Macbeth- Act IV (in progress)

Scene One:

• Immediately we are introduced to alot of gothic elements in this scene. The thunder is a typical gothic setting- bad weather.
• The three witches appear to be reciting an incantation, creating potions and spells. This would have been shocking to audiences when this play was written (early seventeenth century) because witchcraft was feared and many women accused were burnt. To actually hear the chants would have made a big impact. 'hell-broth...Fire burn... Finger of birth-strangled babe'. The image of the murdered child is yet another example of the death of a child. (When Lady Macbeth describes how she would kill her own child, and the murder of Macduff's son later on in the act). The witches use alot of language relating to evil or language that conjures up unpleasant imageries. It shows further how nasty the company is that Macbeth is meeting with (willingly, now).
• 'Something wicked this way comes'. When the second witch exclaims that Macbeth is arriving, it could be reflecting how his morality is pretty much non-existent now.
• Another gothic element present in this scence are the the apparitions arrive. One of which is a 'Bloody Child', which could foreshadow the coming murder of Macduff's son. This apparitions says how nobody will harm Macbeth, except one who is not human- 'none of woman born'.
• After the third apparition, one of Macbeth's sections of speech (Lines 93-100), he begins to speak in rhyme. The same rhythm of the witches suggest how similarly evil Macbeth is to the witches. It almost sounds like one of their chants.