Macbeth
The three witches
This play is practically introduced by the three witches, and from the very start
we intuit that they’ll play a very important role in the story. They already know
what’s going to happen (“When the battle’s lost and won”, “There to meet with
Macbeth”, “Fair is foul and foul is fair”).
Furthermore, they speak in ambiguous, apparently meaningless words, in such
a way to first of all confuse those in front of them, and then let them interpret
their sentences. Everyone understands what they want to understand.
The scene is set in a dark, remote place. The audience doesn’t know from the
beginning where the tragedy takes place (as it happens instead in the Prologue
of Romeo and Juliet). Furthermore, the adverse climatic conditions (thunder
and lightning) underline the fact that witches are supernatural beings and,
generally, evil.
In the final couplet the witches anticipate the story to the spectators (even if
they aren’t able to understand it yet): I’m referring to the sentence “Fair is foul
and foul is fair”. “Fair”, meaning King Duncan, the righteous and good, will be
killed by Macbeth, the villain, and Macbeth is crowned king in his place, so he
becomes a sort of “fair” (meaning king, somebody who should be fair, good and
righteous).
In the second line we read something very strange. In fact, the first witch asks
where they shall meet again, and says “in thunder, lightning or in rain” as if
they were a specific place. Then we find something similar in the third line.
Because the second witch says “when the hurly-burly is done”, as if it were a
specific time.
On the fourth line we find an oxymoron (“the battle’s lost and won”).
On the fifth line we find the alliteration of the sound “s”.
In the final couplet we find the alliteration of the sound “f” in “filthy and foggy”.
Sleep no more
In this scene Macbeth comes back to his wife after killing King Duncan in his
sleep. We can see clearly how Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s reactions differ
from each other, and also how their moods are different.
