Act 1, Scene 1 -
1. The three witches are to meet again, "When the hurly burly's done, when the battle's lost and won. (1,1,1-8)" The witches will come together again when it is time to meet Macbeth and he finishes his battle.
2. The witches say, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair. (1,1,10)" This gives off the impression that playing fair is no good, and you must play foul and dirty to be truly fair.
Act 1, Scene 2 -
1.Macbeth is full of courage and skill. "So they doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe. (1,1,38)" Macbeth was unfathomed by the enemy and would strike them down before they could get a chance to really attack him. He was a fine warrior.
2. King Duncan and Macbeth are "cousins." Which can mean a variety of things, meaning actual cousins, or just among the noble.
3. Macbeth and Banquo were fighting soldiers from Norway. "Sveno, the Norway's king, craves composition. (1,2,59)" After losing against King Duncan's army, the Norway's request peace.
4. King Duncan tells Ross to "renounce Cawdors present death, and with his formal title greet Macbeth
Act 1, Scene 3 -
1. The witches meet up and each of them were doing different things. One was killing pigs, another was lingering around a shipyard, and another conjuring.
2. When Macbeth says, "So foul and fair a day I have not seen, (1,2,39)" he is referring to the gruesome battle he and Banquo had just partook in and meeting the witches.
3. The witches were very rugged, dirty, and gross. Banquo said they were, "So withered, and so wild in their attire. (1,3,40)" Their clothes were tattered, and looked just as wretched as they were.
4. The witches, when faced with Banquo and Macbeth, tell both of them prophecies, and greet Macbeth, calling him the "Thane of Cawdor (1,3,48)" and t...
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... the witches said, they said "No man born of a woman shall hurt him."
2. Macbeth has men "on both sides of the fight." Macbeths soldiers are deserting him and turning against him. They realize how insane he is, and that he needs to be stopped in any way possible.
Act 5, Scene 8 -
1. Macduff gives Macbeth news that terrifies him. Macduff was ultimately ripped from his mothers womb. This can mean that he can defeat Macbeth once and for all.
2. Macbeth recognizes the prophecies the weird sisters have made. He takes them as assurance that they were lies, and that it is not truly his destiny.
3. He changes his mind about fighting because he would rather die in battle than go through humiliation of being taken prisoner and put on public display.
4. Malcom's speech suggests that law, justice, and stability have return to the once-troubled country, and Macbeth is no more.
Our main character Macbeth is very driven by his need for what he believes to be the truth. The play starts out with the quote “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” (1.1.6) meaning nothing is, as it seems. This quote was from all three witches, who decided they were going to seek out Macbeth who at the time was Thane of Glamis and a prized solider on the battlefield. Macbeth at this time was looking for more in his life. The witches then gave him and his friend Banquo three prophecies. They were that he would become Tha...
The play starts out immediately with and example of this. Three witches are the first characters that appear on stage. They are conversing of when they will meet again to discuss some important information that will occur later in the story. At the end of this first scene, the three witches vanish into the wind.
Fair is foul, and foul is fair, a phrase that has become synonym with Macbeth. It is also the introduction to one of the most important themes of this tragedy: appearance and reality. Shakespeare uses various characters and situations to emphasize this confusion between the real and the surreal, the authentic and the fake, the act and the sincere. In order to discuss this theme, different characters will be looked at : in the first paragraph, the Witches, in the second, Duncan and in the third, Lady Macbeth.
Macbeth first encounters the three witches when he is returning to Scotland after defeating his enemy Macdonwald. The witches discuss with Macbeth and Banquo what they can expect in the future. "FIRST WITCH. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! / SECOND WITCH. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! / THIRD WITCH. All hail, Macbeth! That thou shalt be a king hereafter! (I.iii.48-50).
The death of Lady Macduff and her son, causes Macbeth’s power to spiral downwards. When Macduff finds out that Macbeth is behind the murder of his wife and son, Macduff wants to have revenge on Macbeth for his actions. To do this, Macduff decides to gather an army to fight against Macbeth. The two enemies fight against each other, with Macduff being the winner, after killing Macbeth.
When we first meet Macbeth he is walking with Banquo, and suddenly he is greeted with prophesies from three witches.
Before Duncan had the time to reach Macbeth with the good news, the three witches approach him and Banquo. The greet Macbeth with three different titles: Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King Hereafter, but this confuses Macbeth. Not only do the witches tell Macbeth his future, they also tell Banquo that although he will never be King, his children will be… and then they vanish once again.
