In Macbeth, Shakespeare satirizes taking too seriously and attributing too much power to the dark side of the supernatural world. This is the side represented by the three Weird Sisters. They appear out of the fog as the play opens, in the company of thunder and lightening, and it seems they are very powerful beings. Shortly thereafter, they make their prophecies to Macbeth and Banquo.

Macbeth perceives the three witches as all powerful, especially when their prophecy about his being made the Thane of Cawdor comes to pass. However, in Act IV, when Hecate, the head of the witches, appears, we suddenly see that the seemingly terrifying Weird Sisters are bumbling incompetents in the eyes of their more intimidating leader. She blasts them for acting without her permission and for being too naively helpful to Macbeth, when, as she says, humans do not have the interests of the witches at heart. In this way, Shakespeare satirizes or makes fun of Macbeth for being so taken in by creatures—the Weird Sisters—who are more incompetent and not as powerful and fearsome as he thinks.

What is an example of a scene from Macbeth regarding satiric comedy?

Perhaps the best example of satiric comedy in the otherwise tragic play Macbeth is found in act 2, scene 3 in Macduff's exchange with the drunken porter at the gate of Macbeth's castle.

Macduff asks the porter why he took so long to answer the door. The porter tells him he was up late partying; he goes on to say that drink "is a great provoker of three things." When Macduff asks what they are, the porter responds

Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and
urine. Lechery, sir, it provokes, and unprovokes;
it provokes the desire, but it takes
away the performance: therefore, much drink
may be said to be an equivocator with lechery:
it makes him, and it mars him; it sets
him on, and it takes him off; it persuades him,
and disheartens him; makes him stand to, and
not stand to; in conclusion, equivocates him
in a sleep, and, giving him the lie, leaves him.

Satiric comedy is a type of humor meant to cast a light on a particular behavior in order to ridicule it. In this case, Shakespeare is satirizing drinking to excess.

In the porter's monologue above, "nose-painting" refers to the red or blueish color a habitual drinker's nose can become. Drinking to excess does cause some people to temporarily pass out, referred to as "sleep" by the porter. The third effect, that of "urine," refers to alcohol's well-known diuretic effects. To deepen the humor, the porter goes on to offer a fourth effect of excessive alcohol consumption: it impacts the libido. He says that it makes men want sex but takes away their ability to perform. He crudely uses the words "not to stand to" to allude to drunken men's inabilities to maintain erections.