witches

Question 1

1.1 “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”

Answer 1

-witches speak in paradoxes + oxymorons when they chant this paradoxical phrase - conflicting speech + what they appear to say doesn’t correlate with reality
-their conflicting language is notable throughout the entirety of the play reinforcing their deceitful + duplicitous intentions

Question 2

1.3 “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”

Answer 2

-witches instigate MB’s nascent ambition by saying he will be “king hereafter”
-plant seed of the idea that MB could be king - manipulative catalysts subtly encouraging MB to pursue power

Question 3

1.3 “instruments of darkness”

Answer 3

-suggests their evil musicality, perhaps showing how their words are almost hypnotic for MB - deceptive
-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 4

3.5 “pit of Acheron”

Answer 4

-witches appear synonymous with wickedness + hell - infernal
-“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”
“fire burn, and cauldron bubble”
“hell-broth, boil and bubble”

Answer 5

-witches amplify the theme of deception + equivocation within this act as they speak in proverbial supernatural phrases - necromantic
-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 “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth”

Answer 6

-2nd prophecy sends MB mad with power as he transforms into tyrannical king
-witches provide MB with false sense of security - power to control his perception - misleading
they appear to be giving MB pertinent insight to his safety
-instead, the reality is they are giving MB an ephemeral sense of security + invincibility - they know his hubris obstructs him from seeing this