Most of the major events of the play are foreshadowed before they take place, although the hints can be incomplete or misleading. For example, when the witches first meet Macbeth, they reveal that he will someday be king, but they do not specify that he will obtain that position by murdering Duncan. The frequent use of foreshadowing also raises questions of agency and moral responsibility; to what extent is Macbeth responsible for his choices and actions, and to what extent is he simply fated to carry out these particular actions?
The play opens with the Thane of Cawdor, a Scottish nobleman, attempting to raise a rebellion against Duncan and gain the throne for himself. The rebellion is defeated, but these events hint that the political state of the kingdom is unstable and foreshadow Macbeth’s own plot to seize power. The foreshadowing becomes even more explicit when Macbeth is awarded the title of the disgraced nobleman, becoming the Thane of Cawdor himself. The audience suspects that Macbeth is going to follow in the traitorous footsteps of the man who previously held the title.
