Credit: Print Collector/Hulton Fine Art Collection/Getty ImagesIn Act IV, Scene 1, Lines 98-102, Macbeth meets three witches who conjure a series of apparitions. The prophecy is given to him by a ghostly, child-like apparition who carries a tree in one hand and wears a crown. He tells Macbeth not to worry about any threats and that he can never be defeated until Birnham Wood comes to Dunsinane. Macbeth believes this to be impossible and himself to be immune from harm and so pursues his quest for power.
After Malcolm’s army marches on Dunisinane holding the branches of trees, Macbeth realizes he will be defeated and that the witches’ prophecy was misleading.
In the play, the prophecy about Birnham Wood serves to foreshadow Macbeth’s eventual defeat and the tragedy of the story even as, in the plot of the play, it appears to mean the opposite.
In case y’all didn’t know…. I LOVE The Scottish Play
Macbeth
William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is said to be cursed, so actors avoid saying its name when in the theatre (the euphemism “The Scottish Play” is used instead). Actors also avoid even quoting the lines from Macbeth before performances, particularly the Witches’ incantations. Outside a theatre and after a performance, the play can be spoken of openly. If an actor speaks the name “Macbeth” in a theatre prior to one of the performances, they are required to perform a ritual to remove the curse. The ritual may vary according to local custom: one is to leave the theatre building, or at least the room occupied when the name was mentioned, spin around three times, spit, curse, and then knock to be allowed back in. This particular iteration of the ritual is documented in the play The Dresser and its film adaptations.
One version of this legend claims that it was the actor who played Lady Macbeth who died during the play’s first production run and that Shakespeare himself had to assume the role. There is no evidence that this legend is factual.
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