And be these juggling fiends no more believ’d, / That palter with us in a double sense; / That keep the word of promise to our ear, / And break it to our hope!—
Act V, Scene 8 · Macbeth
Context
After learning the true meaning of the prophecy, Macbeth curses the witches for deceiving him with ambiguous language that sounded protective but ultimately led to his destruction.
Analysis
The parallelism of 'keep the word... break it' enacts the very duplicity Macbeth describes—the structure promises balance but delivers betrayal. His phrase 'palter with us in a double sense' diagnoses exactly how the witches operate: they trade in truth that splits between ear and hope, sound and meaning. Yet Macbeth only grasps this now, when understanding comes too late to matter, which positions him as both victim of supernatural manipulation and fool for trusting it in the first place.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Macbeth remains trapped in the mindset that destroyed him even as he recognizes it—he blames the witches for equivocation but never admits his own choice to believe what he wanted to hear.