The Witches In Macbeth Essay Example For Students

The Witches In Macbeth Essay 1The witches in Macbeth serve to advance the story, reveal human weakness, heighten the tension and give the audience a hint of things to come, but they do not control Macbeth or anyone else in the play. The only power they have over Macbeth is their ability to reinforce an idea that was already in his head. Their role is made clear when Hecate speaks to them,? And which is worse, all you have doneHath been but for a wayward son.? ( act 3 scene 5 )She suggests that they do not have the power to make him do the evil and mischief that they want. Nor do they need that power. Macbeth is fully capable of doing all the mischief and evil on his own. We will write a custom essay on The Witches In Macbeth specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now How do individuals control others? How would the witches control Macbeth? This can usually be done by physical and/or emotional force. Fear and threats, rewards and praise work to control others. These tools work to different degrees on different people. So much of what is called control depends on the person that is being controlled. The promise of a throne may send some people to their knees while others will take to their heels. When the witches hold out their promises to Macbeth the only surety they have is a knowledge of his ambition and his need for power. In the end this was all they needed to be sure of. They may try to manipulate, but they do not need to control. The character flaws that Macbeth has will be enough to fill their needs. It is interesting to note that the witches do not ask for anything in 2return for their prophecies. Macbeth does not have to promise his soul in exchange for any information. His soul was already in trouble before he met the witches. He was their logical choice. At the start of the play, Macbeth and Banquo are returning from the battlefield when they meet the witches. At this time they predict that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland. It is an interesting thought and the start of an idea. He has fought bravely for king and country, but when the first prophecy comes true, and he is made Thane of Cawdor , he says to himself,? The first step toward the ultimate goal, the throne.? ( act 1 scene 3)If he calls the ultimate goal, a throne, then he has been entertaining this idea before. In his life he has prioritized his ambitions, and the title of king is what he considers the highest step. As a brave an honorable leader of the kings army, shouldnt his highest goal be to serve? As an honorable man with strong morals shouldnt his ultimate goal be a decent life and a heavenly reward?Ambition drives Macbeth. He only needs the suggestions of things that might be his to push him on. There is no sense of moral right to keep him from murder. He hesitates only because he fears the earthly consequences not because it would be sinful. ?- If the assassination could trummel up the consequences.- But in these cases we still have judgment here.? ( act 1scene 7)He does not realize that his struggle is not against evil but for good. The witches do not command Macbeth to kill Duncan or anyone else. The3murder of his king is his decision. This is the only way that he can see to reach his ?Ultimate Goal?. One murder leads to another. Macbeth has spun a web that has trapped him in a paranoid mess. Soon he believes that everyone is out to get him. Traitors are behind every stone in his castle. He has no trusted friends left, and even his wife has fallen into a pit of madness. The only way to deal with this is to kill and kill again. He must know what the future holds for him, and again he turns to the witches. Maybe they can reassure him. .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2 , .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2 .postImageUrl , .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2 , .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2:hover , .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2:visited , .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2:active { border:0!important; } .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2:active , .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2 .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u376a881c2019930fa796b968214522a2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Civil war 7 EssayAt this stage of the play, Macbeth is in desperate need of some measure of security. The witches are only too happy to oblige. Theyll give him just what he wants almost. Hecate has forecasted Macbeths weakness when she tells the three witches:? And you all know securityIs mortals chiefest enemy.? ( act 3 scene 5 )Now they tell him to beware Macduff, that no man born of woman will harm him, and that he will not be beaten until Birnum Woods marches on his castle. Macbeth is reassured. How can a man not be born of woman, and woods do not walk. He has heard just what he wanted to hear. The last two warnings are what he thinks about and he all but dismisses the first:? Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth! BewareMacduff. Beware the Thane of Fife!? ( act 4 scene 1 )Had he listened carefully to the first warning, he undoubtably would have found a way to kill Macduff. But, again the witches have given Macbeth what4 he thought he needed. Time and again, the witches appear in the play. They warn, predict and tempt, but they do not control Macbeth. There is no spell cast over him, no deals are struck or bargains made. He is the master of his own fate. He controls his own life. The decisions are his as well as the sins of his deeds. He is the master of his own fate no matter how gruesome that turned out to be. The witches laid out before Macbeth many of the temptations that await mankind. How these temptations are delt with depends on mans character and moral strength. While the witches tempted, and Lady Macbeth connived, it was ultimately up to Macbeth to say, ? No ? and put away the knife. The Witches In Macbeth Essay Example For Students The Witches In Macbeth Essay THE WITCHES IN MACBETHThe Witches or Weird Sisters play a major role in the brilliant tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare. The role of the Weird Sisters represents