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All Site ContentMacbethAct 5Scene 3
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"mortal consequences"
Language
Act 5,
Scene 3
Lines 1-10

An explanation of the phrase “mortal consequences” in Act 5, Scene 3 of myShakespeare’s Macbeth.

[Macbeth castle at Dunsinane. Enter Macbeth, Doctor, and Attendants]

Macbeth

Bring me no more reports; let them fly all.
Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane,
I cannot taint with fear. What's the boy Malcolm?
Was he not born of woman? The spirits that know
All mortal consequences have pronounced me thus:
'Fear not, Macbeth; no man that's born of woman
Shall e'er have power upon thee.' Then fly, false thanes,
And mingle with the English epicures.
The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear,
Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear.

The ambiguity here means that this phrase can be read in two ways:

  • Humans’ futures. The witches know what’s going to happen.
  • Death. The outcome (consequence) of being mortal is to die. The witches know how and when Macbeth will die.