Scene
I
A desert place.
Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches.
First Witch
When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
Second Witch
When the hurlyburly's done,1
When the battle's lost and won.
Third Witch
That will be ere
the set of sun.2
First Witch
Where the place?
Second Witch
Upon the heath.3
Third Witch
There to meet with Macbeth.
First Witch
I come, Graymalkin!4
Second Witch
Paddock calls.
Third Witch
Anon.5
ALL
Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
Exeunt.
Footnotes
1 when the commotion on the battlefield is over.
2 "ere" means "before"
3 Heath is a shrubby, wooded area of vegetation.
4 Graymalkin is an affectionate
nickname for a gray cat. During the Renaissance, a common belief
was that Satan went witches spirits to help them carry out
evildoings. These impish spirits took animal form; the First
Witch's helper took form of a cat; the Second, of a toad
(Paddock), and the Third, a
harpy, a nasty creature in Greek mythology with
the head and body of a woman and talons of a bird.
5 Immediately!
Summary
Thunder and lightning crash above a Scottish moor. Three old women,
the witches, appear out of the storm. They make plans to meet again
by the heath (a woody, shrub-filled area) to confront Macbeth after
a battle. They then disappear back into the night fog.
Image:
Mike138
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Macbeth: Act 1, Scene 1
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lucyinthesky said – Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:07:47 -0000 ( Link )
Thanks! If you have any questions at all about Macbeth, please let me know. I’ll be glad to help in any way I can.
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lucyinthesky said – Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:12:17 -0000 ( Flag Edit Link )
Thanks Kemar! If you like this lesson, you can join my Learn Macbeth course! It’s free and you get to see every single scene from Macbeth. You can also find some lessons on tips for reading Shakespeare.