Role of the Witches in Macbeth

The three witches happen to be the first characters to be introduced in Macbeth and were one of the main cause of the title character’s evil and unpredicted actions. Shakespeare used the stereotype about witches being ugly and wise women yielding evil powers and described them as the ‘Three Weird Sisters.’ They play the role of informants who convey a message to Macbeth, which eventually caused him to kill King Duncan as well as the Macduff and Banquo’s families. Their key skill, in fact, was to penetrate Macbeth’s troubled subconscious, which already contained a demonic desire for power and the throne. The witches just supplied the simple trigger; they have predicted that he would become the Thane of Cawdor and the King.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a Shakespearean play about Macbeth’s need for power and betrayal of the ones surrounding. Power is a constant struggle for Macbeth which leads to many problems he must face. He has the problem of choosing between waiting for fate to take action or acting upon his own freewill. Macbeth has the most control where the Witches influence his actions and Lady Macbeth gives him the push he needs to take the control.

There can be little doubt that the witches are exploiting the situation for their own evil ends and are using "honest trifles" to win Macbeth to harm, but given the limited nature of their powers, it is hard to say that they are responsible for Macbeth's later actions.

In the seventeen hundreds there was a strong belief in witches and all of the power they obtained. People, during the time, believed witches were tied to the devil and only intended to ruin peoples lives. Many people believed all witches were bad, but some believed that witches could use their unworldly power to better people. Witches could not have healed nor destroyed people without the use of potions. During the time period of Macbeth, through the use of potions witches were capable of predicting the future, healing a person, and destroying one’s life.

The three witches in the tragedy Macbeth are introduced at the beginning of the play and the brief opening few scenes give an immediate impression

William Shakespeare wrote the play Macbeth in approximately 1606. The play is a tragedy and this can be often identified before we have even read the play. The title “Macbeth” alone suggests the genre of the play is a tragedy as it is the name of a character. Life in Shakespeare’s time was very religious and the play was written in order to please King James I who was on the throne at this point. The idea of the theme of religion and witchcraft fitting into the play was also to please King James I as he was interested in witchcraft. The majority of people living in Shakespeare’s time were Christians and they believed that if you lived a good life, you would go to Heaven and if you were bad in life, you would go to Hell. At the time of the

The very beginning of the play indicates that dark supernatural forces will be involved. Three weird sisters are preparing a surprise for Macbeth, surprise that will eventually cost him life and the salvation of his soul. Witches' predictions play very important role in leading Macbeth to the evil deeds. Witches are the first to

The Tragedy of Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare during the early 1600s. The play is set in Scotland. The main character, Macbeth, is influenced by the witches’ prophecies and decides to kill Duncan, the current king, to become king. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a loyal and trustworthy thane. After encountering the witches, he became a traitor who would kill anyone to be king. The witches practice witchcraft, which is the practice of magic that uses spells and calls spirits. It well known during this period. Many people associate witchcraft with evil and demons because of their satanic rituals. They also believed that witches worshipped the Devil. Throughout the play, witchcraft is portrayed as evil from the chaos created by the witches and is shown through Macbeth.

The witches in Macbeth play a critical important role as at the beginning of the play the witches describe that all that is “fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Mac 1.1.10). Meaning that every thing that is pretty is ugly and everything ugly is pretty. The witches

In Macbeth, the witches use foreshadowing, characterization, and the characters in Macbeth use allusions. The witches play a large part in the play. They lead Macbeth to kill the king, and they lead to his demise. They are the main factor that moves the play along as well as help Macbeth use his tragic flaw of overconfidence. Macbeth believes everything that the witches tell him and he does not think for one moment that the witches might be telling him something else that would be hidden in the predictions. They were the reason that Macbeth decided to kill the king, and the reason why he was so paranoid with everyone. He killed his best friend all because the witches told him that Banquo will be father to a line of kings. Macbeth went on and

“All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”(1.3.47-49). The three witches prophecies throughout the play are major influences in helping the plot develop. As well they develop the character of Macbeth and reveal the morals he holds. This play by Shakespeare which of the three types he writes is a tragedy. These tragedies are all brought upon by Macbeth’s doing. The heinous murders he commits are all brought upon by the prophecies the three dark and evil witches have spoken to Macbeth. These three witches are perceived as all things evil. They are the living embodiments of darkness and are born to destruct those weak enough to listen. “Macbeth” is a play of evil, hurt and self-fulfillment which are all from the prophecies being brought to Macbeth. Self-fulfillment is “…how a belief or expectation, whether correct or not, affects the outcome of a situation or the way a person (or group) will behave.”(Menton). The witches use their knowledge of this term and idea in order to manipulate Macbeth into fulfilling what he has been told, no matter how dark the duty is.

The witches advance the plot by telling Macbeth that he will, one day, become king which motivates him to betray and kill his closest friends. Macbeth knows that to become king, he needs to kill King Duncan. The witches also tell Banquo that he will be the father of kings saying, “Thlu shalt get kings, though be none”. (1.3.67). Macbeth believes that this will harm his fate of becoming king. To prevent that from happening, Macbeth hires murders to kill Banquo and Fleance, Banquo’s son. The two murders murder Banquo, but fail to kill Fleance. Still afraid his fate will be harmed, Macbeth asks the witches about his future which adds more fuel to the fire, furthering the story. The witches tell Macbeth to fear Macduff because of the way he was born because Macduff will defeat him. Even though Macbeth believes he has nothing to fear, he wants to kill Macduff anyways. All of the witches’ foresights drive Macbeth to kill his king and loyal friends.

     The Three Witches are the ones who introduce the paradox that runs throughout the play. The theme affects these characters because although they speak of the future, they do not seem to affect the course of it. They are the agents of fate because they only speak of the truth of what will happen. Macbeth refers to the Witches as the Weird Sisters. In fact the word "Weird" comes from an old English word

‘Macbeth’ is a play by William Shakespeare that shows a protagonist going from bad to worse throughout the play. Shakespeare wrote this play, taking in mind current affairs at the time of 1603-1606. This is the time when a Scottish king, James I was given the English crown. This king was obsessed with witches, so Shakespeare brought this theme strongly into the play. It also brings the theme of treachery towards the King. This pleased King James and also pleased him about showing the line of Stuart Kings, James descendants, in Act 4, Scene 1.

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