Act 1 Scene 1 Flashcards
Why are the witches used as the first characters to be introduced in Macbeth?
Shakespeare uses the witches as a method of engaging the audience; in Elizabethan times, witchcraft was taken very seriously and was feared by most; therefore using the witches at the opening of the play would pull in the audience.
“When shall we three meet again?”
This suggests that the witches’ meeting is over and they have finished carrying out their activity; the quote therefore prompts the curiosity of the audience, leaving them to wonder about what the witches had finished.
“Fair is foul and foul is fair
Hover through the fog and filthy air.”
The scene ends with all witches chanting in rhyming couplets, with the audience none the wiser about what is going on, engaging them even further; this relates to the theme of appearance vs reality - nothing is what it seems in this world.
Why does Shakespeare introduce the supernatural first?
The fact that Shakespeare structures the play to show the witches first shows that he intends to establish the presence of the supernatural having a lot of importance in the play, and in terms of events occurring in it.
Why does Shakespeare introduce the supernatural first?
The fact that Shakespeare structures the play to show the witches first shows that he intends to establish the presence of the supernatural having a lot of importance in the play, and in terms of events occurring in it.
What is the importance of the way the witches speak?
The witches speak in rhyming couplets and trochaic tetrameter, which is different from noble characters that speak in iambic pentameter, while it also gives a sinister air to the play in relation to the witches.
