The Dramatic Impact and Importance of Witches in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

Not surprisingly, Macbeth has received volumes of critical commentary over the years. Not only is the play an audience favorite, but its complex characterization, deeply woven themes, and characteristic Shakespearean style make it rich ground for scholarly inquiry. Critics such as Harold Bloom have remarked on the importance of Macbeth in the context of Shakespeare 's works. In Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, Bloom writes, ' 'The rough magic in Macbeth is wholly Shakespeare 's; he indulges his own imagination as never before, seeking to find its moral limits (if any). ' ' Bloom also remarks, ' 'Macbeth is an uncanny unity of setting, plot, and characters, fused together beyond comparison with any other play of Shakespeare 's. '

In Macbeth, the witches exemplify some of the important themes through their supernatural abilities, and these themes are important to deliver the

During the period where Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, women were uneducated, forced to act submissively and never expressed their opinions. Shakespeare turned all that around when he used female characters that have powerful roles to turn around from the norm and go against expectations in his time. The witches and Lady Macbeth are examples of female characters that have power in the story. In this quote, it explains how from the point of Macbeth’s confrontation with the witches, tells her his prophesize on how he will become the future king of Scotland. Through, that moment it shows Lady Macbeth’s ability to read as a female character which in her time was abnormal due to a majority of females in 1600 not having the ability to read. Through,

Topic: How important are the witches to Macbeth? Discuss the effects of the witches on character, plot, themes and audience.

  The tragedy of Macbeth comes about because of a single event in his life. If that one moment, the meeting with the witches on the heath, had not happened then Macbeth would no doubt have gone on to be a loyal and respected subject of King Duncan and, later, King Malcolm. However, the meeting did happen and the powerful force of ambition was unleashed within Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It is the combination of these two factors, the meeting with the witches and Macbeth's own inner demons, that lead to tragedy, and make the play 'terrifying' in the Aristotelian sense.

In Macbeth the witches have an evil effect on Macbeth, other characters, the plot, the theme, and the audience. They contribute to the play, and without them the plot would be greatly altered. The three witches have an evil effect on Macbeth and how he makes his actions throughout the play.

Whenever there is a mass murder and dozens of innocent people die the world wants to know why the murderer would do such a thing. Sometimes, the murderer is acting under the influence of someone else. This is the case in William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Macbeth, where the titular character commits multiple crimes after hearing three witches predict his future. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, the witches are the catalyst to all of Macbeth’s crimes. This can be seen when they convince Macbeth that he will become king, they motivate him to kill Banquo and they inform him that he is virtually unkillable and should fear MacDuff.

laugh to scorn / The power of man, for none born of woman / Shall harm Macbeth."

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,

It is also clear who is to be the target for the forces of evil; the

After analyzing the play, The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare readers came to the conclusion that The Witches were most responsible for the events that happened in Macbeth. Readers found that without the actions the witches took, nothing would have happened and the characters would still have the good life they had before they appeared. The reasons why readers believe The Witches hold primary responsibility for the events in Macbeth is because they have paranormal powers and The witches equivocate to Macbeth.

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

sense of what the play was about and set it off for the rest of the

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.

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