The Curse, it is Cast Trivia Quiz

Answer:

The witches are often referred to as the 'Weird Sisters' or 'Wyrd Sisters' during the play, a reference to the mythical 'Fates', pulling the strings of humans. Shakespeare is believed to have included the characters as King James I, the monarch at the time, had an interest in witchcraft. They make their presence felt right at the beginning of the action as the play opens with the three meeting during a thunderstorm. The first words spoken are 'When shall we three meet again - In thunder, lightning, or in rain?' as they make their plans to meet with Macbeth and set their plans in motion.

In Act I, Scene 3, Macbeth and Banquo are making their way back to Forres and come across the witches on a 'blasted heath', as the witches had planned. Macbeth is greeted first as 'Thane of Glamis', a title he already holds, then as 'Thane of Cawdor' and finally as 'king hereafter'. Banquo also hears a prophecy, telling him that he will father future kings but will not himself be a monarch.
Macbeth presses the witches for more detail, but they disappear. Macbeth is puzzled, believing that the Thane of Cawdor lives, but soon learns that this man has confessed to treason (and will be executed for his treachery). King Duncan has passed the title to Macbeth as a reward for his loyalty.

Macbeth now believes that what the witches have told him is true, setting in motion the murderous plot, encouraged by Lady Macbeth, to hasten matters by disposing of the king. Having become the new king, Macbeth becomes paranoid. Having heard the witches' words to Banquo, who is already suspicious of Macbeth's role in Duncan's death, Macbeth arranges the murder of his former friend as he seeks to eliminate any opposition. Banquo reappears as a ghost, one which only Macbeth can see, highlighting the guilt he feels and his further loss of a grasp on reality.

The witches make another appearance in Act 4, Scene I when Macbeth seeks them out to ask them for more details on his future. He is still fearful for his future as king, since he knows Banquo's son, Fleance, is still alive and could fulfil the prophecy. As he is approaching, the witches are busy creating a potion, and the words in the question part are those they chant during this time. The queen of witches, Hecate, is also present in this scene.

This scene includes other well known quotations: the second witch exclaims 'by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes', for example. At his request, the witches show Macbeth a series of visions. The first warns him to beware of Macduff, the second tells him that 'no man born of woman' can harm Macbeth while a third proclaims that Birnam Wood will have to move to Dunsinane to vanquish him. Finally, he is shown a line of eight kings, all of whom are clearly related to Banquo.

Learning that Macduff has fled to England, Macduff takes revenge by arranging the murder of Macduff's wife and children. When Macduff receives the news, he joins with Malcolm, son of Duncan, and an English army to return to Scotland and take his revenge. Act 5 brings Macbeth's reign to an end, with the visions coming true. The attackers of Dunsinane, Macbeth's castle, use boughs from Birnam Woods as a disguise, so the wood does come to Dunsinane while Macduff is able to kill Macbeth since he was not born naturally but 'torn from his mother's womb', making him the only character who can bring an end to the evil king.

Although the contents of the potion are detailed, we never learn the purpose of it, although it may be an aid to the visions they create. As for the ingredients, they may not be as gruesome as they sound. The 'fenny snake' could refer to the arum lily or a plant known as snakeroot, or maybe a leech, traditionally used for bloodletting and found in marshy (fens are marshlands) waters. 'Eye of newt' is generally accepted as being a mustard seed and 'toe of frog' as a particular type of buttercup. Bats don't usually have wool, so the 'wool of bat' being used could refer to moss or holly while the 'tongue of dog' is most likely from the plant called houndstongue.

'Adder's fork' is often said to be the dogtooth violet while the 'blind-worm's sting' is speculated to refer to a poppy seed. The 'lizard's leg' is probably ivy while the 'howlet's wing' might be either ginger or garlic. The 'baboon's blood' is harder to explain, other than not being a literal baboon. One explanation is that it refers to a type of lizard so could be literal blood.

Herbology was much used at the time so many of these names would be better known to the first audiences. Shakespeare may well have chosen them to sound worse than they are, although I suspect the mixture, described as 'hell-broth', wouldn't be conducive to good health.