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Jul 31, 2015 · Read the full text of Macbeth's meeting with the witches in Act 4, scene 1 of the play by Shakespeare. The witches summon three apparitions to warn Macbeth of his enemies and assure him of his power. Macbeth orders the apparitions to depart and discovers that Macduff has fled to England.
Macbeth encounters three witches and three apparitions in a cavern, who reveal his fate and destiny. He learns that he will not be harmed by any man born of woman, but by Macduff, and that he will not be defeated until Birnam wood moves to Dunsinane.
- Summary: Act 4: Scene 1
- Summary: Act 4: Scene 2
- Summary: Act 4: Scene 3
- Analysis: Act 4: Scenes 1–3
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In a dark cavern, a bubbling cauldron hisses and spits, and the three witchessuddenly appear onstage. They circle the cauldron, chanting spells and adding bizarre ingredients to their stew—“eye of newt and toe of frog, / Wool of bat and tongue of dog” (4.1.14–15). Hecate materializes and compliments the witches on their work. One of the witches the...
At Macduff’s castle, Lady Macduff accosts Ross, demanding to know why her husband has fled. She feels betrayed. Ross insists that she trust her husband’s judgment and then regretfully departs. Once he is gone, Lady Macduff tells her son that his father is dead, but the little boy perceptively argues that he is not. Suddenly, a messenger hurries in,...
Outside King Edward’s palace, Malcolm speaks with Macduff, telling him that he does not trust him since he has left his family in Scotland and may be secretly working for Macbeth. To determine whether Macduff is trustworthy, Malcolm rambles on about his own vices. He admits that he wonders whether he is fit to be king, since he claims to be lustful...
The witches are vaguely absurd figures, with their rhymes and beards and capering, but they are also clearly sinister, possessing a great deal of power over events. Are they simply independent agents playing mischievously and cruelly with human events? Or are the “weird sisters” agents of fate, betokening the inevitable? The word weird descends ety...
Macbeth meets the witches, who offer him prophecies of doom, and learns of Macduff's betrayal. Macduff joins Malcolm in England and vows revenge on Macbeth.
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Macbeth is visited by the witches in a cavern and is told to beware Macduff, Macduff's heirs, and a child with a crown and a tree. Hecate mocks him and the witches vanish, and he orders the apparitions to be conjured. Hecate returns and scolds him for his evil deeds.
A cavern. In the middle, a boiling cauldron. Thunder. Enter the three Witches. First Witch. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd. Second Witch. Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined. Third Witch.
Read the original and translated versions of Macbeth's encounter with the witches in a cavern. See the ingredients of their magic potion and their song "Black Spirits".
Read and listen to the original text and modern translation of Macbeth Act 4 Scene 1, where Macbeth meets the witches and asks them to reveal his fate. See the ingredients of the cauldron, the song of the witches, and Macbeth's conjuration.
