The Role Of The Weird Sisters In Macbeth

When confronted by the Weïrd Sisters for the first time, both Macbeth and Banquo are given

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 three weird sisters prophesies orientate the plot in a certain direction, some events might not have occurred without their sayings. Macbeth hears these words and then tries to make

The witches manipulate Macbeth into becoming a murdering, power-hungry evil being, by telling him, “someday you’ll be king.” “I'll drain him dry as hay. Sleep shall neither night nor day Hang upon his penthouse lid. He shall live a man forbid. Weary sev'n nights, nine times nine, Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine.” (I,i) The witches use the two other prophecies to get in the mind of Macbeth. They say that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor, and Banquo will be the father of future generations of kings. Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-tossed.They give Macbeth a false sense of security with the visions they perceive. These influential women are the ones that instill the idea of murdering the king. Macbeth lets greed get the best of him. The witches sway Macbeth into killing Duncan for the throne. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” (I,i) The Witches intend to turn Macbeth from his good ways, into something evil. As the only character that understands their cruelty, the witches want Macbeth dead. The witches give Macbeth the temptation to kill the king by telling him their prophecies. In the end,

At this point in the novel Macbeth is using the witches as a guideline to his life. The apparition that he cannot be harmed by anyone born of woman creates a false sense of security within himself. Even at this point, Macbeth still has a choice of whether or not to believe the witches. The weird sisters have not put any spell on him; they have just filled his greedy mind with a sense of security and power for kingship.

"... Nought 's had, all 's spent, where our desire is not without content: 'tis safer to be that which we destroy, than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy." (3.2.4). When she has become Queen through the murder of Duncan, she portrays for a moment something like disappointment, something like disillusionment. Her mind begins to become warped and distorts her ambition, driving her insane in the process. "The Weird Sisters assured Macbeth that he himself should be king, but to Banquo they promised that his children should succeed to the crown. Macbeth is incensed by this decree of destiny. He is not content with the satisfaction of his own ambition. He wants to found a dynasty -- not to have murdered for the benefit of strangers." (Freud). This act alone of the witches will ensure a conflict between Macbeth and Banquo. Macbeth not wanting Banquo 's children to have the throne, believing they did not earn it. This lead to Macbeth hiring men to kill Banquo. Thus ensuring that Macbeth and his family will rule Scotland, or so he thought. Conflict is a main theme of any story and Macbeth is no different. Yet, some conflict can be lead to by even the slightest foreshadowing.

Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’ is about the leading male protagonist succumbing to his ambition and need for power. Though Macbeth is liable for his own actions, he is not solely responsible for the events that eventually result in his downfall. Macbeth is corrupted by his wife, Lady Macbeth, as well as the three weird sisters. Macbeth’s contribution towards his downfall is his strong ambitious nature. Lady Macbeth is the person who induces Macbeth to assassinate King Duncan. The three weird sisters (witches) play with Macbeth’s ambitious nature and sense of security. Macbeth’s downfall is due to himself and two external factors.

On first meeting the ‘weird sisters’ Banquo warned Macbeth that “oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifles, to betray us / In deepest consequence.” This deception and betrayal by the witches towards

From the very beginning, the Weird sisters blatantly use their magical advantage over other characters in order to feel powerful compared to these characters. An example of this is when the witches avenge against a sailor because his wife simply refuses to give one of the witches a chestnut. The sisters cast a spell to forbid the sailor from sleeping “neither night nor day” (I.iii.20) until he “dwindle, peak, and pine” (I.iii.24) as a punishment for his wife’s rejection of the witches. The witches avenge a sailor who does nothing wrong, all over a chestnut; hence they give such a blatant punishment and guarantee that he will never sleep again until the day he dies. The witches’ hyperbolic punishment shows that their method of penalty is unfair and cruel. In other words, the witches are abusive of their magical advantages and are insanely oblivious to other people’s feelings. Another example of endeavour for power is when the witches trick Macbeth into thinking he cannot be murdered by any man “born of a woman” (IV.i.87). The idea of being immortal causes Macbeth to become careless, and ultimately becomes the reason for his downfall. Meanwhile on the other hand, Macbeth’s downfall is the witches’ success to deceive. In other words, the Weird sisters obtain satisfaction from the suffering of others by their means in order gain the feeling authority over somebody else.

