In 1606 when the play was first written by Shakespeare the majority of people were fairly interested in witchcraft. Hundreds of thousands of women in Europe were tortured and executed in Europe because they were believed to be witches. They were blamed for misfortunes, accidents and disasters of all kinds. Act 4 Scene 1 Line 1 “thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d”. This quote shows the witches using animals such as cats being used as disguises for the evil spirits who served them. Shakespeare has once again used the superstition that witches use cats (usually all black cats) as disguises. In Act 1 Scene 1 Line 1 “when shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning or rain?” shows that witches are believed to cause bad weather and storms. Act 4 Scene 1 Line 18 “for a charm of powerful trouble, like a hell-broth boil and bubble”, shows that the witches
Use potions and spells. The witches are introduced in the beginning of the play and the brief opening scenes give an impression mystery, eeriness, horror and uncertainty. In the time the play was written people were very superstitious; they believed that their lives were influenced, if not dictated by fate. When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, the king of England, James I. He was terrified of witches, because he believed that a group of them had raised a storm to drown him, and then made a wax image of him to make him sicken and die. They confessed, and were all executed. Shakespeare incorporated these beliefs into his play to create atmosphere. Shakespeare made the witches and the witches’ prophecies and superstitions a major part in the storyline of the play. Witches were not thought to be supernatural beings but supposedly gained their powers by selling their souls to Satan. In 1606 many people believed in witches including King James I, and most probably for the play, Shakespeare also accepted the witches’ reality.
When Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s masculinity she influences him to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth tries to change what Macbeth perceives as a man, being brave and daring to a man being almost a killing machine. She does this by saying Act 1 Scene 5 Line 49 “When you durst do it, then you were a man”. Even though Macbeth has doubts, Lady Macbeth convinces him to kill Duncan by calming his fears. Lady Macbeth wants to see her husband succeed and become king; she will stop at nothing to make that possible. After Lady Macbeth teased him about his manhood she moved to a different tactic; she shocks Macbeth into going through with the murder by saying things like she would take her own child in Act 1 Scene 5 Line 59 “while it was smiling in my face…and dashed brains out, had I sworn as you have done by this” Lady Macbeth reveals another more grotesque, greedy side to both Macbeth and the audience. Lady Macbeth’s coldness and control is again shown when she begins to plot Duncan’s murder with Macbeth, she says he should “look like the innocent flower but be the serpent underneath it”, more advice on the killing of his king, and “leave the rest to me” shows how calm and evil Lady Macbeth is over the matter like she couldn’t care less. Lady Macbeth also shows a more helpful side, offering help. “I poor my spirits in thine ear”, which although seemingly providing a contrast to her cold hearted plotting earlier, is in fact another way in which she is convincing Macbeth to kill Duncan her words are sweet to Macbeth’s ear, but are in fact rooted with evil, and this perhaps shows an “innocent flower” side to Lady Macbeth. Macbeth is the weak person in the relationship and we see how Lady Macbeth’s influence has rubbed off on Macbeth’s, as he says, “False face must hide what the false heart doth know”, which is very similar to Lady Macbeth’s words of the “innocent flower” earlier. All in all, in act one we see how Lady Macbeth has a power over Macbeth, she is cunning and calculated, and despite the fact that Macbeth is the seasoned warrior, she is the one who laughs at murder and Macbeth who declines. However we see her exert how power over Macbeth to make him want to murder Duncan, showing how the power in the first relationship is all in Lady Macbeth’s court in the first act. Lady Macbeth shows her strength of conviction and will Act1 Scene 5 line 59 “we fail?”(Mockingly). “screw your courage to the sticking place-and we’ll nit fail”, Lady Macbeth makes Macbeth think that these words are really true, Lady Macbeth thinks that failing is impossible and if Macbeth fails he is weak and not worthy. She believes she has Macbeth wrapped round her finger and that the plan will be carried out by him. She will make Duncan’s guards drunk and she and Macbeth will commit the murder, leaving the guards to take the blame. Lady Macbeth has cunningly changed Macbeth, using his moral weaknesses exposed by his ambition, to her advantage to change his mind. Macbeth let his wife destroy his conscience as she did not have one, and believed she knew what was right and wrong like he had no use of his own brain and couldn’t think for himself what is morally right or wrong. