the witches q+a Flashcards
When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightening or in rain?’ (act 1)
•Shakespeare uses pathetic fallacy in the description of the weather to mirror the witches’ chaotic and unnatural influence on the world.
The weather is used as a dramatic device to set an ominous tone and immediately associate the witches with disorder and violence.
• Alternatively, the tumultuous weather conditions can reflect the internal turmoil that macbeth faces and foreshadows his downfall as a tragic hero.
‘Double double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble’ (act four)
The witches’ use of trochaic tetrameter (a rhythmic metre with stressed followed by unstressed syllables) contrasts with the more common iambic pentameter used by other characters.
• This rhythmic structure underscores their otherworldliness, presenting them as agents of chaos who operate outside the norms of reality.
• Their unnatural speech pattern symbolises the disruption they bring to the moral order, as they seduce Macbeth into abandoning his moral compass, sparking his hamartia.
“Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none” (act one)
•Macbeth’s pursuit of power ends in failure and tyranny while banquo’s lack of ambition paradoxically secures a royal legacy, where his legacy holds more lasting power than his immediate status which is ironic as it emphasises banquo’s lack of power.
‘All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter’ (act one)
•The witches prophecy acts as an irresistible allure that fuels Macbeth’s unchecked ambition
• The witches’ prophecy challenges the great chain of being as Macbeth rises to kingship through unnatural means
