the witches

Question 1

characterisation of the witches:

Answer 1

-referred to as the “weird sisters”
↳ weird comes from the old english noun wyrd, which means “fate”

-temptations to evil
amischief they cause stems from their supernatural powers, but mainly it is the result of their understanding of the weaknesses of their specific targets (they play upon macbeth’s ambition)

-the witches’ beards, potions, and rhymed speech make them seem slightly ridiculous, like caricatures of the supernatural
-trochaic tetrameter separates them from the other characters
-the witches’ words seem almost comical, like malevolent nursery rhymes
-are the witches agents of fate, whose prophecies are only reports of the inevitable???

-the witches are similar to the fates, female characters in norse and greek mythology
-weave the fabric of human lives and then cut the threads to end them
-prophecies are just remarkably accurate readings of the future
-shakespeare keeps the witches outside the limits of human comprehension

Question 2

‘when shall we three meet again?
in thunder, lightning, or in rain?’ [A1S1]

Answer 2

trochaic tetrameter
↳ used to signify evil in a character
↳ the witches are the only ones who speak in differently, emphasises peculiarity
↳ unsettling for a shakespearean audience (used to iambic pentameter in shakespeare’s plays), signals alarm or change, witches become threatening figures

modal verb: ‘shall’
↳ strong assertion or intention
↳ they already know when they will meet, but are only planning the weather, thunder usually accompanies lightning and rain tends to accompany both, illusion of control over fate even though the witches have controlled everything??

pathetic fallacy:
↳ the witches only appear in unsettling weather as this weather matches their nature and effect on other characters
↳ when lightning strikes, the world is distorted and you can’t see properly, reality is obscured

pronoun: ‘we three’
↳ represent all women and in the patriarchal society in the jacobean era, women had to underhand methods to achieve any kind of power (eg: ladym can’t get power by her own)

Question 3

‘fair is foul, and foul is fair’ [A1S1]

Answer 3

(appearance v reality)

fricatives
↳ convey mysterious or light atmospheres
↳ used to warn or threaten others (baring teeth and pressing the air out of the mouth) -> hostility

paradox
↳ inversion of natural order, everything is not as it seems from the beginning of the play
↳ foreshadows macbeth’s deception
↳ nature is mirroring the disarray of society

juxtaposition: ‘fair is foul…’
↳ creates confusion & emphasises the state of inversion that society is in
↳ nothing can be believed as everything is in disarray

trochaic tetrameter:
↳ the witches oppose conventionality
↳ unsettling

fair: impartial and just
foul: wicked or immoral
↳ witches are seen as unjust as they tell the truth, which is turned into something deplorable

state of being verb: ‘is’
↳ witches only state what will be, no lies
↳ witches never commit any evil act

Question 4

‘fillet of a fenny snake’ [A4S1]

Answer 4

-witches are taking apart the natural chain of being by taking parts of nature in the human world and using them for supernatural acts

Question 5

‘something wicked this way comes’ [A4S1]

Answer 5

dehumanisation: ‘something’
↳ macbeth is so wicked that he now seems inhuman