TEXT:
MACBETH
Tell me, thou unknown power…
First Witch
He knows thy thought:
Hear his speech, but say thou nought.
First Apparition
Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff;
Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough.
Descends
MACBETH
Whate'er thou art, for thy good caution, thanks;
Thou hast harp'd my fear aright: but one word more…
First Witch
He will not be commanded: here's another,
More potent than the first.
Thunder. Second Apparition: A bloody Child
Second Apparition
Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth!
MACBETH
Had I three ears, I'd hear thee.
Second Apparition
Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.
Descends
MACBETH
Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee?
But yet I'll make assurance double sure,
And take a bond of fate: thou shalt not live;
That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies,
And sleep in spite of thunder.
Thunder. Third Apparition: a Child crowned, with a tree in his hand
What is this
That rises like the issue of a king,
And wears upon his baby-brow the round
And top of sovereignty?
ALL
Listen, but speak not to't.
Third Apparition
Be lion-mettled, proud; and take no care
Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are:
Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until
Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him.
Descends
NOTES:
An Armed Head
As mentioned in the episode, the first apparition is an armed head - or, a head with armour. (Aka a helmet.) The written text leaves a great deal to our imaginations.
Harped
This is such an elegant image - the idea of Macbeth’s fears of Macduff being like the string of a harp. It’s been tense and silent until now, when it has been plucked and sounded aloud.
A Bloody Child
Another gruesome image - depending on how bloody a production might want to make it. Thanks to technical advances, projections and video design are making more and more things possible these days. The only limit is the imagination.
A Child Crowned
Another haunting image - this one designed to distress Macbeth alone. He has no children, so a young child wearing a crown immediately suggests that the kingship will go to someone else. The fact that this apparition has a tree in his hand foreshadow’s Malcolm cutting branches from Birnham Wood in Act Five.
Lion-mettled
It would be anachronistic for the play to make a direct reference to Richard the Lion-Heart, since he flourished about a century after the historical Macbeth. But Shakespeare is hundreds of years after both - and the idea of the lion having the bravest of metaphorical hearts was very ingrained.