witches Flashcards
1.1 “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”
-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
-john locke’s theory of perception highlights how appearances can mask inner truths. the witches’ paradox “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” reflects this, revealing how perception is manipulated to obscure reality, as seen in Macbeth’s deceptive façade
1.3 “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”
-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
1.3 “instruments of darkness”
-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
3.5 “pit of Acheron”
-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
4.1 “eye of newt”
“fire burn, and cauldron bubble”
“hell-broth, boil and bubble”
-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
4.1 “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth”
-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
