William Shakespeare

Witches' Chant (from Macbeth)

1st Witch: Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd. 2nd Witch: Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd. 3rd Witch Harpier cries:—'tis time! 'tis time! 1st Witch: Round about the cauldron go: In the poisoned entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone Days and nights has thirty-one Sweated venom sleeping got, Boil thou first in the charmed pot. All: Double,double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. 2nd Witch: Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blindworm's sting, Lizard's leg and howlet's wing. For charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. All: Double,double toil and trouble; Fire burn and couldron bubble. 3rd Witch: Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf, Witch's mummy, maw and gulf Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark, Root of hemlock digg'd in the dark, Liver of blaspheming Jew; Gall of goat; and slips of yew Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse; Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips; Finger of birth-strangled babe Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,- Make the gruel thick and slab: Add thereto a tiger's chaudron, For ingredients of our cauldron. All: Double,double toil and trouble, Fire burn and cauldron bubble. 2nd Witch: Cool it with a baboon's blood, Then the charm is firm and good. Visit the Shakespeare Glossary for vocabulary questions! In actual performance each stanza is spoken by a different witch and the last two lines of each stanza Double,double toil and trouble, Fire burn and cauldron bubble. are intoned by all three in unison.