Character of the Witches

Question 1

‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’

Answer 1

Act 1 Scene 1
They are agents of chaos and evil
Sets up the theme of deception and moral confusion
A paradox
Represent the unnatural world
They seem eerie and unnatural

Themes: Supernatural, Appearance vs. Reality, Evil, Chaos

Question 2

Trochaic tetrameter

Answer 2

Speech of the witches is spell-like
Differentiates them from the other characters

Question 3

‘All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis/ … Thane of Cawdor / … That shalt be King hereafter’

Answer 3

Act 1 Scene 3
The witches plant the idea of being King in Macbeths mind
They speak in riddles - never specifying to kill Duncan but tempt him with the result

Themes: Fate vs Free will (are they predicting that being king is Macbeths fate or are they acting on his ambition and therefore causing the future), Ambition

Question 4

‘Something wicked this way comes’

Answer 4

Act 4 Scene 1
Ironic - Witches are known as being some of the most evil characters and they view Macbeth as evil too
Shows Macbeth’s transformation
Represents the Jacobean fears of witchcraft and the unknown

Themes: Supernatural (Witchcraft), Evil

Question 5

‘None of woman born shall harm Macbeth’

Answer 5

Act 4 Scene 1
They use deceptive language
Creates a clever riddle which Macbeth cannot solve as the ambition hides the meaning
Gives Macbeth false confidence - assisted in his downfall
Sounds reassuring

Themes: Manipulation, Appearance vs. Reality, evil

Question 6

Dramatic device + moral warning

Answer 6

Jacobean audience would see them as morally corrupting as they tamper with fate
Witches frame the story

Theme: Evil, Supernatural, Unnatural disorder