They were expected to fight in battles and die valiantly, with honor. Meanwhile, women were supposedly caring and kind creatures that could never be evil. They were expected to tend to the children and take care of the house. At the start of the play, the audience is introduced to The Three Witches and as their name suggests, they act abnormally. They are cruel, easy to anger and prefer to live in isolation rather than with other people. Their ill-tempered and cruel nature is evident when the First Witch encountered where the First Witch explains where she was to the other witches. She explains that there was a “sailor’s wife”, (1.3.4-5) who “had chestnuts in her lap and munched and munched and munched”, (1.3.4-5) refusing to share. The First Witch becomes angry and sends a storm out to sea to torment the lady’s husband.
Macbeth's meeting with the witches brings a prediction which symbolises the beginning of Macbeth's downfall.
Three witches come into scene with sounds of thunder, as well as flashes of lighter. These three witches are together to figure out when they are going to meet with Macbeth. They eventually agree to meeting Macbeth at sunset once the battle has concluded.
Witches being portrayed deceitful and speak in paradox, they have deceived Macbeth with prophecies, “fair is foul and foul is
Once upon a time, three weird sisters appeared in the thunder and lightning. They were dressed in all black dresses and a large hat with a pointy top, resembling a witch. They looked up into the sky and had a quick discussion about the next time they will meet and where they will meet Macbeth. Scottish King Duncan appears at the military camp, when he hears the news about his generals, Macbeth and Banquo and how they have defeated these two invading armies. One was from Ireland, which was led by the rebel Macdonwald, and one was from Norway. Macbeth and Banquo unexpectedly saw the weird sisters as they cross a moor. They looked at them and started to laugh. They wondered who were these three hideous creatures dressed like witches; and so they called them. The witches looked at Macbeth and started to hold hands rocking side to side, looking up into the sky as if they see a ghost the one in the middle gets on her knees and says “all hail Macbeth” then they all kneel down and do the same. The one in the middle tells Macbeth that he will be made thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also predicted that Banquo’s descendants will be Scottish kings, although Banquo will never be king himself. Then witches vanished into thin air. Macbeth and Banquo questioned the witches’ predictions. Two of King Duncan’s men came to thank them on their victory in battle. The generals tell Macbeth that he has been named the new thane of Cawdor and how the previous thane of Cawdor has betrayed Scotland by fighting for the Norwegians and Duncan had sent someone to kill him. Macbeth had become interested in the witches’ prediction. He started to think that maybe what the witches told him is true and that he will be crowne...
The witches influence Macbeth in his achievements and awake his ambitions. They give him a wrong sense of security with their apportions of truths. The witches are the ones who made the idea of killing Duncan into Macbeth’s mind. They also told him that he would become thane of Cawdor and later would become king of Scotland and Macbeth wants to know more. “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more. By Sinel’s death I know I am the thane of Glamis; but how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives, a prosperous gentleman; and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief, no more than to be Cawdor” (Shakespeare 312). Banquo is known as the real victim of the witches. After Banquo hears the prophecy of the witches that his sons will become kings he still does not believe them. He believes that he has eaten a root that is making him hallucinate and does not believe anything they tell him. (Shakespeare 313) Banquo says, “Are you sure we are talking about what we have seen here? Or have we eaten some plant root that makes us hallucinate.” Banquo also says to Macbeth: “but ‘tis strange; and oftentimes of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles. To betrays in deepest consequence” (Shakespeare 314). Shortly after they meet with the three witches they meet a messenger who tells Macbeth he is the Thane of Cawdor. When Banquo hears this he realizes the witches are right and
Over the course of the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, many minor characters contribute to Macbeth’s eventual downfall. The witches are one example of a significant source to Macbeth’s downfall. They deliver various prophecies to Macbeth, which he misinterprets and that cause him to change his behaviour and mindset. Duncan is also extremely influential in the downfall of Macbeth. This is displayed when Macbeth becomes mutinous after murdering Duncan for the throne. Ultimately, Macduff is critical to Macbeth’s downfall due to the fact that he murdered Macbeth. This not only ended Macbeth’s life, but his reign over Scotland as well. Although there are many minor characters in the play, the witches, Duncan and Macduff are three of the most significant to Macbeth’s death.
“The witches predict that Macduff may harm Macbeth. The prediction becomes the catalyst again and makes Macbeth decide to murder Macduff’s family in order to make sure his own safety. Apparently he’s determination is continuously becoming stronger. He no longer struggles with moral justice and this is when Macbeth’s ambition reaches a climax” (Blind ambition kills).