Macbeth Act I

A place map for "the Scottish play."

Diving into Macbeth! I've never read this play before, although I did see it over the summer in Cedar City. I didn't like it at all. It dragged and didn't make much sense. So I decided, heck, I should read it!

It is possible that I'm a masochist.

Just kidding. Actually, I'm reading because it occurred to me as I was watching the production in Cedar City that the set, which was minimal, was not carrying the weight that it should be. There are lots of lines in Macbeth that help the audience see the setting, especially of the house where the murders take place, but the set didn't look at all like what I imagined the setting should be.

Now, I'm in my English capstone class right now, and we're discussing the Gothic in literature and film. Much of the Gothic is connected with setting, especially of "haunted" houses. Therefore, I want to direct my reading of Macbeth by looking at what elements could contribute to a Gothic adaptation of the play.

All I've read so far is Act I, but there are already things that a director could use to make Macbeth into a Gothic story.

• The witches in the beginning. I can picture them appearing slowly in a dying field, saying their crazy lines, and then fading away into the swirling fog. 
• Scene two doesn't have anything particularly Gothic in it, but setting makes all the difference. If it takes place outside, fog would work well, or it could take place inside a creepy, dark room. The wounds of the Captain and Ross would provide the brightest color.
• Macbeth and Banquo are trying to get back but are lost and meet the witches--this would work well in a foggy field or a "dead marshes" kind of setting. The witches are supposed to be supernatural, "So withered and so wild in their attire, That look not like th' inhabitants o' th' Earth, And yet are on ’t?" (I.iii.40-42) and I can picture them dressed in wispy clothes, appearing neither male nor female, with eyes that faintly glow. 
• Is Macbeth already a little off his rocker? As soon as he hears that he will be king, he immediately starts thinking about murdering King Duncan. A Gothic portrayal of Macbeth might have him be crazy from the beginning. 
• Scene 4 would probably be staged inside. It can't be too far from the battlefield, though. Where was the battle? Is it close to where all the characters live? Maybe the king has a tent set up. This scene is probably warmer than the others, but there could still be something in the setting and the music that foreshadows Duncan's murder. 
• Unlike most Gothic films, a Gothic Macbeth would not deal with repressed females. Lady Macbeth is far from repressed--in fact, it would have done everyone good if Macbeth had reined her in. However, the "unsex me" speech is about Lady Macbeth repressing her own femininity, so that could fit with the Gothic conventions. 
• Macbeth's home at Inverness would definitely be one of those huge, drafty, stereotypical Gothic castles. The first lines of scene 6, remarking on the warmth of Macbeth's house, could be played ironically, or in an awkward attempt to be polite. Birds are nesting in Macbeth's castle, which could point to neglect, draftiness, and disrepair. 

This is probably coming through a lot better in my head than it is in this post, but it's a lot of fun! I'm not a visual reader, so it takes some slowing down to imagine a detailed setting, but it adds a new dimension to the text.