witches

• witches ambition

  • act 1 scene 3
  • “ all hail, macbeth, that shalt be king hearafter!”
  • the witches manipulate macbeth by playing on his secret ambition to become king and by planting the idea of murder in his mind
  • they give the impression they can foretell the future and control fate
• supernatural

  • act 4 scene 1
  • “how now, you secret, black and midnight hags”
  • macbeths desperation to cling onto his power leads him back to the witches
  • he hopes he can manipulate his supernatural fate to suit his desires
  • references to “midnight“ and “black“ links to the recurring theme motif of evil
• violence

  • act 4 scene 1
  • “by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes”
  • the violent imagery of pricking thumbs is used by the witches to show how they can sense macbeths evil presence is nearby
  • the riddle and thyme are used to befuddle macbeths mind for the seconed time
• guilt

  • “be these juggling fiends no more believed“
  • macbeth finally realised that the witched have been deceiving him
  • the guilt he will feel at this revelation comes too late to save him from his fate
• false appearance

  • “ fair is foul and foul is fair”
  • this confusing paradox is said by the witches at the start to establish how the okay will go against nature and question our notions of what is real and what is false
• “in thunder, lightning or in the rain”

  • shows their association to the super natural
  • sets the eerie tone of their presence
  • indicates they have control over natural forces
  • they thrive in chaotic events
• “by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes”

  • ominous tome created through the chant
  • impending danger/evil approaching
  • foreshadowing