macbeth: the supernatural, fate and free will

Witches: ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair’ (1.1)

Fine line between right and wrong also hints at their equivocation

Third Witch: ‘All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter’ (1.3)

Macbeth was destined to be king and didn’t have to take drastic action to get there

Macbeth: ‘Why do I yield to that suggestion/Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair’ (1.3)

He is physically stressed by his ambition yet still chooses to commit regicide

Banquo: ‘The instruments of darkness tell us truths’ (1.3)

He is warning Macbeth about the foolishness and the secrecy surrounding the witches

Second Apparition: ‘none of woman born/shall harm Macbeth’ (4.1)

The witches use of equivocation here is fatal, highlighting how they should have never been trusted