During Scene 2 the audience hears of Macbeth’s reputation as a great solider, and a loyal servant of his king, and that King Duncan will reward him with the title “Thane of Cawdor”
The start of scene 3 is on a heath during thunder. The three witches enter. The first witch asks, “Where hast thou been, sisters?” “Killing swine.” The second witch replies. This reinforces that the witches are evil, they have been killing animals, and the audience believe that animals were killed to be used in potions and spells, which the witches created.
Macbeth enters, and the first words he says are “so foul and fair aday I have not seen” Macbeth is probably referring to the weather and victory but he has also echoed a very similar a very similar line which was said by the witches in the first scene, can this just be a coincidence? I don’t think so, I believe that Shakespeare has placed a similar line for Macbeth so that the audience links Macbeth and the Witches. Banquo is both shocked and surprised by the appearance of the witches. He says “ So withered, and so wild… and yet on’t?” They look nothing like humans but they have some human characteristics. This mystery is reinforced when he cant tell whether they are male or female “ You should be woman and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so.” This also suggests that the witches are a hybrid of man and woman adding to the mysterious atmosphere. Each witch greets Macbeth differently Thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor and “that shalt be king hereafter”. Theses are the two prophecies, which are told to Macbeth. He is the Thane of Glamis, but not the other two. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony because the audience know that he is Thane of Cawdor but he does not.
Banquo asks what the witches have to say to him. They say Banquo’s descendants will be kings “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.” This is the first indication that there is a potential conflict between Macbeth and Banquo because although the witches say that Macbeth will become king, it is Banquo’s descendants that will succeed him. Macbeth tries to question the witches but they vanish. Macbeth and Banquo discuss what happened then Ross and Angus enter. Ross tells Macbeth that is now Thane of Cawdor the first prophecy has come true. Macbeth begins to wonder whether the final prediction will also come true. Shakespeare uses ‘asides’ to tell the audience what Macbeth is thinking but the asides are not part of the dialogue with the other characters. During lines 130-142 he says “ My thought... in surmise” he explains murder is only a thought going through his mind yet he is so shaken by it he is unable to act. “ Nothing is but what is not” The significance of this quote is that before any act can be committed physically it must be imagined in the mind. It also suggests that the more Macbeth thinks about future events, the more he becomes paralysed, so that he is unsure of what to do. Shakespeare uses equivocation when Banquo says “And oftentimes, to win is our harm The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betrays In deepest consequence. The words of “good” and “ill” are similar to the words of “fair” and “foul” this play is a battle between good and evil, Macbeth is a loyal solider who is turned into an evil king.
Macbeth decides to let the future take care of itself, and he and Banquo agree to discuss matters at a more convenient time. Macbeth says “ Come what come may” which proposes that he is willing to let the future unfold without his active participation. However, in future scenes he takes an active role in changing the future by eliminating both Duncan and Banquo.
Lady Macbeth is more ambitious than Macbeth to kill the king so that he can become king. She progressively feels more guilty as the play unfolds. “ What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” Eventually her conscience becomes too much for her and she becomes insane. Did the prophecies that were given to Macbeth change him into an evil man or would he have become that anyway? If Macbeth had neither heard nor believed the witches prophecies, I think that he would have remained loyal to Duncan and would not have committed the murders. This makes the appearance of the witches and their interaction with Macbeth crucial to the whole play. Macbeth is haunted by Banquos ghost this shows he has a conscience and feels guilty for killing his friend so there is still some good in him. Eventually Macbeth’s downfall is his trust in the witches, he becomes dependant on them. The final time he goes to the witches he is told two major prophecies by apparitions, these are that “he cannot be killed of man born of woman” and “Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him” Macbeth now thinks he is invincible. The two prophecies come true. The wood from Birnam wood is cut down and used as camouflage to get close to the castle. Macbeth is finally killed by Mac Duff who is not born by women because he was given birth to by caesarean section.
Macbeth is a supernatural play, which is determined by prophecies and apparitions, the play is a battle between good and evil. The appearance and the prophecies of the supernatural element of the witches drive the whole plot of Macbeth. Without them the actions of the characters would be completely different. The emergence of the witches in the first scene shows how vital they are. The scenes also show how easily Macbeth is influenced by the external events. He could, for instance, have ignored the witch’s prophecies. It is a weakness in his character that he believes them. He also sows the seeds of his own downfall when he later tries to make the witches prophecies come true. Maybe it is his excessive ambition combined with that of his wife that leads both of them to their tragic deaths.
