Sunday, February 23, 2014

When will the three witches meet again?

The first Weird Sister asks this very question to open the play.  The second sister replies that they will meet again after the battles in which Macbeth and Banquo are fighting have concluded, as she says, "When the hurly-burly's done" (1.1.3).  The third sister replies that this will be at sunset.  The first sister asks where they will meet, and the second says that they will meet "Upon the heath" (1.1.7).  A heath is a type of grassy, shrubby field that is often found in Scotland.  It is upon on this field, then, that the Weird Sisters plan to meet with Macbeth, and this is the next time that they will all be together.  


When they do meet again, in Act, scene 3, they spend some time discussing what they've been up to since they last saw one another: general mischief making, some malicious killing of animals, and constructing of plans to exact revenge on the husband of a woman who would not share her nuts.  Then the sisters seem to cast a little "charm," dancing around and chanting in a circle until the moment when Macbeth and Banquo arrive (1.3.38).  

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