In the play of Macbeth' by William Shakespeare the witches have an important effect on Macbeth, the characters, the plot, the theme and the audience. They help construct the play and without them it would have been a totally different story line. The three weird sisters influence Macbeth in his acts, they effect characters lives, orientate the plot, they are related to most of the themes and appeal the audience's attention.
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.
To begin, the witches are the catalyst to Macbeth’s crimes because the convince him that he will become king. Macbeth first meets the witches while returning from a gruesome battle and it is safe to say that they greet him with some audacious titles. They initially greet him as the Thane of Glamis and the Thane of Cawdor, but it is their final greeting which has the greatest effect on Macbeth. The witches hail Macbeth as someone “that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.53). This ignites a fire inside Macbeth, who is an immensely ambitious person. He begins to fantasize about the luxurious life he would have if he were the king of Scotland and he suddenly has the temptation to kill King Duncan. Although the witches’ prediction is favourable, Macbeth has no reason to believe them, at least until one of their other predictions turns out to be true. This
Macbeth's feels that his destiny is to become King and rule with all the power that goes with kingship. The three witches on his way back to the kingdom, prophesied that he would rise to kingship. They said "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis" (I, 3, 48), and then as the thane of Cawdor "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor" (I, 3, 49). At this point in the play Macbeth had just become thane of Glamis, and the thane of Cawdor is still alive. Then, the witches greeted Macbeth as the King of Scotland saying "All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be King hereafter" (I, 3, 50). This is the point in the tragedy where Macbeth starts to think as a villain. If the witches had never greeted him as King on Scotland, then he would probably never have contemplated killing Duncan in the first place. At first, he believes that he will need to kill King Duncan. Though at the end of Act 1, Scene 3, he thinks that perhaps he doesn't need to do anything to become the king saying "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir.", showing he is a man of honor and morals. Then, Lady Macbeth hears of the prophecy in his letters and decides immediately for him that King Duncan must die, showing Macbeth's doubt. An
These words start Macbeth’s ambition rolling. Macbeth begins to think that the witches are speaking the truth and one day soon he will become King. He travels to the King who officially names him Thane of Cawdor and tells him that he will visit Macbeth¡¦s castle to celebrate. Macbeth sends a message to his beloved wife, telling her of the prophecies and his new title. This excites Lady Macbeth but it is not until she is told by Macbeth that King Duncan would be staying with them, that she begins to plot his murder.
The witches play an important role they have the ability to predict the future and affect it too. Without their warnings and predictions Macbeth wouldn’t have chosen to act in the way he did. In their second appearance they prophesize that that he cannot be harmed by no one born of woman, a child with a crown represents Malcolm, and he’s warned about the moving Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill. “But yet I’ll make assurance double sure, and take a bond of fate” (4.1.83-84).
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, is a brave and loyal subject to the King of Scotland, but as the play progresses, his character begins to change drastically. Evil and unnatural powers, as well as his own passion to become king, take over his better half and eventually lead to his downfall. The three main factors that intertwine with one another that contribute to Macbeth’s tragic end are the prophecies told by the three witches, Lady Macbeth’s influence, and finally, Macbeth’s excessive passion and ambition which drove his desire to become king to the utmost extreme. The prophecy told by the three witches was what triggers the other factors that contribute to Macbeth s downfall. In the first act, the witches
The three witches play a very important role in affecting the actions of Macbeth with their ability to steer him in the direction they desire. They not only use their supernatural powers but also prey on his greed and ambition.
Macbeth demonstrated his nobility and honor for the country of Scotland, through his loyalty to the king and his valiant fighting against enemies. Macbeth was a loyal friend to King Duncan. The King felt extremely highly of Macbeth and viewed him as one of his kinsmen. King Duncan placed trust and faith in Macbeth, and felt honored to have Macbeth fighting for him and his country. King Duncan announced, “No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death, and with his former title greet Macbeth” (1.2.63-66).
Lady Macbeth goes about as a person of evil motives and actions throughout the play. She is included strongly in Macbeth's issues to verify that he does what is important for him to become. At the point when figuring out that Duncan had planned to visit their castle, Lady Macbeth perceives this as a prime open door for Macbeth to take on the position of King: " Only look up clear; To alter favour ever is to fear. Leave all the rest to me " (I.V.69-71). Without Lady Macbeth's tirelessness in seeing the prediction through it is likely that the killings and the resulting confusion that takes after would never have happened. The three witches planted the thought into Macbeth's brain and Lady Macbeth took that temptation and made it actuality. Lady Macbeth is essential to the evil set in motion by the witches in light of the fact that she completes what the witches began. Lady Macbeth assumes the responsibility
In the beginning of the play, the witches make three prophecies. First, that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor. The second part of the prophecy is that Macbeth will become King. The third prophecy being that Banquo will be father to future kings. When Macbeth first hears the prophecy, Duncan holds the position as king. King duncan is also a very loved king by his people. Macbeth and Duncan even have a good relationship. Macbeth is Duncan’s greatest war hero and because of Macbeth’s great success in battle, Duncan rewards him by promoting him to the position of Thane of Cawdor. With this promotion, Macbeth realizes that the witches first prophecy was true. With this realization, Macbeth’s head begins to fill with thoughts of killing King Duncan to speed up the process so that he can become king. When he tells his wife of the prophecies and his promotion, she becomes extremely
The witches played an undoubtedly large role in MacBeth, being the instigators of the entire plot. In act one scene three, the witches say: `all hail, MacBeth! Hail to thee, thane of cawdor! ... All hail, MacBeth, that shalt be king hereafter!' (Line 47-50) these prophecies
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 subconsciously knows that he may have to kill Duncan in order to pursue the third prophecy, as it is Duncan who is presently king, and the only way for Macbeth to obtain Duncan’s title is if Duncan were to die and lose his title. In this scenario, Macbeth has thoughts of himself being the cause of Duncan’s death, in order to have Duncan’s title passed on to him. Macbeth is soon outraged to discover that Duncan has announced his son Malcolm as the future King of Scotland, Prince of Cumberland, as Malcolm now stands in his way of pursuing the actualization of the third prophecy. When Lady Macbeth receives news of the witches’ three prophecies and the fulfillment of the second prophecy, the enormity of her ambition to make Macbeth become King of Scotland leads her into plotting out the murder of Duncan. When Macbeth hears of Lady Macbeth’s plans to kill Duncan, he is at first unwilling to go through such horrific and drastic measures in order to obtain a royal title. Macbeth gives reasons during his soliloquy as to why he shouldn’t kill Duncan, and then says:
Nevertheless, Macbeth quickly discounts these bloody visions of murder and continues to fantasize about his future glories. Furthermore, when Macbeth encounters the witches, we are only told a quick summary of the prophecy, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!” (1.3.52).and then, “All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.53). Yet the witches do not reveal the means by which Macbeth will come about this glory or mention any ill deeds that are to come. This leaves one to believe that the witches knew Macbeth’s fate as Thane and King, yet the other bloody elements of the prophecy are enacted solely through Macbeth’s own will. Macbeth is only prompted in his bloody actions by supernatural forces and of course Lady Macbeth.