The Witches In Macbeth, The Source Of A Terrible Tragedy Essay

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.

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.

Macbeth’s ambitious qualities and knowledge of what his future may hold help lead Macbeth to commit violent acts. These acts cause him to fantasize and act in unreasonable ways both before and after he carries out plans for murder. Act II begins with a soliloquy by Macbeth, where he envisions a dagger that he believes is encouraging him to kill Duncan. Macbeth questions, “Is this a dagger which I see before thee...Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight? Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?”(Mac.2.1.33-40). The dagger is not tangible, as Macbeth is unable to grasp it, which shows that Macbeth is

First of all, Macbeth is convinced by his wife to kill King Duncan so that Macbeth can become King of Scotland. Soon after this, we are able to witness Macbeth's insanity begin to consume him. In Act 2. Scene 1 line 50 Macbeth claims he is able to see, “a dagger of the mind, a false creation” He simply blames this on “Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain”-Line 51 and before he commits the murder. The viewers are left to believe that this is his conscience warning him, trying to convince him not to go through with this evil deed, but in reality,

Lady Macbeth is a deep and complicated character. She has many inner demons that she never comes to terms with, which inevitably lead to her suicide. She is seen as an evil, conniving woman but she goes so much deeper than that. She has high hopes for herself and uses her husband and his love for her to obtain them. All of the things she wished eventually lead to tragedy though.

Authors display the importance of their theme through the main character. All throughout the play a sense of guilt is shown within symbols. The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare illustrated the theme of guilt is a powerful emotion. This theme is established through Macbeth’s internal conflict. He commits his first murder and is crowned king of Scotland, but he is haunted by guilt.

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

According to the classical view, tragedy should arouse feelings of pity and fear in the audience. Does Macbeth do this?

“Witchcraft and witch-hunting in early modern Europe are among the most written about, yet most elusive, of historical topics.” This statement was made by Jim Sharpe, about the topic that I will be going over in this paper. So in it, we will be discussing witchcraft in England in the early 17th century. It will talk about a few of the reasons why the witch craze began, what exactly went on during that time, and how it relates to Macbeth. We will explore certain terminology about witches that some may be unfamiliar with, such as different names for witches and even their alleged companions.

This insert shows what the witches inform Macbeth of later in the play when the first prophecy comes true, Macbeth is overpowered by greed (Becker). Macbeth is convinced by his wife to kill Duncan to become king. If the witches did not inform him of his prophecies, he would not have killed Duncan as he had no desire to. This shows how easy it is for the witches to influence Macbeth’s decision. Throughout the play readers are able to watch the witches deteriorate Macbeth’s character, since they revisit him to inform him of more prophecies. When the witches appear in a different scene, they inform him about his future ruling. This leads to Macbeth’s false hope, in allowing him to believe that he is invincible.

and make potions. We see this when they cast a spell on the sailor and

The Three Witches or Weird Sisters in Macbeth were depictions of Holinshed’s sisters “creatures of the elderwood… nymphs or faries”(Chronicles 268). Nymphs are usually portrayed as goddesses of the forests; mountains, waters and they possess an unlimited contract of youthful beauty, endued with knowledge of prophecies. For other topical evidence, there is Matthew Gwinne’s brief Latin pageant, ‘TresSibyllae’ (Three Sibyls), welcoming King James to St John’s College, Oxford, on 27 August 1605. It was evidently drawing upon chronicle accounts of Macbeth and Banquo meeting the three witches, and pandering to James’s belief that he was descended from Banquo. [1] Gwinne’s pageant, recited by ‘tres quasi Sibyllae’ (three persons like sibyls), is quite conventional.

Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy and tells the story of immoral pursuits of power and the effects that it casts onto Macbeth and his wife. Dark ambition is the downfall of Macbeth and his wife and the people who give them the idea are none other than a trio of pot-stirring witches. At the beginning of the story, the witches act as prophets, telling Macbeth that he is destined to be the King of Scotland. Once he takes the throne, they return to him with prophecies of his downfall. Their actions are contradictory and their motives are undisclosed. So, why witches?