The Witch of Edmonton

Elizabeth Sawyer is gathering firewood. She rants about how unfair it is that the community scapegoats her for any ill fortune, due to her poverty, poor education, and poor physical condition. When they call her a witch, she wants to get revenge. Old Banks enters, and he verbally abuses her and beats her for gathering firewood on his land; he also calls her a witch. She curses him, wishing physical ailments on him. After he leaves, she wonders how she can truly learn witchcraft and get a familiar—a companion to a witch that often takes the form of an animal.

Old Banks’s son, Young Cuddy Banks, enters with several other young men. They are preparing for a Morris dance, which is a communal English folk dance performed by a troupe who practice together. They banter about what instruments they will need and how many bells they will wear strapped to their legs. They discuss who will be the leader, and who will be the hobby-horse, which is a costumed character that Young Banks wants to play. Slighted that he is not the obvious choice for this role, he consults an almanac (an astrological chart) and dismisses having a hobby-horse at all, predicting bad luck for the dance.