After watching this scene the audience would have had a very negative view on witches, because in the beginning of this scene we are shown the gruesome ingredients that the witches put into the cauldron. It shows how inhumane the witches are, that they would go and get these ingredients in the first place. Ingredients such as the “Finger of a birth-strangled baby”, “Liver of blaspheming Jew”, “Nose of Turk, and Tartars lips”.
This scene develops our view on good and evil because we find out a lot more, we find out that evil is starting to prevail over good. This is the second time that Macbeth goes to see the witches for help and so we see that he is weak, and evil is overpowering good. The witches manipulate the king, he believes what the witches say, making him do evil things. This is the part in the play where the tragic hero has a fatal flaw. Macbeth is selfish, gullible and too ambitious and so the witches have picked the perfect person, Macbeth will believe everything they say, and if it is a good thing for Macbeth then he will do anything to make sure it comes true. On page 101, lines 49-57, we hear from Macbeth that he is so desperate to get answers from the witches, that he will do anything even if it involves the destruction of the churches, palaces, and crops of his people. We see that Macbeth is totally absorbed by the witches, and we hear him reject his people’s interests.
“Against the churches, though the yeasty waves confound and swallow navigation up, though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down, though castles topple on their warders’ heads, though palaces and pyramids do slope their heads to foundations, though the treasure of natures germen tumble altogether even till destruction sicken: answer me to what I ask you.”
(Act 4 Scene 1, lines 49-60)
When the Elizabethan audience had first seen this play they would have been appalled at Macbeths speech, as he is meant to be their leader, a strong and good man. Discarding their interests as unimportant must have put anger into the audiences’ minds.
Modern day stage affects will enhance and emphasise the important issues raised by the scene. When this scene was shown in front of an audience for the first time, the directors did not have access to advanced lighting, make-up, and sound effects, as it was not discovered.
Lighting in this scene would not matter much because not a lot is used, the scene is meant to have a dark and tense atmosphere. Not being able to see the witches clearly increases the tension and allows imagination. This scene can be improved and made a lot tenser by using sound effects. Maybe not using sound effects at all times but when there is silence, when no one is talking. Slow-moving music can be played and this should create a foreboding atmosphere.
Costumes that Macbeth and the witches could wear in this scene would give out messages to the audience. Their have been a lot of different versions of “Macbeth” made and in each one, Macbeth is wearing different sort of clothes.
Macbeth could be dressed in black, in the same colours that the witches are dressed in. this shows that they are both evil that good and evil are the same thing that “fair is foul and foul is fair”. Macbeth is wearing blue and white in one of the versions of the play because they are royal colours, and they are the colours of Scotland. In an animated version of “Macbeth”, the animators have drawn Macbeth wearing armour in this scene, showing him looking hero-like. If I were to stage this play, In this scene I would dress Macbeth in black clothes as it gives out the best message, that he is turning towards the evil, with good behind him.
In all three versions the witches have been dressed in very little clothes, if any. They have been dressed in dirty, old rags. The witches don’t wear normal clothes as humans do, they don’t follow convention, and they are not human. I would obviously do the same; I would make the witches look as much inhumane as possible, I would try and make them look as outcasts, as they are nothing like the humans, they are not good. This is why dressing Macbeth in the same coloured clothes as the witches is a good idea because it shows that he is moving towards the path of evil.
In the beginning of Act 4 Scene 1 the witches are making a potion, throwing in gruesome ingredients, and whilst doing so, they chant rhymed spells. The impact, which the rhymed spells that the witches chant have on us, is that they remind us that the witches are supernatural. It is mysterious, and because it is rhymed it helps the audience remember what has been put in the cauldron, it also makes the whole thing look more like an evil ritual.
Whilst the witches are speaking their lines they could be walking around the cauldron, dropping in the ingredients as they say their lines. I think that if the witches were dancing around the cauldron it will have a more dramatic effect on the audience because it will again remind the audience that the witches are performing an evil ritual.
In this part of the play the witches repeat the lines:
“Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble”
(Act 4 Scene 1)
This part is repeated three times, whilst adding the ingredients. In the content of the lines, contains the word “trouble”, this is what they want to create, repeating these lines emphasises this.
The witches should appear old, ugly, and inhumane, witches are meant to be evil, they are not human, and so they should not appear it.
At the end, after the witches have made their potion, the second witch says:
“By the pricking of my thumbs”
(Act 4 Scene 1, line 44)
This line should follow a silence to create suspense. Lots of suspense is needed in this scene as it is one that the witches appear in, and it had to frighten the Elizabethan audience, or engage them into the play.
When Macbeth enters, and is greeted by the witches, the first thing he says is:
“How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags! What is’t you do?”
