At the start of Act 1, Scene 3 of Macbeth, we see the Witches preparing for their first encounter with Macbeth. The First Witch tells her companions that she has been insulted by a sailor’s wife who refused to give her some of the chestnuts that she was eating she will deprive him of sleep (‘Sleep shall neither night nor day / Hang upon his penthouse lid’ (1.3.19–20)) and ensure that his ship is tossed by the waves (‘tempest-toss’d’ (1.3.25)) and unable to find safe harbour. The passage ends with the Witches chanting a spell as they prepare to meet Macbeth, repeating a movement three times in the direction of each Witch in order to consolidate their power.
(‘“Give me!” quoth I. / “Aroint thee, witch!” the rump-fed ronyon cries’ (1.3.5–6)). The First Witch says that she will take revenge by punishing the woman’s husband, describing in detail what ‘I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do’ (1.1.10) to him:
However, they do vanish (according to the stage direction just after line 81). Being able to disappear into thin air does seem to indicate that they have some supernatural ability, if not the one they claim to possess. At the beginning of the scene, they discuss a number of things which, if they can really do them, would also indicate their supernatural natures: sailing anywhere in a sieve, torturing a man by preventing him from sleeping for a long period of time, controlling the winds, and so on.
Explanation:
