The Role of the Witches in Macbeth Essay - 996 Words

The Role of the Witches in Macbeth In the play, Shakespeare used the witches to represent the supernatural, evil, a destructive force and an inversion of natural order. At the time the play was written, people believed this, and feared witches. People believed that witches had the power to change the weather and other special powers such as predicting the future and the power of flight. In Act 1 Scene 1 Shakespeare begins the play with the witches discussing when they should next meet. He does this because he wants the audience to be curious about the witches, and what role they play. We also see in this scene that the†¦show more content†¦In Act 1 Scene 2 Macbeth fought bravely against the strong force of the Norwegian troops. When Duncan of Macbeths bravery he confers on him the brave title Thane of Cawdor after the previous Thane of Cawdor was recently found a traitor. Before this news reaches Macbeth, he meets the witches in Act 1 Scene 3. In this scene, the witches are portrayed as Instruments of darkness. In weather such as thunder, the witches are plotting to torment a sea captain whos wife insulted them. Banquo described the witches as unearthly, ugly and wild as they have beards. The witches make three predictions for Macbeth. They hail him as the Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King hereafter. They also prophecies that Banquos descendants will be kings but he himself will not. The witches also make more predictions for banquo such as Lesser than Macbeth, and greater and Not so happy, yet much happier meaning he will be not so happy because he will have an early death, but he will be happier as he doesnt have to suffer wit the guilt of killing so many people. When Banquo hears of the prophecies, he thinks that they are ridiclous and he doesnt believe or trust them as they came from witches and may be a trick leading to evil. BanquoShow MoreRelatedThe Role Of The Witches In Macbeth735 Words   |  3 Pages In the play Macbeth the three witches managed to change the future to what they had predicted. Other types of fantasy also played a role in making the tragic ending. These sorts of witchcraft or in other words magic made the play what it is and conveyed character such as Macbeth to do and think of certain things. The witches played a huge role in the story of Macbeth and made him become who he ends up as. Macbeth was a very honorable knight that served king Duncan till his last breath. He didRead MoreThe Role Of The Witches In Macbeth1395 Words   |  6 Pages In the novel Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is told his prophecy by the three witches, mysterious, secretive creatures, who we are left to develop our own vision of. Witches are known to represent evil, envy, and are always the villains of the story. In this novel, they are illustrated very similarly. 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