act 1, scene 3: macbeth + banquo meet the witches

Question 1

symbolism (macbeth + banquo)

Answer 1

shakespeare uses the constructs of macbeth + banquo to show how men can react to temptation.

banquo = macbeth’s literary foil

Question 2

“[1] withal”

Answer 2

[1] - rapt

macbeth is entranced and absorbed by the witches’ prophecies.

Question 3

BANQUO: “neither beg nor [1] your [2] nor your hate.”

Answer 3

[1] - fear
[2] - favours

he is presented as indifferent to the prophecies and perceives them with scepticism. he takes the witches by what they physically appear to be - ragged old women.

Question 4

temptation (the crux of the play)

Answer 4

macbeth’s hamartia = he cannot resist temptation, juxtaposing banquo who faces it due to his ambition but has the moral strength to overcome it.

Question 5

banquo’s resistance to evil:

Answer 5

banquo turns to god, unlike macbeth. he is aware they are meddling with the supernatural if they choose to succumb (“what, can the devil speak true”). he sees them as a route of temptation to sin.

Question 6

MACBETH: “so [1] and [2] a day i have not seen.”

Answer 6

[1] - fair
[2] - foul

echoing the language of the witches; he has succumbed to the supernatural subconsciously.

Question 7

BANQUO: ‘strange [1], [2] not to their mould’

Answer 7

[1] - garments
[2] - cleave

shakespeare develops a motif of clothing with this quote + earlier when macbeth says ‘borrowed robes’ (8-107).
- significant because clothing is a powerful image suggesting concealment and disguise; he is not fit to receive these honours.

Question 8

MACBETH: ‘come what [1] may, [2] and the hour runs through the [3] [4]’

Answer 8

[1] - come
[2] - time
[3] - roughest
[4] - day

macbeth speaks in rhyming couplets like the witches; subconsciously under their control. he is like a puppet.

Question 9

M’S SOLLILOQUY: “shakes so the [1] state of [2]”

Answer 9

[1] - single
[2] - man

extensive sibilance shows his anxieties as shakespeare delves into his psyche and shows the audience his true inner turmoil.

Question 10

how do the witches greet macbeth?

Answer 10

they call him the ‘thane of glamis’ (his current title) and then prophecise that he will become ‘thane of cawdor’ and eventually ‘king of scotland’

Question 11

what two riddles do the witches tell banquo about how he compares to macbeth?

Answer 11

lesser and greater; not so happy, yet happier still

• foreshadows macbeth’s physical state vs. mental state later on