...Witches are women who posses evil magic powers who associate with the devil. Most Western culture imagines witches as women who wear pointy hat, fly on a broomstick and lay curses and misfortune upon others. However, the three witches in the play Macbeth demonstrate a different approach. The Three Witches are depicted as old, ugly women who have beards and scaly fingers. Additionally, they have a critical role in telling the main character, Macbeth, the prophecies and predictions. As a result, the Three Witches play a significant importance to the play Macbeth because they are the ones who instill negative thoughts and ideas into Macbeth’s head with their predictions and emphasize the main theme of evil and darkness. The evil witches are important to the play because they are the ones who instill negative thoughts and ideas into Macbeth’s head with their predictions. First of all, the witches’ predictions give him the idea of killing King Duncan. When the witches first encounter Macbeth, they say, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis!/ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter” (Shakespeare 1:3 50-53). Macbeth is confused when he hears about the prediction and he is astonished when the prediction regarding Cawdor becomes true. After that, he immediately begins to think about his last prediction and imagines about committing murder. He says, “Two truths are told,/ As happy prologues to the swelling act/ Of...
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...does the supernatural play in Macbeth? The word supernatural is defined as ‘Not being able to be explained by the laws of nature’. The majority of us would link the word supernatural to ghosts and paranormal activities, which these days can be proved by using complex technology. However if we look back at Shakespeare’s era in around 1606 the majority of the people there completely believed in the supernatural. Their main belief was that witches existed and had great power to change what ever they wanted. It was believed so much in this time that even King James believed that these supernatural beings existed. Although nowadays it is completely the opposite, most of us believe that these supernatural beings are just mythological. The play Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare during the time that probably he himself and the rest of the population believed in the supernatural, it includes several supernatural events and the general atmosphere is a sinister one. The very first part of the play Macbeth includes three witches other wise described by Shakespeare as the weird sisters. These three witches plan to meet Macbeth upon a heath in the storm which is surrounding them. The effect of this automatically gives the reader the feeling that the play is a sinister one. The witches communicate to each other by speaking in riddles, such as “Fair is foul and foul is fair”. We learn two things from this first part of speech from the witches, firstly we can see that they speak...
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...play, Macbeth, the three weird sisters, otherwise known as the witches, merely report what is destined to be for Macbeth. I believe that Macbeth would not have taken part in the same actions, if the witches hadn’t given him any predictions. He would not have had any reason to commit murder if he hadn’t known that he may become king. Throughout the play, there several instances where Macbeth approaches the witches to receive future predictions for his life. Some of the predictions may still have come true without Macbeth doing the things he did, but most of them would have been false without the murders. In Act I, Scene III, Banquo and Macbeth meet the three witches for the first time. In this scene, the witches give predictions...
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...1. How is the ritual of the witches made loathsome in its detail? The inclusion of disgusting ingredients even including a dead baby part make this ritual gruesome. 2. What does Macbeth’s first speech indicate about his attitude to the witches? Macbeth’s first speech shows that he trusts the witches. 3. Note the conjuration in lines 50-61. What is Macbeth demanding? Macbeth is demanding that the witches obey his orders. 4. Who else does Macbeth demand to see? Macbeth demands to see more about his future. 5. What warning does the first apparition offer? The warning the first apparition offers is to look out for Macduff. 6. What form does the first apparition take? The form of the first apparition is a helmeted head. 7. What do you think...
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...2. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth meets three witches who inform him with three apparitions: Beware of Macduff, Fear no man born of a woman, and you(Macbeth) will never be defeated until Birnam Wood marches to fight you at Dunsinane Hill. The apparitions sounded unreal and impossible to take place. Therefore, the witches tricked Macbeth into feeling a false sense of confidence and security. Later on, at the beginning of Act5,scene5, Macbeth speaks in a warlike tone and seems to be defiant; “Hang out our banners on the outward walls”, “Our castle’s strength will laugh a siege to scorn”. He is fully armed, and he confidentially turns his scorn on the advancing army of Macduff. Macbeth’s overconfident scene is interrupted by the news of...
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...In William Shakespeare's Macbeth the witches play an important role throughout the play. Although it may seem that their part is small, without them there would simply be no theme and storyline in this play. The witches provide readers with a theme, foreshadowing, overall mood and also the evolution of Macbeth’s character which are all crucial in the play. The witches believe that, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (I.I.XII), stating that what may seem normal or ordinary on the outside may not be the same on the inside. This quote is repeated throughout Macbeth and presents itself as a major theme in the play. It shows that what seems normal or ordinary on the outside may not be the same on the inside. The prophecies that the witches tell Macbeth...
