supernatural

Question 1

1.3 “So foul and fair a day I have not seen”

Answer 1

-echoes the witches’ paradox - slowly becoming a mouthpiece for the witches’ evil
-he is a vessel for their misconduct
-suggests he is already under their thrall
-could argue he is an innocent victim in the play

Question 2

1.3 “instruments of darkness”

Answer 2

-suggests their evil musicality, perhaps showing how their words are almost hypnotic for MB
-extended metaphor of music: prophecies are pleasing to the ear
-biblical allusion to devil’s role as the prime tempter of man
-this is compounded as they speak in trochaic tetrameter, which is distinct from the iambic pentameter that noble characters speak in
-this gives their speech an eerie song like quality

Question 3

1.5 “pour my spirits in thine ear”

Answer 3

-seems she is almost casting a spell - conjures imagery of intoxication
-nouns “spirits” + “night” allude to a dark supernatural force
-she yearns to be rid of her femininity to encompass the inhumane + witch-like role that would grant her power
-her androgynous nature would be perceived to be supernatural in the Jacobean era as the gender roles were rigid

Question 4

3.5 “pit of Acheron”

Answer 4

-witches appear synonymous with wickedness + hell
-“Acheron” was one of the rivers that ran through Hades - as they as depicted as meeting there it reinforces how the witches are inextricably linked with hell
-Hecate could be implying they are leading MB to the “pit of Acheron” as he will symbolically enter hell itself to learn more of his destiny
-foreshadows MB’s future will not be kind to him

Question 5

4.1 “eye of newt” and “fire burn, and cauldron bubble”

Answer 5

-witches amplify the theme of deception + equivocation within this act as they speak in proverbial supernatural phrases
-they conform to the archetype of witches that the audience would fear
-they meet around a cauldron - well-known symbol of witchcraft
-they chant in a different rhythm to the rest of the characters

Question 6

4.1 threatens witches with an “eternal curse”

Answer 6

-ironic as we have seen their overt supernatural power - MB believes he supersede this
-MB’s ego is prevalent as the witches ambiguous apparitions provide him an ephemeral sense of security + invincibility
-MB’s willingness to invoke such ominous imagery underscores his dependence on the supernatural to secure his power
-his desperation to learn his fate from the witches places him fully under the sway of dark forces, which are central to the play’s depiction of the supernatural