Act 4
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A cavern. In the middle, a boiling cauldron. Thunder.
Enter the three WITCHES.
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A cavern. In the middle, a boiling cauldron. Thunder. The
three WITCHES enter.
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FIRST WITCH Thrice the brinded cat hath mewed.
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FIRST WITCH The tawny cat has meowed three times.
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SECOND WITCH Thrice, and once the hedge-pig whined.
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SECOND WITCH Three times. And the hedgehog has whined once.
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THIRD WITCH Harpier cries, “'Tis time, ’tis
time.”
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THIRD WITCH My spirit friend, Harpier, is yelling, “It’s
time, it’s time!”
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FIRST WITCH Round about the cauldron go,
5In the poisoned entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Sweltered venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' th' charmèd
pot.
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FIRST WITCH Dance around the cauldron and throw in the poisoned entrails.
(holding up a toad)
You’ll go in first—a toad that sat under a cold
rock for a month, oozing poison from its pores.
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ALL
10Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
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ALL Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
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SECOND WITCH Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake.
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
15Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg and owlet’s wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
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SECOND WITCH
(holding something up)
We’ll boil you in the cauldron next—a slice of
swamp snake. All the rest of you in too: a newt’s eye, a
frog’s tongue, fur from a bat, a dog’s tongue, the
forked tongue of an adder, the stinger of a burrowing worm, a
lizard’s leg, an owl’s wing. (speaking to the ingredients) Make a
charm to cause powerful trouble, and boil and bubble like a broth of
hell.
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ALL
20Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
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ALL Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
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More Help
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Character List
CHARACTERS -
Macbeth: Character Analysis
CHARACTERS -
Plot Analysis
MAIN IDEAS -
Is Lady Macbeth a Villain or a Victim?
MAIN IDEAS -
Quotes by Theme
QUOTES -
Themes
MAIN IDEAS -
Review Quiz
FURTHER STUDY