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...Macbeth is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600s. When the play was written is relevant because it is during a time of transition in England. The play focuses on the “hero” Macbeth and his quest for power. Macbeth is helping win the war for King Duncan. Three witches appear and tell Macbeth that he will become King of Scotland, and that Banquo’s descendants shall be kings. The duo is suspicious of the witches until the previous Thane of Cawdor is found to be a traitor, therefore, Duncan places Macbeth in his place. While the King sleeps, Macbeth murders King Duncan and frames the guards. Macbeth, fearing his descendants will lose the throne, sends assassins to kill Banquo and his son. The assassins kill Banquo, but his son, Fleance, escapes. The witches tell Macbeth that no natural born man...
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...Macbeth: The Tragic Hero By: Daniel Chekole 2012 Macbeth: The Tragic Hero By: Daniel. C "Any art worthy of its name should address 'life', 'man', 'nature', 'death' and 'tragedy'.” (Barnett Newman, BrainQuote) In a tragedy the main character rises to greatness showing characteristics above normality while repeatedly showing proof to the audience about his or her tragic flaw which later on leads to the character’s downfall. Macbeth created tragedy in the lives of his loved ones and peers as well as a monumental tragic fate onto himself during his reversion from being a decent and moral man to someone similar to a devil who had paranoia and couldn’t differentiate between good and evil. Furthermore, Macbeth became detached from the feelings and thoughts of the people around him as he became so engaged in himself as well as the three witches and their prophecies. When Shakespeare wrote this play he slowed down the process of the tragedy so that the audience would acknowledge and experience Macbeth’s success and happiness; slowing signs appeared with foreshadowing techniques leading to the climax of the play as Macbeth headed to his tragic flaw. In the process of the tragedy Macbeth starts as a brave respected warrior, then later is fooled by the witches with prophecies, and sadly becomes lifeless. In the beginning of the play as we first hear of Macbeth from a wounded captain who...
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...Shakespeare’s Macbeth is regarded as a tragedy. It is considered one not because of Macbeth’s ruthless killings of innocent victims, but because it portrays Macbeth’s transformation from a brave, dutiful soldier, to a backstabbing, greedy villain. It is all thanks to the three witches, who ruin Macbeth with their snippets of lies and truth. The presence of the witches adds a supernatural tone to the tale and is the crucial factor influencing Macbeth’s actions, and therefore, the storyline. The three mysterious beings can be accredited with telling Macbeth their prophecies, making him see Banquo’s ghost, as well as making him see the three apparitions. At the very beginning of the story, Macbeth would never think of wronging his king in any way. He is a loyal general and is perfectly content with his position of Thane of Glamis. Upon meeting the witches for the first time, he hears their three prophecies. The last statement, “All hail Macbeth, thou shalt be king thereafter!”(I, iii,), seems so unrealistic that he almost immediately dismisses it from his memory. However, it is just enough to tip him over the edge. It plants a seed of doubt in his mind, and more and more, Macbeth finds himself thinking about what it means. That little sentence is what ultimately causes Macbeth, along with Lady Macbeth, to corrupt and murder his beloved King Duncan. Macbeth also learns from the witches that Banquo “shall get kings, though [he] be none”(I, iii,). This leads to Macbeth’s...
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...when pressured by situational forces. Macbeth is first introduced as a war hero, and the thane of Glamis, a nobleman who Duncan, the King of Scotland, speaks very highly of. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally disposed to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, it is evident how influences like Lady Macbeth, the witches and fate push Macbeth into committing evil acts. In the witches’ prophecies, Macbeth is told he would be Thane of Cawdor and then eventually become king. After becoming Thane of Cawdor shortly following the execution of the previous Thane, one prophecy lingered in Macbeth’s mind, becoming King of Scotland, which was impossible for as long as Duncan lived. Macbeth has the thought of becoming ruler but the idea of murdering his King was never the plan, “That tears shall drown the wind. / I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself / and falls on th’ other” (I. vii. 25-28). However, his wife, Lady Macbeth, makes it known to Macbeth that the only way he would become king is to murder Duncan, and does so by accusing him of being a coward: From this time Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard To be the same in thine own act and valor As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem (I. Vii. 39-43). Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth the perfect plan of getting the guards...
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...Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare and is about the tragic downfall of a Scottish lord who committed multiple murders. Macbeth, the protagonist of the play, killed numerous people to get what he wanted; however some of the murders were unavoidable. Although some of the murders were unavoidable, Macbeth is still guilty for the wrongful murders of Banquo and the Macduff family. He killed his fellow countrymen for power, which is unacceptable in any circumstances, but in Duncan’s case Macbeth was pressured by others to commit the deed. Macbeth is personally responsible for the death of Banquo, but he is not responsible for Duncan’s and the Macduff family’s deaths. To begin with, Macbeth is not responsible for Duncan’s death as Macbeth was pressured to kill him. Lady Macbeth, Macbeth’s wife, pressured him into killing Duncan. Macbeth is innocent in this murder as he was being emasculated and used by his own wife. The guilt should be on Lady Macbeth as it was her that told Macbeth to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth. Was the hope drunk/...
