From Macbeth: The Three Weird Sisters' Chant

by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)


Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
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 blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble!

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Things to think about:

The "weird sisters" in Macbeth are basically witches. Here, they are pronouncing some scary spell, and concocting a stew that I, for one, would not like to taste!

Still, I think that the "spell" is fun to say! Shakespeare knew how to make the language sing and charm and enchant his listeners.