An open Place · First Witch, Second Witch, Third Witch
Scotland is at war, and somewhere nearby a battle is raging. On a stormy heath, three witches arrange to meet again once the fighting is over — this time to intercept a soldier named Macbeth.
Thunder and Lightning. Enter three Witches
First Witch
When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
When will the three of us meet again — in thunder, in lightning, or in rain?
Second Witch
When the hurlyburly’s done,
When the uproar is over.
When the battle’s lost and won.
When the battle has been lost by one side and won by the other.
Third Witch
That will be ere the set of sun.
That will be before the sun sets.
First Witch
Where the place?
Where should we meet?
Second Witch
Upon the heath.
On the heath.
Third Witch
There to meet with Macbeth.
We'll meet Macbeth there.
First Witch
I come, Graymalkin!
I'm coming, Graymalkin, my cat!
Second Witch
Paddock calls.
Paddock — my toad — is calling.
Third Witch
Anon.
Right away.
All
Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
Beautiful is ugly, and ugly is beautiful.
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
Let's hover away through the fog and the filthy air.
Exeunt.
Macbeth Act 1, Scene 1 summary
Scotland is at war, and somewhere nearby a battle is raging. On a stormy heath, three witches arrange to meet again once the fighting is over — this time to intercept a soldier named Macbeth.
Who appears in this scene
First Witch, Second Witch, Third Witch — An open Place.
Famous lines in Macbeth Act 1, Scene 1, explained
- “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (line 12)
- The witches' chanted paradox announces the play's moral weather: appearances will deceive, and good and evil will trade places. Macbeth unknowingly echoes it in his own first line ('So foul and fair a day'), a sign that the witches' inverted values have already seeped into his world — and his mind.
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About this translation: the original text follows the public-domain Project Gutenberg Globe edition; the modern English translation was written in-house for Polytranslator and is reviewed on an ongoing basis (last revised August 2026). Free to print and photocopy for classroom use. Cite as: “Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 1. Polytranslator side-by-side translation, polytranslator.com/shakespeare/macbeth/act-1-scene-1.”
Studying the language itself? Our Shakespearean English course teaches thou/thee, the verbs, and the meter — free through Unit 2. Or try the Shakespearean English translator.
Free side-by-side translation — polytranslator.com/shakespeare/macbeth/act-1-scene-1