Macbeth - Witches influence

Question 1

Act 1, scene 3

Macbeth’s first line in the play echoes the witches’ paradoxical statement from Scene 1: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” This suggests he is already under their influence.

Answer 1

“So foul and fair a day I have not seen.”

Question 2

Act 1, Scene 3

This is the first prophecy the witches give to Macbeth. It plants the idea of kingship in his mind, which fuels his ambition and begins his moral decline.

Answer 2

“All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis. All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor. All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter.”

MB is captivated and entranced.

Question 3

Act 1, scene 3

This prophecy to Banquo—that his descendants will be kings—creates tension and paranoia in Macbeth, eventually leading him to order Banquo’s murder.

Answer 3

“Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.”

Equivocal - Ambiguous
Juxtaposition

Question 4

Act 4, scene 1

Spoken by the Second Witch as Macbeth approaches them again. This line shows how Macbeth has become so corrupted by their influence that even the witches now regard him as wicked. Of the same evil that they are.

Answer 4

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”

Question 5

Act 4, scene 1

One of the apparitions warns Macbeth, fueling his paranoia and leading him to order the slaughter of Macduff’s family, escalating his tyranny and downfall.

Answer 5

“Beware Macduff; beware the Thane of Fife.”

Question 6

Act 4, scene 1

This prophecy gives Macbeth a false sense of invincibility, which leads him to act recklessly and underestimate Macduff—who ultimately kills him.

Answer 6

“Be bloody, bold and resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.”