Macbeth

"When you durst do it, then you were a man' and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man" (1.7.49-51).

I have never known what Macbeth is about so I even read the introduction in the book hoping it will give me some overview or ideas about the story. To my understanding, the introduction described Macbeth as a tyrant and a really bad sneaky person, however, when I read the first act, Macbeth seems to be a good worrier who fights for his king Duncan. Until he tells his wife about the three witches who tell him he will be a king one day. She makes this plan how to kill Duncan so Macbeth can be a king. But Macbeth is not as bad of a person as she is; he reconsiders killing the king because he is afraid of circumstances that might come afterwards. His wife gets mad and mentally forces him to the murder; she tells him that he is not a man if he does not kill the king. She indirectly changes his mind by saying he would be more of a man if he committed the murder. Because Macbeth loves her so much, he does not want to look as a week person to her, thus he eventually agrees with her killing plan.

Reading the book is as hard as I thought it would be. I have to translate every word I do not understand because English is not my native language, and use the notes at the bottom of each page to help me interpret the meaning of the story. I need to read some passages multiple times so they make sense to me. Even this is the first act, the story is getting very dramatic and I wonder if Macbeth kills the king.

Hana