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All Site ContentMacbethAct 3Scene 5
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"fatal"
Wordplay
Act 3,
Scene 5
Lines 20-22

An explanation of the wordplay on “fatal” in Act 3, Scene 5 of myShakespeare’s Macbeth.

Hecate

I am for th' air: this night I'll spend
Unto a dismal and a fatal end;
Great business must be wrought ere noon.

The wordplay here means that “fatal” can be read two ways:

  • Having to do with destiny. Hecate’s witchcraft has to do with Macbeth’s fate.
  • Deadly. Their results of her spells are going to mean death to someone.