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‘Double double toil and trouble/Fire burn and cauldron bubble‘ is a rhyming couplet from Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, chanted by the supernatural three witches. It is among the most quoted lines from Shakespeare, mainly because of its sing-song rhythm and its rhyming. The witches represent pure evil.
- Summary of Double, Double Toil and Trouble
- Context of Double, Double Toil and Trouble
- Structure of Double, Double Toil and Trouble
- Literary Devices in Double, Double Toil and Trouble
- Analysis of Double, Double Toil and Trouble
- Historical Context
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At first reading, this song arouses a sense of fear and disturbance in the mind. The three witches, one of the strategic dramatic devices used by Shakespeare in ‘Macbeth’, sing this song while making a potion to call the dark forces. This song introduces the ingredients that the witches are using to make this potion in their cauldron. Each element ...
This song of the witches, ‘Double, Double Toil and Trouble’, appears in Act 4, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. In the previous acts of the play, Macbeth has killed both the king, Duncan, and his friend Banquo for the lust for power. After committing such sinful acts, he is still restless and anxious. For this reason, he seeks the witches’ help....
This Witches’ song has a total of three movements. While making the dark-solution to call the spirit of Hecate and others, they sing this song. Firstly, the song begins with the introduction of the preliminary ingredients. Then the three sisters sing together, “Double, double toil and trouble …” It signifies that the first step is done and now they...
There are several literary devices in this song. In “Double, Double Toil and Trouble“, Shakespeare uses a palilogy. Apart from that, there is a repetition of the “d” sound and the “t” sound. These are examples of alliteration. In the first section of the song, there is a personification in the line, “Round about the cauldron go.” Thereafter, in “ch...
Section One
In Act 4 Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, the audience can see a cavern. The middle of the stage shows a boiling cauldron. A cauldron is a big pot that is used for boiling something. Thereafter, with the sound of the thunder, the three witches enter the stage. The sound effect along with the setting of the stage depicts that something eerie is going to happen. Even what the witches say on stage is clouded with terror and sensationalism. After gathering on the stage, they start singing the...
Section Two
In the second section of ‘Double, Double Toil and Trouble’, the second witch adds some disturbing elements to the potion. These are fillet of a swamp snake, newt’s eye, frog’s toe, bat’s wool, dog’s tongue, adder’s forked tongue, blind-worm’s sting, lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing. Such ingredients, according to the second witch, enhances the charm of the powerful solution. Here, she compares it with the “hell-broth”. It’s another metaphor for Macbeth’s mind. Here, Shakespeare says that hell d...
Section Three
In the third section of the witches’ song, the third witch takes the lead. She sings and adds the following ingredients to the pot. These are a dragon’s scale, wolf’s tooth, witches’ mummy, and the gullet and stomach of a shark. Moreover, they have to add a root of hemlock that was dug up in the dark. Along with that, they must add a Jew’s liver, a goat’s bile, a few twigs of yew broken off during a lunar eclipse, a Turk’s nose, and a Tartar’s lips. The last element disturbingly enhances the...
The witches and their mysterious activities in ‘Macbeth’may seem absurd at times. But their remarks add a different texture to the plot of the play. In the beginning, the witches create a tense and gloomy atmosphere that sustains till the end. Shakespeare uses them as a dramatic device and inserts them in critical situations. As an example, in the ...
In William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, there are several sections that heighten the dramatic integrity and intensity as well. As an example, the following soliloquiesof Macbeth give readers some clues to understand the character better. 1. “Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me”– This soliloquyof Macbeth illustrates how his lust and greed dragged him...
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In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg and howlet's wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg and owlet's wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Nov 21, 2023 · Double, double toil and trouble can refer to the witches' equivocation, or use of double meanings to obscure the truth. It can also be read as a curse upon Macbeth. Why do the witches...
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- What is the famous quote that the witches say when they are making their stew?"Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble." This is the well-known refrain in the witches' speech. They chant these words as...
- Why do the witches say, "double, double toil and trouble"?They are casting a spell and admitting that there is duplicity in the things they say. Much of what they say has a double meaning.
The three witches, casting a spell. Round about the cauldron go; In the poison’d entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone. Days and nights hast thirty one. Swelter’d venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Learn the meaning and context of the famous witches' spell from Shakespeare's Macbeth. Find out how they use poisoned ingredients, tetrameter, and rhyme to curse Macbeth with toil and trouble.
