Question

Read the excerpt from act 4 scene 1 of The Tragedy of Macbeth. The witches are gathered around their cauldron, creating a potion.

First Witch. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.

Second Witch. Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined.

Third Witch. Harpier cries ’Tis time, ’tis time.

First Witch. Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.

Which quotation from the text contains an example of onomatopoeia?

“Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.”
“Harpier cries ’Tis time, ’tis time”
“Round about the cauldron go”
“In the poison’d entrails throw”

Answer 1

The quotation from the text that contains an example of onomatopoeia is "Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd." Onomatopoeia is a literary device where words imitate sounds, and in this case, the word "mew'd" imitates the sound a cat makes.