Shakespeare's Macbeth Act 1, scene 3 On the heath (plain) the witches appear and brag of their dread and magical deedes such as killing swine. Macbeth and Banquo enter. The witches hail Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and "king hereafter" (line 47). Banquo asks Macbeth why he seems to fear this good news, then questions the witches about his own future. They say that Banquo is "lesser than Macbeth and greater" (line 63) because though he will never be King his descendents will be. Macbeth asks how the witches know this information. However, the witches vanish, making the two men wonder if they imagined the whole thing. Ross and Angus (Scottish noblemen) enter. They tell Macbeth that the old Thane of Cawdor was a traitor and that Duncan has made Macbeth the new Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth and Banquo are shocked. Macbeth asks Banquo if he now thinks that his children will be King. Banquo seems unsure, and comments that "instruments of darkness" sometimes tell half truths to bring men to ruin. As Banquo talks with Ross and Angus, Macbeth ponders the prophecy. If it is evil, why would it truly predict his being made Thane of Cawdor? If it is good, why would he already be contemplating a murder? Macbeth feels that he is losing himself, and hopes that if fate says he will become King, he won't have to act to make it happen. Ross and Angus think Macbeth's reverie is caused by becoming Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth and Banquo agree to speak of the witches' prophecy later. In this scene, the three witches call themselves the “Weird Sisters.” In Shakespeare’s time, the word weird meant more than strange­acting. It was still closely tied to the ancient word wyrd, which meant fate. Thus, Elizabethans saw the sisters as supernatural beings who could control people’s lives. Notice how the witches use their “weird” powers in this scene by speaking of the future. 1 Act 1, scene 3 Metaphor ­ a comparison of two unlike things without using the words "like" or "as" "Kind gentlemen, your pains, Are register'd, where every day I turn The leaf to read them." lines 150, 151. [Here Macbeth speaks of his memory as a book.] 2.