Macbeth Quote Analysis

The Second Witch announces Macbeth's arrival at the cave, sensing his approach through a physical sensation in her thumbs.

The witch calls Macbeth 'wicked,' yet she herself is brewing a spell from murdered infants and poisoned animals—the irony is that evil recognizes Macbeth as one of its own. Her body registers his approach involuntarily ('pricking of my thumbs'), as if wickedness has a magnetic pull that draws like to like without conscious effort.

Use this to argue that by Act 4 Macbeth has become indistinguishable from the witches in moral terms—they no longer need to tempt him because he now seeks them out, and their calling him 'wicked' confirms he has fully entered their world.