The Dramatic Impact and Significance of Act 1 Scene 1 and Act 3 Scene 3 of Macbeth

Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches on the moor, after the battle, just as the witches had predicted. "There to meet Macbeth"

" When the hurly burleys done. When the battles lost or won"

"A drum! A drum! Macbeth does come". They know Macbeth is coming to see them right from the start of the play. It is as if he is lured there by some evil power that the witches have over him. Macbeth's first words in Act 1 Scene 3 "So foul and fair a day I have not seen" echo the words of the witches "Foul is fair and fair is foul". This links him to the witches and brings the idea of doubleness into the play. This means that some things in the play has two truths and always what they seem. The witches seem to have some kind of power over Macbeth. They predict their meeting with Macbeth and they predict Macbeths future. I think if Macbeth hadn't heard the witches predictions he wouldn't have turned evil. The witches poisoned his mind with greed and evil. Once Macbeth had heard the witch's predictions he began to believe they were true and was intrigued to learn more about his future. The witches bear a resemblance to fortunetellers, because although they can predict the future but they cannot change it.

The witches have a look of unease about them. When Banquo saw them he said 'What are these, so withered and so wild in their attire'. He goes on to say "You should be women. And yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so". They appear to be withered old hags that bear no resemblance to anything Banquo and Macbeth have seen before. Banquo cannot decide if these creatures are male or female. He is bewildered by these creatures and shocked by there hideous appearance. The way the witches look does differ from one production to the next but they are always used to shock the audience. This is how Shakespeare wanted the witches to be portrayed. The worse their appearance the more of an impact it has on the audience because in Shakespeare's day witches were highly disapproved of and the penalty if you were found to be a witch was to be burnt alive at the stake.

"Hail to thee Thane of Glamis" "Hail to thee Thane of Cawdor" "thalt shall be king heir after". These are the three prophecies of the witches. The witches speak with an evil tone as they try to draw Macbeth into a tangled web of deceit. Banquo is intrigued by the prophecy and wishes to know what is in store for him.

"Lesser than Macbeth but greater. Not so happy yet much happier". Banquo does not know they are predicting his death, which happens later in the play.

In Act 1 scene 3 Macbeth and Banquo are brought good news by Ross and Angus telling them that Macbeth has become Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is taken back by this news; he asks "Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?" .He is shocked that the witches prediction has come true, he is also confused because why should he be Thane of Cawdor while the Thane is still alive and well. As soon as he hears this news it triggers off the pattern of greed in his mind. He begins to change from a hero who fights and wins battles into someone is willing to murder, lie and deceive just to get the throne. He also begins to think that maybe the witches prophesy are true and he will eventually become king. Banquo is shocked "What can the devils speak true". He begins to realise just how dangerous the witches really are. He is worried that his dear friend Macbeth is going to end up in trouble.

In Shakespeare's day the witches would have had a greater impact on the audience. In this time people believed in witches and their powers, they associated witches with evil and black magic. They blamed anything bad that happened on witchcraft. James 1 was the king of England when Macbeth was written, he was absolutely petrified of witches, and he even believed that a group of witches had raised a storm to try to drown him. He passed a law to subject anyone practicing witchcraft to be dealt with by death. Witches were also associated with the devil, people went on witch-hunts and once found guilty of being a witch they were burned at the stake. This view of witchcraft meant that when the audience saw the opening scene of Macbeth they were genuinely shocked and Shakespeare's theme of evil would come across much better. Nowadays we don't believe in witches so when we see the opening scene of Macbeth it doesn't have the same dramatic impact as it would have had. Producers of Macbeth in more recent productions have to think of new and shocking ways to present the witches so that the dramatic impact of the witches is not lost.

Conclusion

These two scenes are at the centre of the play. They bring the whole play into context and they show us what is in store in the rest of the play. The evil is brought across right from the beginning of the first scene and stays there throughout the play. Everything about the play from the way the witches speak to the setting of the play is meant to disturb us and contribute to the theme of evilness. The witches are used to strike fear into our hearts and their power is what causes Macbeth to go insane. Without these two scenes early in the play there would be no plot and the play would become dull to watch. These scenes add intrigue and get us thinking about what is going to happen. Shakespeare adds the element of suspense early on in the play and along with the impact of the Scene 1 and Scene 3 in Act 1 he manages to keep the audience interested in the play from the very first scene.

The play has a very strong theme of evil this is based around the witches in the beginning of the play but later on Macbeth becomes the main evil theme. This is the goriest play that Shakespeare wrote. Towards the end of the play Macbeth becomes cold, calculated and callous. This leads him to murder Duncan the king and gain the throne but this is not enough for him. The evil is now working deep within him and he wants more and more and will not stop at nothing to get it.

Macbeth trusts the witches because he is drawn towards them by their enchanting, evil power. Its as if there are using voodoo dolls or something along that line. He was dragged into the evil and deceit. He didn't have time to stop and consider that the witches could b misleading him. Once they'd predicted him to be king he was hooking by the thought. The witches manipulated his ambition and turned it into greed. Macbeth wasn't in control of what was going on because the witches had put the ideas in his head and these ideas took over his rational thoughts and Macbeth lost control.