(Act 4 Scene 1, lines 47-48)
He says it in a very confident tone of voice. The impact he is attempting to have on the witches is to make them feel scared of him, to fear him, he says like this so that the witches listen to him.
During this speech, that follows his opening lines, Macbeth refers to churches, castles, palaces, and crops. The four things, which really matter to the people of his country and Macbeth disregards it, just so that he can save himself, through getting predictions the witches make.
The people need the crops to survive; it is there main source of food. The people need the churches because it is their holy place, where they pray to God for help. The original audience would be appalled at this time because religion in those times was the most important thing. Crops was very important, without them, they would be dead, so the audience will be disappointed, that their king does not care bout the people.
The speech develops Macbeth as a tragic hero because it tells us how far Macbeth will go to get his way. He will throw away everything just for himself. Macbeth enters and challenges them to answer the questions that he asks, irrespective of the most appalling consequences.
Macbeth is shown three apparitions. The apparitions suggest that Macbeth “Beware Macduff. Beware the Thane Of Fife”. The second apparition tells Macbeth “None of woman born shall harm Macbeth” and the third apparition tells him that he “Shall never vanquish be until Great Birnam wood to High Dunsinane hill shall come against him”. The actor playing Macbeth should respond to the apparitions in the following way; after the first apparition has giving his prediction, Macbeth gives his thanks but still wants to know more. After the second apparition has said his speech Macbeth becomes selfish. He knows now that he does not need to kill Macduff but he wants to make doubly sure that he will not be harmed, and says to himself that Macduff must die. After hearing from the third apparition, Macbeth becomes confident that he will live, as he knows that Great Birnam wood cannot get up and move to Dunsinane hill, but still Macbeth wants to know more, as he pleads them not to leave at the end of the scene.
The first apparition should be “an armed head”, warning Macbeth of Macduff. The second apparition should be “a bloody child” telling Macbeth “no man born of woman” shall harm him. The third apparition is “a child crowned, with a tree in his hand”.
At this point of the scene the witches have control, as they do not have to listen to what Macbeth says, they have completely absorbed him. For the original audience they would have either seen the apparitions as puppets or the actors could have apperared through a trap door. Although this is not very effective, the Elizabethan audience had genuine fear and a lot of imagination. Whereas a modern day audience are not so good at imagining for themselves, they want to see a ready interpretation, such as animation or computer generated images.
The first witch states in lines that:
“Ay, sir, all this is so. But why stands Macbeth thus amazedly? Come, sisters, cheer we up his sprites”
(Act 4 Scene 1, lines 124-125)
This suggests that the witches knew Macbeth would be surprised but they act stupid and ask him why. The witch could say this in a happy tone of voice, and give a chuckle at the end of her lines because they are giving Macbeth his answers in riddles, yet he does not know this.
Macbeth responds to the disappearance of the witches in anger, he wants them to stay and tell him more.
Macbeth shouts “come in, without there!” just as the witches leave, and when Lennox enters he asks him “saw you the weird sisters?” These phrases suggest that Macbeth does not want anyone to know about his meetings with the witches, he plays dumb and asks Lennox if he had seen the weird sisters, making out as though he is seeing things. When Macbeth shouts out for the witches, on line 132, he should be shouting, with anger, as though he has no control over them. When Lennox enters and Macbeth asks his question, on line 134, Macbeth should completely change his tone of voice, asking him the question as you would ask any question.
The phrases that describe Macbeths attitude towards the witches are “pernicious hour” and “accursed calendar”. The audience may have considered these ironic because this is the time where everything goes wrong and Macbeth becomes mental, doing anything to keep himself alive, Macbeth resolves to kill every member of Macduff’s family he can catch. At the end of the scene, Macbeth commands:
“Give to th’edge o’th’ sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line”.
(Act 4 Scene 1, lines 150-152)
After listening to Macbeth saying this, the audience would see Macbeth as mad, selfish, stupid, foolish, and evil.
This scene would have changed our view of Macbeth because he is taking advice from witches for the second time; he is going so that he can keep his position as king. The witches tell him to “beware Macduff” but they also say that no harm will come upon him until Burnim wood comes to Dunsinane hill, which he says is impossiable but just incase he will kill Macduff and his family, so he is going over the top and becoming selfish.
In act 5 scene 5 Macbeth states:
“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and than is herd no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing”.
(Act 5 Scene 5, lines 23-27)
This shows Macbeths attitude towards life - he thinks nothing of it. This is ironic, as these ideas link to act 4 Scene 1, because in this scene he will do anything to keep his life but he discards the lives of others without a thought.
In my view a modern audience would see Macbeth as a tragic hero. I think the same as he was ruined by a group of witches. I think this because Macbeth was a strong and good man at one point
Hammad Naveed
