Macbeth: Act 1, Scene 1: The Three Witches
The recap, key beats, and evidence for Act 1, Scene 1: The Three Witches, without reopening the whole book.
Section recap · 2 min read
What happens in Act 1, Scene 1: The Three Witches.
Three witches meet briefly on a heath during a storm and agree to find Macbeth after a battle ends. The scene is short but sets the tone: the world of this play is one where supernatural forces are already moving toward a specific man. The famous reversal — that fair things are foul and foul things are fair — is introduced here as a kind of operating principle for everything that follows.
The beats worth remembering.
The witches set a meeting time
The three witches agree to reconvene once the battle is over, specifically to intercept Macbeth. They have a plan before the audience even knows who Macbeth is.
The storm as backdrop
Thunder and lightning open the play. The weather signals disorder and the supernatural, a pattern that will repeat every time evil gains ground.
The fair/foul reversal stated
The witches say that what seems good is bad and what seems bad is good. This is the play's central warning, and it gets planted before any human character appears.
The moments you can actually use later.
Witches plan to meet Macbeth
Before any battle outcome is announced, the witches name Macbeth as their target, showing that supernatural interference in his life begins before he has any knowledge of it.
Fair is foul, foul is fair
The witches close the scene by stating that appearances and reality are inverted in this world, a principle that students can apply to almost any deceptive moment in the play.
What to carry forward.
The witches target Macbeth from the start
Macbeth has not done anything yet, but the witches are already coming for him. Students should note this when debating whether Macbeth is a victim of fate or makes his own choices.
Appearances deceive throughout the play
The fair/foul idea is not decoration. It predicts nearly every betrayal and misreading that follows, from Duncan trusting Macbeth to Macbeth misreading the prophecies at the end.
Ask about this scene
Keep the question locked to Act 1, Scene 1: The Three Witches instead of the whole book.
How this guide is built
This guide is built from the original text to help you get oriented fast. It is designed for recall, paper planning, and getting unstuck, but it is still a paraphrased guide, not a substitute for the reading itself. Double-check anything important before you turn in formal work.