Analysis of the Three Witches in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

In the opening scene, the three witches appear on a heath amidst thunder and lightning, establishing the mood and emotion for the duration of the play. The witch’s use prophesies to awaken Macbeth’s ambition, a force in which presents him with unescapable circumstances. They also reveal crucial information about Macbeth’s future; however, his inner security causes him to neglect such knowledge. As a result, his actions promote his unstable state of mind which slowly deteriorates to his fate. Furthermore, the witches ultimately challenge Macbeth and the control over his humanity. To listen to the witches, is like eating "the insane root, That takes the reason prisoner" (Act 1, Scene 3 Lines 84-5); for Macbeth, in the moment of temptation. If not for the witch’s manipulative knowledge, Macbeth would be left to make his own decisions and possibly the ability avoid his unchecked ambition. As a whole the

Firstly, the use of the witches in the play is a key element in the

The overall dramatic meaning of this play has been successfully shown by the elements of drama. The

Overall, this essay is going to be directed towards informing the readers about all the different foreshadowing events that occur during the play. For example, there are subtle hints in every known conflict and plot twist. Some are very clear, while others take a few times of reading to realize. To make things easier, chronological order would be most helpful.

Known for his tragedy, intrigue, comedy, and romance, Shakespeare extends his boundary of prowess in the play Macbeth. The irony present in the play, the double-meaning of the characters’ actions, and the complexity of setting all contribute to a thrilling story of murder and looking beyond the superficial. Dramatic, situational, and verbal irony greatly contribute to the theme of things are not what they seem in Macbeth text and film. Shakespeare uses the contrast in irony to convey this in the character’s words, actions, and the audience’s awareness. The textual and film evidence fully supports the theme and displays the author’s affluent use of irony.

The three witches in the tragedy Macbeth are introduced right at the beginning of the play. The scene opens with the witches chanting three prophesies: Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis and King. These prophesies introduce Macbeth to his plan of defeat and to over power. Macbeth will eventually follow through in killing king Duncan. Some people believe that the witches had the ability to reverse the order of things. This brings into the play idea of fate and the role with which it has in the play. One can only wonder if Macbeth ever had a chance of doing what was right after he met with the witches. It is however, more realistic to believe that Macbeth was responsible for his own actions throughout the play and in the end,

turn out to be evil, evil things may seem to be good; just like some

Some actresses see Lady Macbeth as sympathetic to her husband like Sarah Siddons and Kate Fleetwood, feeling sympathy for Macbeth is a decision both actresses made for Lady Macbeth to be relatable and more human, Siddons who portrayed her in the mid-1800s said that she approached her as, “keen to present the character in as attractive a light as possible, so sexually appealing – fair feminine, nay perhaps even fragile” (Sarah Siddons qtd. In Robert Miola, 94). Siddons saw the character of Macbeth as honorable and to have him as a husband only proves Lady Macbeth is very taken with him, having put all of her efforts into seducing such an honorable man. Kate Fleetwood’s own interpretation of Lady Macbeth was very domestic, the societal hostess. In an interview in 2011, Fleetwood who was directed by her husband Rupert Goold in the 2007 version of the play said that, “When Rupert suggested to me about the domestic side of her, that started to ring really big bells for me” (Fleetwood qtd. In Miola, 135). The argument about how Lady Macbeth truly loves her husband and tried to summons the spirits is because she knows that Macbeth is very ambitious, and she needs all the strength she can have to convince him to act out the three witches’ prophecy. This arguement and its solution is very valid, Lady Macbeth only acting out for the benefit of her husband, she wants her husband to be the king of Scotland but it does not mean she wants to queen herself. In an interview, Fleetwood also

As we know, the pretext of the play is the aftermath of a war, so I

The natural order of the world is disrupted; this is made obvious from the start of the play. Even though they generally speak in riddle, the three witches are significant characters because of their foresight and knowledge of future atmosphere.

The witches begin this trend of hidden outcomes with their prophecy to Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, the three witches

The play begins with the scene of three witches who prophesise that three events will occur to Macbeth. The Elizabethans believed strongly in supernatural, and associated the devil and

At the very beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is provoked by the letter she receives by Macbeth and starts plotting the murder of Duncan. She also wishes she were a man such that she could commit the murder all by herself saying so in Act 1 Scene 5, “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty” (Macbeth 1.5.36-52). She appeals to these spirits to remove all aspects of her femininity and seeks to gain power through the prophecy of the witches. Her fear about the ability of her husband to commit the murder is subdued in her designated gender. Lady Macbeth manages her feminine power through her sensuality and pretended weakness through her fainting streak at the notice of Duncan’s death. Manipulation, usually through sexuality is often depicted as the source of women’s power still Lady Macbeth uses this power of hers to commit murder, a masculine demonstration of power. Lady Macbeth in her soliloquy about the planning of Duncan’s death refers to her husband as an individual who plays honestly and does not engage in wrongdoing.

There are three distinct levels of action during the play. Firstly, we as the audience see the characters play out the main narratives. Secondly, Shakespeare introduces a play-within-a-play during which the audience observes the mechanicals acting out their tragedy, and thirdly, as part of an epilogue, we are addressed directly by Puck. These differing levels of viewing the play encourages the audience to reflect upon, and compare, the interplay between the levels of address; when the three levels are compared to each other a deeper reading of the play becomes possible, even though the structure is irrational with regards to rational narrative structures. The dramatic conflict is resolved after the fourth act, begging the question of why Shakespeare opted for a play-within-a-play for his final act. The effect of “Nature” (V.i. 278) is contrasted between the main

will be not so happy because he will have an early death, but he will