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William Shakespeare

Macbeth: debates

Questions to argue about, scene by scene. Open one to watch the commentators debate it, quoting the lines.

Act 1, Scene 3The witches' prophecy

  1. Temptation or hidden desire?Do the witches predict Macbeth’s future, or create it?Readers disagreeSee the debate ›
  2. His fear gives him awayWhy does Macbeth fear a prophecy that ‘sounds so fair’?Readers disagreeAnswer

    He may fear the supernatural, the upheaval needed to become king, or his own violent response. Banquo notices that he ‘start[s]’, while Macbeth admits that a ‘horrid image’ has seized him.

  3. The ‘good’ man wants answersIs Banquo genuinely cautious, or secretly tempted too?Readers disagreeAnswer

    Banquo warns that ‘instruments of darkness’ use truths to cause harm. However, he asks for his own prophecy and later repeats that his children will be kings, showing real interest in it.

  4. A title that does not fitWhat makes ‘borrow’d robes’ the scene’s key image?Readers disagreeAnswer

    The image makes Macbeth’s new title feel strange and not yet his own; Banquo later develops it through ‘strange garments’. It can suggest innocent discomfort, unstable identity, or ominously that Macbeth is taking another man’s place.