The play opens (Act I, Sc. 1) with three witches speaking. What might they be talking about and why might they have decided on this specific...

In the opening scene, the three "weird sisters" mention that they are going to meet with Macbeth. They all say, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (1.1.10), introducing the paradox of the drama, and one that perplexes Macbeth, leading him to nefarious acts that he will consider "fair" because they further his ambition.

Because the Chain of Being in which the Elizabethans believed constitutes the structure of Shakespeare's plays, the psychological composition of his characters, and the fates that they confront, the supernatural element is essential to Macbeth as it is in other plays. Nevertheless, the preternatural element in this drama is a stronger element than in many of the other plays, perhaps because Macbeth is an impressionable character who is deeply affected by outside influences. Furthermore, in Scene 3 of this opening act, the three witches call themselves the "[T]he weird sisters," with "weird" meaning that they are Destiny-serving; therefore, they are the carriers of Macbeth's fate, and play an essential role in the tragedy.