Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane / I cannot taint with fear. What’s the boy Malcolm? / Was he not born of woman?
Act V, Scene 3 · Macbeth
Context
Macbeth dismisses reports of the approaching enemy forces, insisting he cannot be defeated because the witches promised he would remain safe until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane and assured him no man born of woman can harm him.
Analysis
Macbeth's rhetorical questions—'What's the boy Malcolm? Was he not born of woman?'—reveal his misplaced confidence in the prophecies' literal meaning. By reducing Malcolm to 'the boy' and framing his birth as proof of invulnerability, Macbeth treats the witches' words as foolproof logic rather than riddling language. This overconfidence positions readers to recognize the gap between what Macbeth believes the prophecies guarantee and the equivocal nature of supernatural promises.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Macbeth's tragedy stems not from fate but from his literal interpretation of ambiguous prophecy—this quote shows him actively choosing to read the witches' words as absolute protection rather than recognizing their potential for double meaning.