

The first witch is seen stirring the mixture. Even what the witches say on stage is clouded with terror and sensationalism.Īfter gathering on the stage, they start singing the song and add some ingredients into the boiling pot. The sound effect along with the setting of the stage depicts that something eerie is going to happen. Thereafter, with the sound of the thunder, the three witches enter the stage. A cauldron is a big pot that is used for boiling something. The middle of the stage shows a boiling cauldron. In Act 4 Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, the audience can see a cavern. However, the song ends with irony.Īnalysis of Double, Double Toil and Trouble Section One

In the second part, similarly, there are several repetitions of sounds that help in creating an internal rhyming. The first part of the song ends with a metaphor in “a charm of powerful trouble” and a simile in “Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.” However, the repetition of consonant sounds is also known as consonance. It produces an image of something boiling in a pot. Mostly, the “b” sound that gets repeated, resonates in the reader’s mind. In the chorus, there are several repetitions of sounds. In the first section of the song, there is a personification in the line, “Round about the cauldron go.” Thereafter, in “charmed pot” the playwright uses a metaphor. Apart from that, there is a repetition of the “d” sound and the “t” sound. In “ Double, Double Toil and Trouble“, Shakespeare uses a palilogy. There are several literary devices in this song. Literary Devices in Double, Double Toil and Trouble Moreover, the song is composed in the trochaic tetrameter. To create an internal rhythm, Shakespeare uses repetition of consonant and vowel sounds. Moreover, the overall song contains rhyming couplets. In the last phase, they add more and the song ends with the chorus. While they sing together, readers can understand that they are stirring the solution to mix up the elements. Thereafter they add a few more to the broth and sing in chorus the line mentioned above. Then the three sisters sing together, “Double, double toil and trouble …” It signifies that the first step is done and now they can shift to the next step. Firstly, the song begins with the introduction of the preliminary ingredients. While making the dark-solution to call the spirit of Hecate and others, they sing this song. This Witches’ song has a total of three movements. Structure of Double, Double Toil and Trouble Before he appears in the scene, the three witches are seen preparing the dark potion that will help Macbeth in knowing more about the future. Hence, he visits the witches again in this scene. For this reason, that encounter has incited some questions in his heart that he badly needs the answer of. There he has gotten some hints about future events. In Act 3, Scene 5, Macbeth has already met the three sisters after killing Banquo. For this reason, he seeks the witches’ help. After committing such sinful acts, he is still restless and anxious. In the previous acts of the play, Macbeth has killed both the king, Duncan, and his friend Banquo for the lust for power. This song of the witches, ‘Double, Double Toil and Trouble’, appears in Act 4, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. In the second phase, they add some similar ingredients that, ironically, strengthen the dark-integrity of the solution.Ĭontext of Double, Double Toil and Trouble

However, the witches use the fillet of a fenny snake, newt’s eye, frog’s toe, bat’s wool, dog’s tongue, adder’s fork, blind-worm’s sting, lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing to make this potion. Alongside that, those elements also act as symbols. Each element brings disturbance into the scene. This song introduces the ingredients that the witches are using to make this potion in their cauldron. The three witches, one of the strategic dramatic devices used by Shakespeare in ‘Macbeth’, sing this song while making a potion to call the dark forces. It foretells Macbeth’s state of mind before he enters into the plot.Īt first reading, this song arouses a sense of fear and disturbance in the mind. ‘Double, Double Toil and Trouble’ is a sensational song sung by the three witches in the play, ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare.
