paragraph, when you say " People say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, but in many cases you can judge a work by its first chapter or scene. Such a work is Shakespeare’s Macbeth.", it is a bit awkward. It should probably be a comma between the words "scene" and "Such".
Overall, great job! I really enjoyed reading this!
Erin Q
Hey Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this prompt. I loved that you chose Macbeth and the witches scene to write about in relation to the prompt. I felt like there was a little to much plot summary and not enough evidence of how the quotes contributed to the work as a whole. Your first opening sentences were a bit confusing but your thesis was strong and was followed by good evidence. The other thing I really liked was your strong voice in the prompt. I could tell that it was you writing and that you knew what you were doing. Good job!!