Read the excerpt from act 3, scene 5 of The Tragedy
of Macbeth. Hecate is annoyed at the witches for not
including her when they prophesied to Macbeth that
he would become king. The excerpt mentions the
Acheron, a river in Greece that is featured prominently
in Greek mythology as the entrance to the underworld.
[Hecate.] And I, the mistress of your charms,
The close contriver of all harms,
Was never call'd to bear my part,
Or show the glory of our art?
And, which is worse, all you have done
How does the allusion to Acheron add to the sinister
mood in this part of the play?
O by implying that Macbeth will gain connections to
the underworld
O by establishing that Macbeth will assume control of
more territory
Oby suggesting that Macbeth is closer to death than
he realizes
O by explaining how Macbeth rose to his position of
prominence