Act 1 Scene 3


Scene Summary 


The witches appear before Macbeth and Banquo.


 They call Macbeth ‘Thane of Cawdor’ and tell him he will be King.  They tell Banquo that his descendents will be kings.


 After this, Macbeth learns from Ross that he is to be made Thane of Cawdor. 


A heath near Forres. Thunder. Enter the ThreeWitches


FIRSTWITCH Where hast thou been, sister?


SECONDWITCH Killing swine.


THIRDWITCH Sister, where thou?


FIRSTWITCH A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap, And munched, and munched, and munched: 'Give me,' quoth I:


'Aroint thee,1 witch!' the rump-fed ronyon2 10


But in a sieve I'll thither sail,5 And, like a rat without a tail, I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do.6


SECONDWITCH I'll give thee a wind.


FIRSTWITCH Thou art kind.


THIRDWITCH And I another.


FIRSTWITCH I myself have all the other,7 And the very ports they blow, All the quarters8


I' the shipman's card.9 I will drain him dry as hay:10


7


the other: power over all the other winds


8 quarters: sections of a compass 9 shipman’s card: sailor’s chart


that they know 10


dry as hay: The sailor will be thirsty because the winds will prevent him pulling into port and getting water.


11 cries. Her husband's to Aleppo3 gone, master o' the Tiger:4


Macbeth begins to imagine that the witches’ prophecy may come true and that he will become King.


1 Aroint thee: Go away


2 rump-fed ronyon: overfed hag 3 Aleppo: City in Syria


4 5


master o’ theTiger: captain of the Tiger (a ship)


in a sieve I’ll thither sail: It was believed that witches could sail in sieves.


6 I’ll do: I’ll do him harm/I’ll harm him


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