Similes In Macbeth

In Act 1, Scene III of Macbeth, the three witches open the scene. One is killing pigs while another is promising to make a sailor's life miserable because his wife did not share her chestnuts with the witch. Shakespeare employs similes, repetition, and rhyme to demonstrate the power of the supernatural and its control over the characters’ fate. To begin with, Shakespeare uses several similes to illustrate the evil intentions of the witches. In line ten, Shakespeare reveals the malice as one of the witches promises to haunt a man while he is sailing, taking the appearance “like a rat without a tail”(10). The witch is full of hatred to mankind; her angry outburst reveals her true nature. Furthermore, in line nineteen, the witch discloses the

In line five, the first witch expresses her anger at the woman who refused to share chestnuts while she went “and munch’d, and munch ‘d, and munch’d”(5). By repeating the word “munch’d,” Shakespeare demonstrates the annoyance the witch experiences when someone refuses to fulfill her desires. In line eleven, the first witch professes that she will destroy the man, repeating “I’ll do, I’ll do, I’ll do”(11), making his life miserable. Through the repetition of the phrase, “I’ll do,” the witch professes her determination and utter dedication to ruin the sailor, all because of an instance with chestnuts. Therefore, through the use of repeating words and phrases, Shakespeare divulges the wicked nature of the witches and their hatred toward the human

It appears that the witches use the language to confuse the characters and send them away from righteousness. Rhyme scheme appears six times between lines four and twenty-eight. For example, the last word in both lines nine and ten rhymes as “sail” rhymes with “tail,” as if predicting that the sailor’s trip will end up in disaster. Moreover, the last word in both lines nineteen and twenty rhyme as “hay” rhymes with “day,” as if suggesting that the sailor’s future will be dry and will not see the next day. Finally, in lines twenty-six and twenty-seven, the last words “lost” and tost” also rhyme, suggesting the demise of the sailor. Thus, the rhyme scheme highlights the cruel aspirations of the witches. It also reminds one of the ancient spells that witches cast upon humans. Hence, in Act I, Scene III, Shakespeare relies upon similes, repetition, and rhyme to portray the evil nature of the witches and their desires to ruin the characters’ destinies in his Macbeth.

Theatrical Explication Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act I, Scene III features the three witches discussing the fate of a sailor because his wife decided to keep the chestnuts to herself, rather than to share them with the witch. When the first witch explains the circumstances to the two