Macbeth The Supernatural Quotes Page 4

Hecate orders the witches to conjure "artificial sprites" (apparitions) to confuse Macbeth and instill him with a false sense of "security" that will ensure his downfall. If the witches already know Macbeth's fate, why do they bother tricking him?

By now you've probably noticed that the weird sisters tend to speak in a way that sets them apart from all the other characters in the play. This passage may be their most famous utterance, by the way, and it's typical of their speech pattern. Here, each line has eight beats or, syllables. The two lines also form what's called a "rhymed couplet," which just means that it's made up of two lines that rhyme at the end (trouble rhymes with bubble). This sing-song speech has a pretty distinctive effect – it sound s a lot like a child's nursery rhyme that, for modern audiences especially, may sound silly. In the 17th century, however, many believed that witches spoke this way so it may have been terrifying for some audience to listen to. If you want to know more about the other kinds of speech in the play, check out "Writing Style."