Act 1, scene 1″Fair is foul, and foul is fair” | – “fair is foul” means that what seems genuine is in fact evil, while “foul is fair” inversely means that what appears negative is actually positive. |
Act 1, scene 1″When the battle’s lost and won.” | – contradiction in the statement shows unnatural- they have no alliances to either side of the men, it is the same to them either way which would have been unsettling to a Jacobean audience |
Act 4, scene 1″Double, double, toil and trouble” | – trochaic tetrameter contrasts with standard iambic pentameter spoken by nobles- shows that they are supernatural and separate- they predict that Macbeth is in double the danger now |
Act 4, scene 1″By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.” | – The witches prepare for Macbeth’s arrival by mixing an unnatural brew in the cauldron. – During their incantation, one makes this pronouncement on impending evil (Macbeth). |
English Literature Macbeth Quotes – The Weird Sisters
January 2, 2020