How did Macbeth respond to the prophecies made by the witches?

GCSE English

ACT 4: SCENE 1

1.How did Macbeth respond to the prophecies made by the witches?

Macbeth went to the witches for some answers but the witches didn’t give him any straight answers but rather what they did was that they had made a spell and had made their ‘masters’ (L62) appear in apparitions foretelling and representing the future.

Macbeth after seeing the first apparition of an armed head telling him to beware of Macduff, Macbeth said that he had already had his fears on Macduff so he was right, and now it has confirmed his suspicions and now he will listen to the apparitions with truth as he thinks that they will tell him the truth as they have already did. But the apparitions deceive Macbeth with their words.

The second apparition appeared and Macbeth with more confidence treated it with arrogant familiarity- (‘Call ‘em, let me see ‘em’ L63- and making an off hand joke about their ritual address to him- ‘Had I three ears, I’d hear thee,’) the second apparition said that Macbeth had no fear of any man born of a woman. Now Macbeth immediately relaxes his tension and declares in a carefree manner that Macduff can’t harm me so why am I afraid? And so in that way although the first apparition harped his fears the second one strengthened his confidence to a Superman style.

On the third apparition you can detect the ever-increasing confidence as now he is mocking the apparition itself! (L86-88-What is this, that rises like the issue of a king…’)

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On the third apparition you can detect the ever-increasing confidence as now he is mocking the apparition itself! (L86-88-What is this, that rises like the issue of a king…’)

The third apparition increased the confidence of Macbeth by a lot as it said that Macbeth should never be defeated till Birnam Wood goes to Dunsianne Hill. Now Macbeth with his new found security and arrogance leaps to the more obvious but incorrect, conclusions the more readily because it is what he wanted to hear and that is what Hecate had foretold. Now he has taken in every detail as a good omen but he still wants a last ditch effort in thinking the prophecies of Banquo made at the start of the play was false. Macbeth still thinks that he can control the witches- (L103-104 ‘I will be satisfied. Deny me this and an eternal curse fall on you. Let me know!) And demands that they answer his question about Banquo’s descendants in a desperate hope that they will change their original prediction as Fleance had got away. But as the line of Kings grew longer his confidence fell and realized that his reign would be barren. He is filled with anguish and with despair.

Macbeth can only curse the witches and (‘all those who trust them,’L139) which of course includes himself. So at first the apparitions and prophecies filled him with relief and confidence but only to be replaced with a flood of alarm and disappointment.

2.What is Macbeth’s state of mind at the end of the Scene?

Macbeth’s mind at the end of the scene is one that is full of turmoil as his mind will be boiling over on what to do and whom to trust as he know although the witches is not to blame in causing him to have no descendants but still thinks that the witches will have some power to affect the future as he thinks that the witches have put a spell on him from dying but will have no descendants. And so as Lenox said to him that Macduff has fled to England, in his mind Macbeth, although thinks he know that Macduff can’t kill him but still now it proves that he is being very paranoid and wants to kill someone that the witches said can’t kill him.

Also in his mind he resolved to do whenever he thinks of something. This is also ironic as now he is obsessed by the sterility of his own reign his only relief is in taking equally sterile action, action that cuts off from further thinking- (L149 ‘be it thought and done,’)

And so his last thoughts in the scene were that he is determined to have immediate action against Macduff’s family. And his state of mind in one word to describe it is ‘reckless’ in doing anything it wanted and so will be very dangerous and troubled.