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...Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a tragedy set in medieval Scotland about a ruthless thane and his quest of greed and power. Given a prophecy foretelling his rise to power as king he decides to kill his king and take the throne by force. Macbeth is overthrown by his fellow thane Macduff because of Macbeth’s belief in the supernatural. Macbeth’s obsession with his prophecy leads to his untimely demise. While the witches gave Macbeth his prophecy, it was he who let the idea consume him. The witches, who represent chaos and conflict, use Macbeth’s fear of superstition to plant an idea in his mind. The witches twist and manipulate his mind to the point of no return causing Macbeth believe he is invincible because of the witch's apparitions. Insisting that he cannot be killed by Macduff because of what the apparitions said, he boldly marches into battle confident of his prophecy until Macduff tells him that he was not born of woman but, “from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped” (V.iiiiiiii.15-16) Macbeth realizes too late that the witches had tricked him and he himself had made the prophecy come true. The witches are responsible for influencing Macbeth, but the idea of the prophecy is what drove Macbeth to fulfil it. Macbeth let the idea of him as king devour his rational thought. He becomes so obsessed with power and becoming king that he finally decides to act on what the witches told him and kills Duncan. Macbeth only shows curiosity to what the witches said until...
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...failure. William Shakespeare’s iconic play, Macbeth, reveals the manipulating forces within relationships through its complex characters and plot interactions. Although Macbeth was considered to be brave and noble for his braveness in the battlefield, he made a destructive decision to kill the king which will have grave implications on people around him. In the beginning of the play, the manipulating forces within relationships is revealed when Macbeth first encounters the three witches. The witches introduce the prophecies to Macbeth and Banquo and foretell the likeness of Macbeth becoming King of Scotland. Macbeth’s first encounter with the three witches build up his temptation but he fears from others knowing his intent (I.iv.50-55). This shapes the theme of manipulating forces within relationships because Macbeth is tempted by the idea of him becoming king due to the witches’ prophecies. Once Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor, he is manipulated by malicious thoughts that were influenced to gain the throne by his love, Lady Macbeth (I.vii.39-45)....
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...Themes in Macbeth Shakespeare’s Macbeth, is the story of a murder and a usurper. Macbeth is a noble man. Unfortunately, he chooses betrayal and crime, knows them for what they are, and is completely aware he is doing evil. Evil is consistently distributed throughout the play, and plays a large role in each character. However, there are more themes portrayed all through Macbeth. Three of the main themes found in Macbeth are, appearance versus reality, gender expectations, and guilt. To begin, a theme found in Macbeth is appearance versus reality. Appearance versus reality is portrayed when Macbeth sees a virtual dagger floating in front of him just before he is due to murder King Duncan. Macbeth is hallucinating and cannot believe what he sees as he says, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, /the handle toward my hand?” (II.i.33-34). The dagger, covered in blood and pointing towards the king’s chamber, represents the bloody deed on which Macbeth is about to embark on. Although Macbeth is not physically capable of grasping the dagger, it leads him to think that he must kill the king. Another time appearance versus reality is demonstrated, is when Lady Macbeth advises Macbeth to give their guests a warm welcome to their feast, hiding their rugged looks of murder and evil. Lady Macbeth informs Macbeth to act without a worry by saying, “And make our faces vizards to our hearts, /Disguising what they are” (III.ii.34-35). In reality, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth use their appearances...
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...Macbeth, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 17th century, expresses clearly the strong pull that desire for power can have over a man. Macbeth, the title character of the play, is often expressed as being the villain of the tragedy. However, through studying the play closely it is clear to see that, rather than being an innately evil character, Macbeth is in fact a tragic hero, doomed by fate from the start to descend into the madness which he did. Had it not been for his hamartia and his interaction with the witches and his wife then the play would have had a very different ending. Like every tragic hero in literature Macbeth suffered from a tragic flaw, or a hamartia. In his case, his flaw was his vaulting ambition, combined with a lust for power. Macbeth himself recognises this ambition in act I, scene 7 where he states in a soliloquy “I have no spur to ***** the sides of my intent but only vaulting ambition”. This comment suggests that he knows that the only thing that prompts his actions is his ambition. While ambition alone is not in fact a bad trait, when added with a lust for power, this ambition can become dangerous. Did having these qualities mean that Macbeth was indisputably corrupt? No, they simply meant that he, like all human beings, had a flaw and a weakness. Indeed, at the start of the play, Macbeth was seen as the hero, being described as “brave Macbeth” in act I, scene II, and shown as a loyal and brave solider on the battle field. He is also...
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