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Act 4, Scene 1

SummaryQuotesMacbethSupernatural

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

‘Eye of newt and toe of frog’ - First Witch


  • Disgusting imagery - shows the horror of the witches

‘Double, double toil and trouble’ - 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


‘By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes’ - Witch


  • 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


‘How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!’ - Macbeth


  • 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


‘A deed without a name.’ - Witches


  • 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


Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff; - First Apparition


  • 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


‘for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.’ - Second Apparition


  • Paradox - technically true but it tricks Macbeth


‘sleep in spite of thunder’ - 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)


‘Then live, Macduff; what need I fear of thee?’ - Macbeth


  • 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)


‘That will never be.’ - Macbeth


  • 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


‘Deny me this, and an eternal curse fall on you!’ - Macbeth


  • 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


‘Filthy hags!’ - Macbeth


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

  • Arrogant

  • Thinks he can command them


‘two-fold balls and treble scepters’ - Macbeth


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

  • Flattering James I


‘And damn'd all those that trust them!’ - Macbeth


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


‘The very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand’ - Macbeth


  • Parallelism - conveys the strong link between emotion and action

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

  • Ambition


‘purpose cool’ - Macbeth


  • 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


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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

‘Eye of newt and toe of frog’ - First Witch

  • Disgusting imagery - shows the horror of the witches

‘Double, double toil and trouble’ - 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

‘By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes’ - Witch

  • 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

‘How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!’ - Macbeth

  • 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

‘A deed without a name.’ - Witches

  • 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

Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff; - First Apparition

  • 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

‘for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.’ - Second Apparition

  • Paradox - technically true but it tricks Macbeth

‘sleep in spite of thunder’ - 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)

‘Then live, Macduff; what need I fear of thee?’ - Macbeth

  • 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)

‘That will never be.’ - Macbeth

  • 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

‘Deny me this, and an eternal curse fall on you!’ - Macbeth

  • 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

‘Filthy hags!’ - Macbeth

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

  • Arrogant

  • Thinks he can command them

‘two-fold balls and treble scepters’ - Macbeth

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

  • Flattering James I

‘And damn'd all those that trust them!’ - Macbeth

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

‘The very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand’ - Macbeth

  • Parallelism - conveys the strong link between emotion and action

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

  • Ambition

‘purpose cool’ - Macbeth

  • 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