Write a brief essay about the imagery in the witches’ chant (Scene i, lines 1–38) and the mood that the images help create. Exam
ine the senses to which the different images appeal. Then consider how the images, taken as a whole, establish a particular mood or atmosphere. Be sure to cite several examples of images from Act IV of The Tragedy of Macbeth. You can gather them first on the diagram below.
Students should cite examples of images, indicate the sense or senses to which each image appeals, and then consider how all the negative images work together to create a mood they are likely to describe as eerie, horrid, and/or evil. Among the many images they may cite are the harpier cries of line 3 (sound), the poisoned entrails thrown into the caldron in line 5 (sight), the toad under cold stone in line 6 (touch, sight), and the two images in the refrain of "fire burn and caldron bubble" (touch, sight, and sound).
