● The dialogue of the witches is a sort of chant.

It is thrown into a verse form, ​trochaic

tetrameter​, which Shakespeare rarely uses except for supernatural beings, witches,
fairies, or the like.

● This forces us to pause in the middle of the line and so secures additional emphasis for
the closing word, "Macbeth." We may imagine the Third Witch pausing for a moment
while her sisters gather round her and then shrieking out the name of the hero in an
ecstasy of devilish joy.

● Scene 4: ​The dramatic function of this short scene is twofold. First, it gives an
opportunity to observe the relationship between Macbeth and Duncan; second, it
provides Macbeth with further fuel for his ambitious claim on the kingdom.

● Act 3 Scene 1: Even with his new title and robes of office, Macbeth does not feel
entirely at ease: The security of his kingship rests partly on his own children's
succession to the crown of Scotland. However, because he has no children of his
own, his treacherous act of regicide — the murder of a king — appears pointless
and has been committed on behalf of ​Banquo's​ promised successors.

● Act 3 Scene 5: Hecate's supernatural spite is intended to echo that of the human
dimension. She is a vindictive female spirit, whose forceful instructions to the
Witches reflect the language of ​Lady Macbeth​ to her husband.

● Act 3 Scene 6: Even though Lennox appears loyal to Macbeth at the end of Act
IV, Scene 1, here he divulges his concerns in lines such as "Men must not walk
too late" and, more directly, the phrase "the tyrant's feast."

● Act 4 Scene 2: This scene and the next should be considered together, for both
deal with the question of treachery and loyalty, and both consider the nature of
genuine courage, as opposed to the arrogant bravado of Macbeth.

● I​ n Act Five, the audience witnesses the outcome of an abundance of guilt

accumulating inside of Lady Macbeth. “What need we fear who knows it, when
none can call our power to accompt?/ Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him?(5.1.33-35 ).

● Act 5 Scene 3: ​Macbeth's military preparation, which the Doctor says he has
heard about, is unlikely to be any more effective than a medicinal preparation or
remedy which ​he m​ ight prescribe for the sick nation of Scotland.
● Act 5 Scene 5: The report of Lady Macbeth's death perhaps comes as no
surprise, either to Macbeth or to Shakespeare's audience.

● At this point, Macbeth hears a heart-stopping scream. While a servant is

dispatched to find the cause, Macbeth confesses in a brief soliloquy that such
noises no longer have the power to frighten him.