William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
from Macbeth.
Act IV, Scene 1
Act IV, Scene 1
A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron boiling. Thunder.
Enter the three Witches.
Enter the three Witches.
1st WITCH: Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
2nd WITCH: Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.
3rd WITCH: Harpier cries:~ 'tis time! 'tis time!
1st WITCH: Round about the caldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!
ALL THREE: Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2nd WITCH: Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
ALL THREE: Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
3rd WITCH: Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches' mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg'd i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.
ALL THREE: Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2nd WITCH: Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.
-oOo-
*brinded ~ having obscure dark streaks or flecks on gray
*gulf ~ the throat
*drab ~ prostitute
*chaudron ~ entrails
*brinded ~ having obscure dark streaks or flecks on gray
*gulf ~ the throat
*drab ~ prostitute
*chaudron ~ entrails
-oOo-
