In this scene the withes are talking about their mischievous doings, then Macbeth and Banquo meet the Witches in the heath. They think they are otherworldly, and the first thing the witches say to them is that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and then become king- however they also tell Banquo that his sons will be kings- this cuases some tension….. Then after the witchs have gone Rosse and Angus tell Macbeth he is now the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth then starts fantasizing about the possibilities and decides to do nothing and leave it up to fate.
Quote: “cannot be ill; cannot be good: if ill, why hath it given me earnest of success, commencing the truth? I am the Thane of Cawdor: if good why do I yield to that suggestion, whose horrid image doth unfix my hair.” Macbeth thinking it cant be bad because it is for good things (like Thane of Cawdor) but cant be good because the very idea is treason…..
Quote: “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir.” Macbeth hoping that he will become king without doing anything. ( being a noble man, not wanting to commit treason…)
In this scene the effects of prophecy are clear. When told he will be Thane of Cawdor and then king, he probably doesn’t believe them. But when they are correct about him becoming Thane, he starts to believe. Even though he decides to do nothing and let fate do its job, its impossible to pretend he doesn’t know, so his actions will be influenced. Either he will unconsciously try and become king, or he will relax and slack off. Either way, I think the witches plan was to mess up his life, and this is the start of his downfall.
This play is a tragedy, so we already know people are going to die because of their own flaws and actions- most likely in a very undignified, gruesome or sad way! Because we know this, I can predict that the idea of becoming king is slowly going to eat away at Macbeths mind until it starts to influence him badly, leading him to distrust his friends (like Banquo, whos sons will be kings), commit treason, eventually losing his dignity and leaving him dead.
