Macbeth Act 4, Scene 1

Macbeth Act 4, Scene 1

1. Second Witch: "By the pricking of my thumbs Something wicked this way comes" (trochaic)

   • suggests that the source of evil is not the witches themselves - attracted to the evil of powerful men, who can act and spread chaos
   • They are not "wicked"
     • It is Macbeth who is wicked
       • Most interpret "pricking of my thumbs" to refer to the sensation of sensing evil, like pins and needles - rather than her drawing her own blood to summon Macbeth
         • suggests Macbeth's wickedness is all his own: witches are not responsible
           • attracted to it because they aren't the agents of evil
   • Witches offer the chance to hear prophecies from their "masters"
     • Shakespeare does this to point out how powerless the witches are, because they have multiple masters
       • Also does it to show how, as women, they are still ruled by men in a patriarchal society
         • linking male control and power to the cause of tragedy
           • shows King James that the witches aren't evil, and shouldn't be punished in the real world
     • The masters are the only ones who can give Macbeth instructions, the witches cannot

2. Second Apparition: "Be bloody, bold and resolute; laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born (iambic) Shall harm Macbeth"

   • encourage Macbeth to feel invincible, and prove that he will never die in battle, as long as he trusts in them and not in "The power of man"
   • speek in trochaic tetrameter - shows they are different to rest of society
     • signifies evil
   • Just as the Macbeths power is only temporary the trochaic meter might simplpy suggests thtat they are treated as outsiders, without any real power to change fate
     • they simply use their knowledge to attack the most powerful in society
       • could be revenge for being excluded by the patriarchal society
         • Shakespeare could be attacking the patriarchy and pointing out how it damages women
     • "masters" speek in iambic meter
       • They do this because this symbolises power and status
         • suggsts the "masters" are not necessarily evil, otherwise they would use trochaic meter
           • simply tell the truth and prophsise what will happen
   • Focus on his bloodlust as his real harmatia
     • instruction is to be "bloody"
     • Belittle women, as even association with a women, being of "woman born" is enough to make them inferior to Macbeth
   • Criticises Patriarchy
     • to defeat Macbeth, Macduff sacrifices his wife, in order to gain the strength of his revenge
       • malcolm entirely rejects women in order to be a good king, remaining a virgin deliberately "unknown to woman"
   • Couplet delivered in eleven syllable lines - indicating Macbeth is being manipulated
     • Macbeth doesn't actually get manipulated - his later words prove he knows someone not "of woman born" will kill him, he just can't puzzle out who that is
       • Shakespeare conforms to Greek tradegy - actions he takes now, to avoid his fate, are the ones which directly lead to his own fated death
         • in order to "beware macduff"
           • he assasinates MacDuff's family - gives motive to kill Macbeth
             • Macduff refueses to fight anyone, his sword is "unsheathed" until he meets Macbeth
               • Macduff could have pruposefully left his family behind so he will get the motive and strength to killl Macbeth

3. Third Apparition: "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until (iambic) Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him"

   • Picks out Macbeth's second weakness - his insecurity and need for status
   • "High" is emphasised, first in the iambic foot, and secondly through alliteration with "hill"
     • flatters Macbeth by emphasing his high status
       • Works- he repeats it, describing himself as "high-placed Macbeth"
         • The third person shows us how important status is to him
   • Emphasis on "until" in this couplet also lets Macbeth know that he will be "vanquish'd" because "Birnam wood" will come up the hill
     • doesn't know how it could happen
       • refuses to believe it
         • Audience treat this as dramatic irony - they know the five act structure of a tradegy, and know his end is close

4. Macbeth: "I will be satisfied: deny me this, And an eternal curse fall on you!"

   • Witches are happy to leave, but Macbeth's wicked nature and evil intentions force the weird sisters to stay
     • they show him this image
       • The fact they actually stayed suggests they fear his "eternal curse", forces them to reveal Fleance's triumph through history
       • image includes King james
         • also shows line continuing after James, with many descendants
           • Shakespeare trying to please king James
             • Shakespeare is trying to reassure his insecurities about losing his throne, to Catholic plotting, or an assassination by one of the nobles at court
               • by dramatising how Macbeth's insecurity lead to tradegy and his own death, Shakespeare could be suggesting that James himself should avoid dealing with his insecurity by murdreing Catholics
       • he curses them anyway, once they show him the line of kings
         • Suggests macbeth is motivated by his legacy - rather than being king
           • This over ambitious desire reflects the level of his insecurity
             • most people would be happy to become king when fate decides, and not resort to murder

5. Macbeth: "from this moment The very firstlings of my heart shall be The firstlings of my hand"

   • Soliloquy to end the scene reveals that he wants to react purely on instinct
   • "firstings" - he will react to his first emotions - before rational thought can persuade him otherwise
     • knows fate will outwit him
   • repetition of "firstlings" gives us a strong clue at his undrelying emotion - word has connotations of first born
     • same semantic field as Lady's "babe" and her mother's "milk"
       • hints cause of her ambition and his bloodlust
         • All of this was a way of coping with grief at the death of their "firstling", their only child

6. Macbeth: "give to the edge o' the sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls That trace him in this line"

   • Macbeth decides to slaughter macduff's entire family, knowing Macduff will not be present
   • use of "babes rather than "children"
     • continues semantic field of his grief at the death of his own baby
       • marries this to "all ... That trace him in his line"
         • Macbeth wants revenge on fate, and the weird sisters, who have shown him Banquo's "line" strecthing to "the crack of doom"
           • childish emotion - transference - take our own feelings and give them to others
             • Macbeth had no descendants - makes sure Macduff also suffers in the same way - no descendatns to inherit his thane-hood
   • Element of worship
     • personifying "the sword" as a receiver of sacrifice
       • sword is like a god of slaughter
         • We can infer that macbeth has started to worship the act of killing - gets satisfaction from killing the innocent
           • Emphasises this innocence with "babes" and "souls"
             • Witches notice "something wicked" in Macbeth, and it appears to be his love of slaughter