Act 1 is where we see Macbeth make the decision to murder King Duncan – he is tempted by supernatural prophecies, his own ambition, the words of his wife and an unexpected opportunity.
Outside the banqueting hall, Macbeth considers his complex thoughts about killing Duncan. He struggles with his conscience and decides not to go through with it because it is only his ‘vaulting ambition’ that is pushing him onwards. Lady Macbeth tells him off for leaving the hall. When Macbeth tells her that he has decided against killing Duncan, she is furious, calling him a coward and a ‘beast’. She goads him by saying that she would have ‘dash’d the brains out’ of her own baby if she had promised it to him. Macbeth is further persuaded by the strength of their plan. She will give Duncan’s two guards so much wine that they ‘lie as in death’, allowing Duncan to be an unguarded target for Macbeth to attack in the night. They will frame the guards for Duncan’s murder by covering their daggers in Duncan’s blood.
