Meeting the Witches: Double Toil and Trouble!

One of the scenes that is most memorable and interesting for me in the Roman Polanski version of Macbeth was the scene of the gathering of all the witches where Macbeth meets them for the second time, in Act 4, Scene 1.

When I read the book I thought the witches’ ritual was similar to those we see in other movies or cartoons: aggressive witches mix their cauldron passionately and ambitiously, accompanied with malicious laughters. I was surprised to discover just the contrary, during the movie: while preparing the cauldron, the witches sing altogether joyously, with jokes and laughters. At first I thought this would be a wrong way of presenting the ritual and I had some doubts about Shakespeare’s intention – which kind of presentation he would choose for this scene? Polanski’s way of interpretation can bring along some conflicts, considering that the play is indeed a tragedy. However, after pondering on the scene for some time, in my humble opinion this scene is adorably suitable for a tragedy, especially Macbeth, for various reasons.

First of all, I should remind you that black seems blacker when it’s with white – or white seems brighter when with black. Similarly, when Macbeth meets the joyful witches, singing happily, his dark thoughts, suspicions and fears become more notable. His worries and concerns seem more serious when they are depicted through a comic scene; thus he will see that he is alone with his problems and there is no one who can empathize with him, which adds up to his desperation and, thinking that he has nothing to lose, accept the magic potion the witches offer to him.

Secondly, Polanski’s way of representing the ritual is the best for the audience. All the phrases in the scene are far more effective when sang than read as verse. In the play, Shakespeare uses sound effects very attentively. For instance, in the lines “Double, double, toil and trouble, / Fire burn and cauldron bubble.” (4.1.10-11) he uses the alliteration of ‘b’ and ‘l’ sounds, the assonance of ‘o’ sounds, both internal and full rhymes, as well as iambic tetrameter. Besides, repetition of these lines makes another song-like effect like a refrain. All of these indicate that Shakespeare wanted these lines to be rhythmic and to be presented as songs.

Most significantly, the scene contributes to one of the most important themes of the play: Fair is foul and foul is fair. In this scene we see the good and bad characters together (although Macbeth’s mind is contaminated by Lady Macbeth and other external tempting factors I believe he is originally a good person). Not only the good and the bad are represented together, we also see the paradox that the good and the bad exist together; because in this scene the bad witches (foul) are living happily (fair) while the good Macbeth (fair) is suffering serious problems (foul). Through this scene we can observe the binary opposition that comprises the fair and foul and how they become together in a very complex way.

Regarding all these reasons, I would really love to congratulate Polanski for his way of interpretation of this scene. In Justin Kurzel’s version of Macbeth, the witches were presented far more melancholically and mysteriously, yet I believe Polanski’s version is both more ‘correct’ for Shakespearean tragedy and more reasonable in terms of representation of the witches.