the witches 1

• Shakespeare couples their introduction with pathetic fallacy, enrobed with "thunder and lightning" - the atmosphere is volatile and ominous.
• Shakespeare opens the play in media res (mid-plot) as it seems the witches' conversation is drawing to a close ("When shall we three meet again?").

  • Immediately establishes a sense of mystery and secrecy.
• They chant the paradoxical phrase "fair is foul and foul is fair" which foreshadows the overarching theme of appearances vs. reality which endures throughout the rest of the play.
• [ "Fair is foul and foul is fair" ]

  • Frictive 'f' sound is menacing.
  • Shakespeare uses a confounding example of epanados to set up an oxymoron that conveys the ambiguity of their prophecies.
• The witches speak in trochaic tetrameter, which is distinct from the iambic pentameter characters that noble characters speak in throughout the play.

  • This gives their speech an eerie songlike quality.
• Banquo later refers to the witches as "instruments of darkness" suggesting their evil musicality, perhaps showing how their words are almost hypnotic for Macbeth.
• The witches physiognomy exposes them as inhumane and evil.

  • Banquo is portrayed as perceptive as it was believed he was an ancestor of King James, thus this is a form of indirect flattery.
• The witches also have "beards", throughout the text masculinity is synonymous with having power, thus this description imbues them with a threatening dominance.
• Keywords:

  • oxymoronic, duplicitous, deceitful, malevolent, anti-trinity, and ominous.
• Anti-trinity:

  • The holy trinity is made up of three different aspects of God - the father, the son, and the holy spirit.
  • Witches are agents of the devil and evil, therefore they are the anti-trinity.
• The witches' conflicting language is notable throughout the entirety of the play, reinforcing their deceitful and duplicitous intentions.
• Macbeth's first line in the play echoes the paradoxical language of the witches: "so foul and fair a day I have not seen".

  • Macbeth is instantly introduced as malleable and susceptible to their malevolent schemes.
  • His words emulate that of the witches before their first interaction, alluding to how he has an innate sense of unchecked evil he is unable to control.
• Topic sentence:

  • (media-res) For Shakespeare's contemporaries, this would elicit a fearful sense of intrigue.
• Topic sentence:

  • The witches' cadence of speech, paired with their archetypal presentation, is reflective of their duplicitous and deceitful nature.
• Topic sentence:

  • Macbeth is represented as submissive to the malevolent entity of the witches.
• Topic sentence:

  • Foreshadowing Macbeth's downfall will be synonymous with his interference with the supernatural.