Macbeth banquo act scene witches battle time introduces

Text	How does Act 1 Scene 4 fit into Macbeth as a whole? This is the second time that we’ve met the Witches, and the second time that they’ve mentioned Macbeth, building a sense of anticipation for their forthcoming encounter. In Act 1, Scene 2, Macbeth is presented as a loyal warrior, a hero who fights valiantly on the battlefield to defend his country against invasion and treachery. Yet the association between Macbeth and the Witches introduces a different side to his character. The battle referred to by the Second Witch in Act 1, Scene 1 could be interpreted as not just a literal battle (the conflict raging between Scotland and Norway) but also a metaphorical battle: the battle for Macbeth’s soul. It’s significant, therefore, that Macbeth’s first words to the Witches – ‘So foul and fair a day I have not seen’ (1.3.38) – echo the Witches’ chant, ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair’, from Act 1, Scene 1 (l. 11). Banquo soon echoes the Witches, too, asking Macbeth, ‘Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear / Things that do sound so fair?’ (1.3.51–52). This allusion is loaded with dramatic irony: while Banquo perceives the Witches’ prophecies as ‘fair’, the audience is already aware things are not necessarily what they seem. Banquo introduces an element of doubt, too, by framing his observation within a question. The Witches’ paradox – which indicates that appearances can be deceiving – is central to the play and reverberates through the major characters. Take Lady Macbeth, for example: ‘look like th' innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't’ (1.5.65–66). When Macbeth and Banquo meet the Witches, their reactions give us an important insight into their personalities. Banquo is unafraid, but Macbeth ‘start[s]’ (1.3.51), or flinches, and ‘seems rapt’ (1.3.57), so mystified by their greeting that he is rendered speechless. Once he has regained his composure, he challenges the Witches to tell him more. They vanish, but it is not long before Macbeth finds that he is to become Thane of Cawdor – a ‘truth’ that immediately sets him wondering how the Witches’ final prophecy will come about, and losing himself in the ‘horrible imaginings’ (1.3.138) that will eventually lead to the murder of King Duncan. Later in the play, it is Macbeth who seeks out the Witches, cementing his willingness to give himself over to the ‘instruments of darkness’ (1.3.124).

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How does Act 1 Scene 4 fit into Macbeth as a whole?

This is the second time that we’ve met the Witches, and the second time that they’ve mentioned Macbeth, building a sense of anticipation for their forthcoming encounter. In Act 1, Scene 2, Macbeth is presented as a loyal warrior, a hero who fights valiantly on the battlefield to defend his country against invasion and treachery. Yet the association between Macbeth and the Witches introduces a different side to his character. The battle referred to by the Second Witch in Act 1, Scene 1 could be interpreted as not just a literal battle (the conflict raging between Scotland and Norway) but also a metaphorical battle: the battle for Macbeth’s soul. It’s significant, therefore, that Macbeth’s first words to the Witches – ‘So foul and fair a day I have not seen’ (1.3.38) – echo the Witches’ chant, ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair’, from Act 1, Scene 1 (l. 11). Banquo soon echoes the Witches, too, asking Macbeth, ‘Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear / Things that do sound so fair?’ (1.3.51–52). This allusion is loaded with dramatic irony: while Banquo perceives the Witches’ prophecies as ‘fair’, the audience is already aware things are not necessarily what they seem. Banquo introduces an element of doubt, too, by framing his observation within a question. The Witches’ paradox – which indicates that appearances can be deceiving – is central to the play and reverberates through the major characters. Take Lady Macbeth, for example: ‘look like th' innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't’ (1.5.65–66).

When Macbeth and Banquo meet the Witches, their reactions give us an important insight into their personalities. Banquo is unafraid, but Macbeth ‘start[s]’ (1.3.51), or flinches, and ‘seems rapt’ (1.3.57), so mystified by their greeting that he is rendered speechless. Once he has regained his composure, he challenges the Witches to tell him more. They vanish, but it is not long before Macbeth finds that he is to become Thane of Cawdor – a ‘truth’ that immediately sets him wondering how the Witches’ final prophecy will come about, and losing himself in the ‘horrible imaginings’ (1.3.138) that will eventually lead to the murder of King Duncan. Later in the play, it is Macbeth who seeks out the Witches, cementing his willingness to give himself over to the ‘instruments of darkness’ (1.3.124).

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