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Macbeth
The Witches
Supernatural
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Cards (12)
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Act 1 Scene 1) Technique
Chiasmus
&
Paradox
the reversal of ideas mirrors the theme of moral inversion
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Act 1 Scene 1) Analysis
Inverts moral order, setting the play’s theme of
chaos
.
Suggests things are not what they seem.
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Act 1 Scene 1) AO3
Reflects the fear of
witchcraft
and subversion of natural order in the 1600s.
Jacobean
audiences feared witches & saw them as agents of the
devil
.
This chant signals a world where moral order is upside-down — a terrifying concept in an era of
divine right
and strict morality.
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Act 1 Scene 1) Character
Mysterious
and
threatening
, they embody
disorder.
The
witches
are not just
mystical
– they manipulate
reality.
They set the tone for Macbeth’s journey into
confusion
and
destruction.
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Act 1 Scene 1) Effect on Audience
Unsettling
It builds dramatic tension, suggesting that
everything
will be corrupted.
“None of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” (Act 4 Scene 1) Technique
Prophetic Language
/
Paradox
- sounds reassuring but is misleading
“None of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” (Act 4 Scene 1) AO3
Elizabethan
audiences feared
prophecy
and manipulation.
The
witches
deliver ambiguous truths to trap Macbeth. Audiences at the time would see this as demonic trickery
“None of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” (Act 4 Scene 1) Character
They obscure fate with riddles, showing how fate can be deceiving
Macbeth takes it literally, giving him false confidence. His overreliance on prophecy is his fatal flaw (
hamartia
)
“None of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” (Act 4 Scene 1) Effect on Aud
Builds dramatic irony—we know this
prophecy
will
twist
and destroy him.
“All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! ... Thane of Cawdor! ... that shalt be king hereafter!” (Act 1, Scene 3) Technique
Tricolon
and
Prophetic Tone
– build Macbeth’s confidence in his ambition
“All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! ... Thane of Cawdor! ... that shalt be king hereafter!” (Act 1, Scene 3) Context
Witches
were believed to tempt people into sin, echoing
Eve’s
temptation
“All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! ... Thane of Cawdor! ... that shalt be king hereafter!”
(Act 1, Scene 3) Character
Dangerous manipulators who awaken Macbeth’s inner desires