that equivocal evil in the nature of things which helps to deceive the human will. They are not mere witches although they have some of the powers of witches. Even though they were produced by nature, they share with angels a freedom from limitation of space and time, a power to perceive the causes of things, and to see some distance into human minds (Kermode 1309). The Witches have malicious intentions and prophetic powers that entice Macbeth and captivate his mind. Although they have no power to compel Macbeth, the Witches appeal to Macbeths desires, eventually leading him to his tragic end. We will write a custom essay on The Witches In Macbeth specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The most obvious interpretation of the Witches is to see them as manifestations of evil in the world. They exist to tempt and torment people, to challenge their faith in themselves and their society. The Weird Sisters work on Macbeth by equivocation, that is, by ambiguous promises of some future state. These promises come true, but not in the way that the victim originally believed. The Witches have no power to compel belief, but they can obviously appeal strongly to an already existing inclination to force a persons will onto events to shape the future to fit deepest desires (Corson 224-229). At the beginning of Macbeth, there is no interpretation of the meaning of the storm. Dimly the audience is aware of the ongoing war, but Hecate creates an infernal trinity. Lightning, thunder, and rain all whirl into existence the three hideous curses upon humanity, the three Weird Sisters (Walker 146). 1Witch: When shall we three meet again?In thunder, lightning, or in rain?2Witch: When the hurly-burlys done,When the battles lost and won. 3Witch: That will be ere the set of sun. 1Witch: Where the place?2Witch: Upon the heath. 3Witch: There to meet with Macbeth. 1Witch: I come, Graymalkin2Witch: Paddock calls3Witch: Anon!All: Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air.(I.i.1-10). These creepers of darkness that guide the Witches invoke the evil that eventually destroys Macbeth. Graymalkin, the night-seeing cat, the nameless toad under the cold stone, whisper to the Weird Sisters perversion of natural order: fair is foul, destroy it; foul is fair, nurture it (Walker 148). Only seconds later an echo of what the Witches said is merely repeated by the words of Macbeth: So foul and fair a day I have not seen(I.iii.38). The same epithets are used as in the last line of the Witches in scene one. It is intended that an unseen relationship has been established between the Witches and Macbeths soul (Corson 231). Macbeth and Banquo notice the Witches simultaneously. The Witches inflame Macbeth, but Banquo shows no magnetic connection. Foul as the Witches are, Macbeth is still fascinated with them; Banquo, however, sees foul as foul (Walker 149). Macbeth: Speak, if you can: what are you?1Witch:All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!2Witch:All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!3Witch:All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter! (I.iii.47-50). The All hail of the Third Witch shows that the Sisters have had a look into Macbeths minds construction and have discovered there what they can stimulate into regicide and moral destruction (Corson 231). The speech of Banquo indicates the effect of this All hail upon Macbeths mind, and the no affect upon his own: Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear/ Things that do sound so fair?(I.iii.51-52). There is not anything within the heart of Banquo to cause him to start; and he continues with words that show he has kept his heart with all diligence. He serves admirably as the foil to Macbeth. Banquo:In the name of the truth,/Are ye fantastical, or that indeed/Which outwardly ye show? My noble partner/ You greet with present grace and great prediction/ Of noble having and of royal hope,/ That he seems wrapt withal: to me you speak not./ If you can look into the seeds of time,/ And say which grain will grow and which will not,/ Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear/ Your favors n or your hate.(I.iii.52-61). .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e , .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e .postImageUrl , .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e , .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e:hover , .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e:visited , .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e:active { border:0!important; } .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e:active , .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u57ed9d17c34f1ded3e964c611486a79e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Single parenting and Raising Healthy Children EssayBanquo is not frightened nor enchanted by these witches. He sees foul as foul, but Macbeth is still paralyzed by what the witches predicted and can not see the evil before him. In reply to Banquos command to speak to him, the Witches answer:1Witch:Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. 2Witch:Not so happy, yet much happier. 3Witch: Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!1Witch:Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!Macbeth:Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:By Sinels death I know I am Thane of Glamis, But how of Cawdor?Speak I charge you. Witches vanish (I.iii.65-72,78). It is plainly indicated that Macbeth wants to know more. Without knowing anything of the nature or trustworthiness of the strange beings before him, he is ready to gulp all he can draw from them. Macbeth is wholly absorbed and inflamed by what he has heard and begs of the Sisters to stay. The Witches have set about stimulating and arousing what has originated within his heart already, subjecting him to the temptations he is least able to withstand (Kermode 1309). Upon Ross and Angus arrival the prophecies of the Witches keep repeating in Macbeths mind. The thane of Cawdor? He is stunned, and king hereafter? Macbeth knows not what to think. Ross and Angus announce Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor and immediately excitement flows throughout Macbeths veins by the fulfillment of one of the salutations of the witches. Macbeth, baffled by what has just happened, excitedly asks Banquo: Do you not hope your children shall be kings,/ when those that gave the thane of Cawdor to me,/ promised no less to them?