Who prophecies the success and demise of Macbeth?

• A. The Fates
• B. The Weird Sisters
• C. The Muses
• D. The Wyrd Sisters (Witches)

Answer: (D)

The prophecies come from the Weird Sisters, the three witches who appear in the opening and at key moments of the play. They foretell that Macbeth will become king and plant the idea that his future is already fated, while also hinting at conditions that would make his hold on power seem secure. Their sayings are shrouded in equivocation, so Macbeth interprets them to mean he can act with impunity, which drives his decisions to seize the throne and commit further murders. That combination of promising success and foreshadowing doom creates the arc of rise and ruin that defines Macbeth’s fate. The same idea isn’t associated with Greek Fates or Muses in this story, and the Wyrd Sisters name is just another label for the same trio of witches, making them the correct source of these prophecies.