First off the play extinguishes predictions from witches that are only temptations. The weird sisters never tell Macbeth what to do with these suggestions. He is initially curious about these deceptive hags, but he takes their information that is given to him literally. The witches make predictions about the future kingship of Macbeth: "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor." Macbeth, along with Lady Macbeth, was responsible for making the decisions that lead to the downfall and destruction of themselves. The prophecies predicted by the weird sisters do occur, but one can conclude that later events, such as the death of Macbeth, were not caused by their powers, but they were simply the witches' foreshadowing. If Macbeth has been contended on having just Thane of Cawdor and so on and so forth, his tragic death could've been interrupted or blocked from ever happening. Sadly Macbeth was overcome with so much greed that every prophecy the witches announced, Macbeth took it as a chance to have more power no matter what the stakes were.

The three witches or “weird sisters”, are only one of the contributions to Macbeth's destruction and downfall. The prophecies that the witches make are merely temptations for Macbeth. The weird sisters never tell Macbeth what to do with these suggestions, leaving him curious and in disbelief about what the witches have to say. The witches make predictions about the future of Macbeths kingship: "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor” (I.III.50). Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawdor increases his thirst for ambition and eventually drives him into demise. They also tell Macbeth that no man born of woman can kill him, making Macbeth believe that he is invincible. "The power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth" (lV.I.81-83). Macbeth and Lady Macbeth take the prophecies too rigorous and try to put them into action immediately. The prophecies predicted by the witches do result in the end, however not exactly how either of them imagined.

Speaking with his wife after the guests had left the banquet, Macbeth said, “I will tomorrow, (and betimes I will) to the Weird Sisters. More shall they speak, for now I am bent to know, by worst means the worst” (Shakespeare, 1997, p.67). Macbeth shows his determination to visit the witches. His need to visit the witches correlates to how Macbeth feels about being king. In Macbeth’s soliloquy before speaking to the murderers, he mentions that to be king means nothing if he is not safe as king. Macbeth feels paranoid for disrupting natural order and is constantly troubled by his anxiety to the point where he cannot sleep. Knowing that the witches can predict the future, Macbeth relies on them to bring him some assurance of his future. Since Macbeth relied on the witches to such an extent, Macbeth was led into the very trap that the witches had laid out for him with their double-sided

The three weird sisters set up the theme of deception with their opening lines “fair is foul, and foul is fair”. They told Macbeth that he 'd be safe from all men born of women. They said that he needed to fear only the man that wasn 't born of a woman. They also told him that he needed to beware of Macduff. But they didn 't link the two predictions. So Macbeth had a false sense of security. He never once considered the man not born of woman to be Macduff, who was delivered by Caesarean section from a dead mother. After the weird sisters finished talking to Macbeth and Banquo they vanished without saying a

Like the serpent’s manipulation of Eve, it is seen that the victim is convinced by powerful influences. In Macbeth’s case this would be the participation of the Weird Sisters and his own wife; Lady Macbeth. Macbeth’s path to evil begins with his encounter with the three witches known as the Weird Sisters. These witches, leading up to no good, greet the

One of the main factors that influenced Macbeth’s transformation was the impact the witches and the super natural world had on him. It is an important theme as in Shakespeare’s day, the audience strongly believed in the existence of witches, the power they contained, and the substantial evil intentions they had. “I’ll drain him dry as hay, Sleep shall neither night nor day”. The weird sisters were the creatures that created the concept of a supernatural world, and their absence in