(I.iii.117). According to Corson (234), The reply of Banquo, under the circumstances, makes him appear as the very spokesman of Macbeths good angels. Banquos response: That trusted home/ Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,/ Besides the thane of Cawdor. But tis strange:/ And 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.(I.iii.120-126). The entire moral of the tragedy is expressed through this speech. Banquo appears to have been specially designed by Shakespeare, as a counter-agency to the agency of the Weird Sisters. Macbeth could choose to listen to Banquo, but his own evil thoughts bind him to the Witches (Corson 235). The next scene, in which the Witches appear, Hecate enters, scolding them for not inviting her to play along with the destrution of Macbeth. She commands that the three sisters meet her in the morning by the pit of Acheron where Macbeth will come to know his destiny. Macbeth is now in the firm grip of fate. His self-determination is lost, and he is now given over to the powers of evil. All: Double, double toil and trouble;Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. 2Witch: Fillet of a fenny snake,In the cauldron boil and bake: Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adders fork, and blind-worms sting, Lizards leg, and owlets wing. For a charm of powerful trouble;Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.(IV.i.10-19). The disgusting ingredients of the hell-broth the Witches are brewing symbolize the relationship of these demons with the night side of nature. These additives add fuel to the sin-inflamed soul of Macbeth to draw him on to his destruction. With the powers of darkness; poisoned entrails, the toads sweltered venom, fillet of a fenny snake and other revolting things, nature becomes tormented by these hags (Corson 240). Upon the entry of Macbeth, the second witch upturns her nostril into the murky air and exclaims: By the pricking of my thumb, something wicked this way comes. Open locks, whoever knocks.(IV.i.43-45). .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8 , .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8 .postImageUrl , .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8 , .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8:hover , .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8:visited , .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8:active { border:0!important; } .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8:active , .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8 .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u77afb967b7c312e77affb193328feca8:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Corporate FinanceA speech of deep significance reveals the nature of these horrible sisters. They have a magnetic sensitiveness to whatever is akin to their own evil nature. Their readiness is open to every one who knocks. The fated career, towards which Macbeth has drifted through the irresistible current of evil forces, now awaits him. The several apparitions which are summoned to address him, are the artificial sprites which Hecate says by the strength of their illusion/shall draw him on to his confusion.(III.v.27-28). The first apparition: an armed head, is generally understood as prefiguring Macbeths head, cut off and brought to Malcolm by Macduff. Macbeth begins to address the apparition with the words: Tell me, thou unknown power, but is interrupted by the First Witch: He knows thy thought:/Hear his speech, but say thou nought.(IV.i.66-68). Here, it is again indicated that everything originates in Macbeths mind. The Witches caution him: Beware Macduff!(IV.i.69). Macbeth replies that he is grateful for this caution, and it fulfills his already established fear of Macduff (Corson 240). It spurs him to kill Macduffs family and followers. The second apparition: a bloody child, represents Macduff untimely ripped from his mothers womb. The powr of man, for none of woman born/Shall harm Macbeth.(IV.i.79). The Witches vanish, and Macbeth learns from Lennox that Macduff has fled to England. The Witches give Macbeth a gratuitous warning against Macduff, and secure for themselves his faith in their guardianship of him. Their warning is not for his safety but for his destruction (Corson 241). The third apparition: a child crowned, with a tree in his hand, prefigures the Kings son, Malcolm, who, as he advances against Macbeth, will order every soldier to take wood from Dunsinane Forest for camouflage. Macbeth shall never vanquished be until/Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill/Shall come against him. (IV.i.90-92). Macbeths confidence in the Witches protecting power has been strengthened by the predictions of the first and second apparitions. The prediction of the third apparition clinches his confidence; Macbeth is positive that moving Dunsinane Forest is impossible, and he now believes his end shall never come. That will never be,(IV.i.93), he replies, as the Witches listen and laugh in silence knowing they have defeated Macbeth by encouraging equivocations. The Witches are gleeful over their victim whose eyeballs have been seared by what has been shown to him. The First Witch says: Come, sisters, cheer we up his sprites,/And show the best of our delights:/ Ill charm the air to give a sound,/While you perform your antic round,/That this great king may kindly say/Our duties did his welcome pay.(IV.i.125-130). This expresses implicitly all that has been set forth in regard to the relations of the Witches to Macbeth. He is the first to welcome them as guest to his bosom, and they do their duty by him as agents of the devil (Corson 242). Although the witches have no power to compel Macbeth, they appealed to what he has previously desired, eventually leading him to his tragic end. They have originated nothing within him. They have but harped upon what was already evil and stimulated these thoughts into acts (Corson 242). In his last scene, the Witches urge him on by more flattering equivocations, each turning false, luring Macbeth to an evil end. Work Cited CorsonWords/ Pages : 1,932 / 24