Act 4, Scene 1

Summary

• Witches call up apparitions, who give Macbeth 3 more prophecies

• Lennox tells Macbeth that Macduff fled to England

• Macbeth orders the murder or Lady Macduff and her children

Quotes

• Disgusting imagery - shows the horror of the witches

• Spell that means whoever drinks from the cauldron will experience double hard work and double trouble

• In Jacobean times, 'double’ also meant “deceptive”

• Could link to the fact that the witches tell half truths/speak in paradoxes

• Repetition of this line - creates an exciting and dark atmosphere and engages the audience

• ‘trouble’ - foreshadows Macbeth entering

• She feels a pain in her thumb which means something truly evil is coming

• ‘something’ - Macbeth is dehumanised

• ‘wicked’ - in reference to Macbeth - even the supernatural see him as wicked (shows how evil Macbeth has become)

• ‘wicked’ - ironic as the word has connotations to witches - they are supposed to be wicked themselves

• Irony shows how different Macbeth is now compared to how he was presented by others at the beginning of the play

• Asking them why they are here

• Imagery/symbolism

• ‘secret’ - Macbeth doesn’t know anything about them - emphasises the supernatural

• ‘secret’ - they share secrets with one another

• ‘black’ - connotations of evil - ironic that Macbeth calls them evil

• ‘midnight’ - darkest time of the day - emphasises evil

• ‘hags’ - old

• Short statement creates a tone that means the witches might be annoyed with Macbeth, as he is trying to control them and is being demanding

• Cryptic

• Doesn’t speak in iambic pentameter - similar to the witches - shows they are supernatural

• This scares Macbeth and makes him feel threatened - he decides that he will kill Macduff with no hesitation - he acts with impulsion and emotion

• Paradox - technically true but it tricks Macbeth

• Believe that killing Macduff will allow him to return to a state where he is able to sleep

• ‘thunder’ - metaphorically represents the state of his mind (e.g guilt)

• Macbeth is blinded by arrogance

• He still decides to kill Macduff “to be sure” - possibly just to fulfil his bloodlust rather than what he tells himself is the real reason (keep his position as king and rid of a threat)

• In response to the 3rd apparition’s prophecy

• Blinded by arrogance - leads him to be tricked

• Underestimates the witches - hasn’t learnt that they speak in paradoxes

• Still decides to kill Macduff even though he is now sure that he is safe - links to bloodlust, ambition, and corruption

• Demanding the witches to tell him more even though he knows enough

• Macbeth thinks he can command the supernatural - he is arrogant now that he is king

• ‘eternal curse’ - comedic and ironic - the witches could probably put an eternal curse on Macbeth (not the other way around)

• ‘curse’ - links to the supernatural - Macbeth’s eternal curse is death (happened due to his poor choices which were fuelled by the witches)

• Not speaking in iambic pentameter (shows his state of mind) - he is worked up as he cannot control the witches

• Insults the witches when what they show him isn’t what he wants to see

• Arrogant

• Thinks he can command them

• ‘two-fold balls’ - could represent the 2 coronations of James I

• Flattering James I

• Ironic as Macbeth trusts in the witches and immediately believed each thing they have had to say so far

• Parallelism - conveys the strong link between emotion and action

• As soon as he wishes to do something - he will do it

• Ambition

• Rejects the idea of procrastination

• Reflects on the need for action

Macbeth

• Arrogant in this scene

• Believes he can command the witches

• Demands security

• Only pays attention to the prophecies he wants to hear/interprets the prophecies how he wants to know them

• State of mind is being broken down

Supernatural

• All forms are speaking in trochaic tetrameter rather than iambic pentameter

• Witches and apparitions speak in paradoxes to trick Macbeth

First apparition - ‘[an armed head]’ - could foreshadow/represent Macbeth’s head after Macduff beheads him and shows it off

Second apparition - ‘[bloody child]’ - represents Macduff after he was ‘untimely ripped’ from the womb

Third apparition - ‘[crowned child with a tree in his hand]’ - represents Banquo’s descendents becoming king/young Malcolm carrying the trees of Birnham Wood to Dunsinane

• 8th King holds a glass (mirror) - shows that Banquo’s line of king’s stretches infinitely

• Could have also reflected James I - who was claimed to have believed to be a descendent of Banquo

• 8 kings could represent the 8 Stuart kings of Scotland