Witches : The Weird Sisters

Long Ago in the 1500's there used to be a mobilization of witches. They were formed together to protect the people of Restaria. Furthermore it was over 20 witches within the radicalized group, all of them ran from Restaria. All except Seven they stayed as a united front to protect their town from the demons who rose through the night in the air. Nevertheless after the bloody war the witches bodies were never found. Also their nemesis were left on the ground to see. The whole town saw what happened but no one could believe it. Years, Centuries later as time grew and decades past. The witches tale became a folklore they started becoming bed time stories, pictographs, ideas for movie directors. Along the older generations it brought back nostalgia

The witches were the very first factor in Macbeth’s progression to becoming a power hungry and bloodthirsty character. Their speech was always laced with a hint of truth but mostly false hope as they were creatures of the supernatural. Their half prophecies played Macbeth like a puppet, constantly trying to live by their words, though they were just illusions to make his life look good, through a mirage of carefully planned schemes. Looking back at the opening of the play, Macbeth was portrayed as “brave”, as he, Banquo and his army had just won a

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).

When Shakespeare wrote his play, Macbeth in 1606 a large majority of people were interested in witchcraft. This is why Shakespeare made the witches and the witches’ prophecies play a major part in the storyline of the play. In the time of Macbeth witches were not thought to be supernatural beings themselves, but supposedly gained their powers by selling their souls to Satan. There can be little doubt that most of Shakespeare’s audience would have believed in witches, and for the purpose of the play, at least, Shakespeare also accepted their reality.

“Have you ever wondered if Magic or witches and wizards really exist in this modern world? Well yes, they do exist, and they are quite active in the modern world. There are more than 10 million witches in the United States, with new practitioners on the rise daily.”(Caine) Being a witch is much different than what you may have seen in the movies. There is real magic to the craft, but witches or wizards don 't walk around turning people into to frogs with a flick of their magic wands. They don 't disappear into thin air, nor do they fly around through the night on broomsticks. They also don 't live in a big castle or mansion. They walk around as normal people and you wouldn 't be able to tell them apart for anyone else. The art of real witchcraft is one of the oldest practices in the world. “The oldest instruments of the real craft that have been discovered date back to 40,000 years ago, while the practice of real witchcraft dates back to paleolithic times. It is very much a way of life, as you may have heard from the modern followers of Wicca. During the middle ages, and in the event known as The Inquisition, the practice of witchcraft became outlawed throughout most of the Christianized world, an offense punishable by death.”(Caine) A witchcraft frenzy broke out in the early colonial history of America in Salem, Massachusetts. Insane torture tactics were put in by the church to draw out confessions. This period of time is often cited as the start of "the burning times."

Macbeth wants to know more from the witches, he doesn’t think that what they are telling him is enough because he know he will eventually be Thane of Glamis, by his father’s death (inheritance) but he doesn’t understand how he will be Thane of Cawdor. Banquo wants to know more from the witches because he believes that they can see into the future. He is not scared of what they have to say to him. He is skeptical of them. Macbeth is hard to satisfy, even when things seem to be in his favor, Banquo doesn’t know if he truly believes that the witches were real, and that what they say was true, but he wanted to know in case it might have been

Reginald Scot explores the common perceptions towards witches in the late sixteenth century, which he claims they were commonly old, lame, full of wrinkles, poor (Levack 2004: ?), although not necessarily solitary (Larner 1984: 72). Scot claims that their appearance often caused alarm among many in the community and caused the neighbours to find truth in witches utterings. One could argue women were often ascribed with such stereotypes, for they were both physically and politically weakened, and were unable to distance themselves from accusations (levack 1984: 127). It is apparent the oppression of these women could represent an attempt to maintain hegemony in a patriarchal society in the late sixteenth century. Coincidentally, most women accused of sorcery often lived out of the constraints of male authority, where they would live alone, perhaps for the rest of her life.

Witch hunting was the persecution and possible execution of individuals considered to be ‘witches’ loyal to the devil. It was an all too common occurrence from 1603-1712 all over Europe. However in order to understand why this happened the context must be taken into account. It was a time of change, the Renaissance - the rebirth of culture, ideas and attitudes to living. The Reformation had also only been implemented in England in the last 80 years back from 1603, when it had previously been catholic for centuries. The English civil war from 1642 to 1651 is argued to have played a part in the intensification of the witch hunts in England due to the peak in executions whilst it was on going. Some historians have taken the view that in time of crisis certain groups can be victimised like in wars, famine, disease outbreaks and changes in society structure.

Thunder and lightning is used once again to open Act I Scene 3. As the

Ghosts, witches, and witchcraft were a big concern during the seventeenth century. People in Shakespeare's time feared the unknown. They also associated witchcraft and ghosts to the devil. For centuries on in, some still show interest in ghosts and witchcraft because they are curious about what they don't know and what they can't see. In William Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, the three apparitions, or ghosts, in Act IV are summoned by the witches to trick Macbeth into believing that he is invincible. They are used as a "warning prophecy". Therefore, the apparitions are a symbolic representation of what shall happen to Macbeth (Part I, 346). Macbeth fails to realize that the ghosts are warning him; instead, he thinks the ghosts are prophesying that he will reign the kingdom forever. In A.W. Crawford's article, he explains how the apparitions are prophetic threats at Macbeth's kingship rather than his life (Part I, 345). The apparitions in Macbeth are used to not only foreshadow the outcome of Macbeth's

The Witches are tempted to mess with people and tell them what they want to hear. Witch's mess with a sailor at the beginning of the book because his wife would not feed them. It was appealing to do this because of his wife. But they don’t stop there, they also tackle Banquo and Macbeth. The Witches tell Banquo and Macbeth about their future and get in there heads. They are tempted to inform them on little pieces so they can decide their own fate. Apparitions were also used to tempt Macbeth into wanting to know more. The Witches show Macbeth the apparitions which twist around the truth to make him feel more confident than he should be. They only let him know a tiny piece and leave the most important part out. Although, cold hearted witches aren't the only ones up to no good.

In his novel On Monsters and Marvels, Ambroise Pare describes witches as people who “deceive and abuse disbelievers” (Pare 95). In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the witches are instrumental in the downfall of the title character, Macbeth. When the witches greet him for the first time, the third witch addresses him as “king hereafter” (I.iii.50). After learning of the witches’ prediction, Macbeth develops a hunger for power.

The witches could be supernatural beings with the ability to see into the future or they could simply be repeating something they overheard and lying about the rest. Shakespeare could of had the audience hear about Macbeth’s promotion from the witches like Macbeth did but having the audience know about it before Macbeth adds so much more to the play. On another note, dramatic irony can often add comedy to something but in Macbeth it does the opposite. This is best exemplified in the scene where Macduff goes to England to try and convince Malcolm to comeback to Scotland and usurp Macbeth. This scene is one of the few in the play that could potentially be played for laughs but this scene directly follows the scene where Macduff’s family gets murdered.

     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

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