ABSTRACT
We do not see Macbeth in the play until we hear about him, three times. The first is a passing mention of his name by the witches, who intend to meet with him; the second report is extensive, and it comes from a bloody battlefield captain, relaying to Duncan the general’s exploits. We hear about him once more the moment before he first appears, as we return to the witches going about their business. They have been killing swine (possibly soldiers), planning to torment a sailor as revenge against his stingy wife, and performing general and sometimes specific mayhem. Soon, once more, the witches invoke the warrior’s name; they know he approaches (“A drum, a drum! / Macbeth doth come”), and they must hustle to finish a spell they have been working on as their target draws near:
The Weird Sisters, hand in hand, Posters of the sea and land, Thus do go about, about: Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine, And thrice again, to make up nine. Peace! the charm’s wound up.
