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Foreshadowing
Explanation and Analysis—Prophecies:
Macbeth is a play that explores the nature of free will and fate, so it should come as no surprise that prophecies appear frequently in the text. Although the play leaves it ambiguous as to whether these prophecies merely predict the future or actually shape it, they always foreshadow what is to come.
The motif of prophecy is introduced in Act 1, Scene 3, when the Weird Sister's refer to Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor and tell him that he shall become king.
Second Witch: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!
Third Witch: All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!
Macbeth, of course, does eventually become king, but it is unclear whether this event was actually fated to occur. Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor without any action on his part, but he needs to kill Duncan in order to become king, suggesting that him hearing the prophecy has changed the course of events.
Banquo is skeptical of the witches' prophecies and warns Macbeth not to take them too literally:
Banquo: And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray ’s
In deepest consequence.
This warning foreshadows a moment later in the play, when Macbeth fails to notice the ambiguity of the Weird Sisters' other prophecies.
In Act 4, Scene 1, and apparition summoned by the witches foreshadows the fact that Macduff will be the one to kill Macbeth:
First Apparition: Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff!
Beware the Thane of Fife!
Another apparition foreshadows that fact that Macduff, who was born via caesarean section, will be able to kill Macbeth:
Second Apparition: Laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.
Macbeth erroneously believes that this prophecy means he is invincible, when it actually foreshadows the fact that Macduff was not born of woman. Otherwise, why would Macbeth have cause to beware the Thane of Fife?
A third apparition foreshadows the fact that the English army will use branches Birnam Wood to conceal their numbers:
Third Apparition: Macbeth shall never vanquished be until
Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill
Shall come against him.
Ignoring Banquo's earlier warning, Macbeth believes that the events described in the prophecy are impossible. He interprets the prophecy literally and fails to consider that it may have a figurative meaning.
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