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were ambitious, greedy and wanted power and all Lady Macbeth had to do was sit back and watch it come her way. In act two, after murdering Duncan, Macbeth says “This is a sorry sight”, but Lady Macbeth again shows her power over Macbeth, “A foolish thing to say a sorry sight”. This shows how she is still cold hearted, as she thinks it is “foolish” for a man to show remorse at a murder he committed. She orders him to not think “so deeply”, saying that thinking about the dead “Will make us mad” and “unbend you noble strength”. Here we see a slightly weaker side to Lady Macbeth; she is herself feeling vulnerable to guilt, almost immediately after the murder. This is shown in “will make us mad”. The “us” shows that she is no longer only concerned for Macbeth, but is worried about her own mental state too, fretting that she may go mad with guilt. But soon after, Lady Macbeth regains her control, and begins to once more organize affairs, “go get some water and wash this filthy witness from your hands”. This implies that Lady Macbeth wants Macbeth to go else where, ass she asks him to go and wash “this filthy witness”, suggesting that Macbeth does not show his uncertain side that stood there watching the other side of him murder Duncan. Again this is another massive request from Lady Macbeth, but Macbeth seems to obey anyway, showing her power over him. Macbeth however is “appalled by every noise” and “wake Duncan with thy knocking”. The fact that he is “appalled by every noise” suggests Macbeth is a nervous wreck, and “wake Duncan with thy knocking” is the fact that he wishes Duncan was alive. This suggests that he is racked with guilt, showing how Lady Macbeth is very much still in control of the relationship. In the beginning Lady Macbeth may have been strong with no conscience, but it is her whose mind is playing tricks on her. Lady Macbeth constantly washes her hands but there is not blood. When Lady Macbeth can cope no longer Macbeth calls a Doctor to cure her but the doctor can do nothing. Lady Macbeth becomes weaker and strains to the breaking point and finds the only way out, suicide. The witches’ and Lady Macbeth manipulate and evoke Macbeth to act the way he does in the play because he is susceptible to their influence. The witches’ deceptive predictions give Macbeth and Lady Macbeth a false sense of what is possible. And Macbeth let Lady Macbeth become his downfall. But the peak of Lady Macbeth’s influence is before the scene when Banquo’s ghost appears after that her influence diminishes. Macbeth then begins to rely on the witches predictions.
Macbeth's ambition also influenced his declining character.
However, Macbeth's ambition had not been strong enough to carry the
motive to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth's influence also comes in to
play because if not for Lady Macbeth, his ambition would not have been
intensified enough to drive him to obtain and maintain his title of
King of Scotland no matter what it took, even if it meant murdering.
Macbeth's ambition influenced the cause of his new character. This new
character of Macbeth contained greed, violence, and power hunger.
Macbeth shows this when he kills King Duncan. Macbeth becomes ruthless and merciless because of his ambition. An example of this is when he kills Macduff’s family. They were innocent victims, but Macbeth had decided to “fight to the end”. Later on in the play Macbeth becomes more confident because he has got away with so much. It gets to the point where he thinks he is untouchable even to the witches, and he says to them “deny me this, and an eternal curse fall on you”. He thinks he is in control, and this is the attitude that is his downfall, rather than the actual actions of the witches. In Act 4 Scene 1 in order to see Macbeth’s destiny and to be shown how he will lose the thrown Macbeth visits the witches again. Again there is thunder while the witches work, meaning that the witches are up to no good and are once again plotting. In order to create apparitions that first witch chants a spell speaking of blood and murderers, hinting that due to Macbeth’s evil ways destiny can only be foretold with the use of evil. Macbeth greets the witches by quoting Act 4 Scene 1 Line 48 “how now, you secret, black, and midnight hags! What is it you do?” This shows that Macbeth has no respect for the witches. Each of the words Macbeth quotes relate to the darker side of humanity, which is relevant when speaking about witches and the quotation, also hints that Macbeth thinks the witches, could be to blame for what he has become.
There are many contributing factors to Macbeth’s downfall. Could it be Macbeth’s undying ambition, Lady Macbeth’s incessant persuasion, Macbeth succumbing to a tragic flaw, or just the witches carrying out their well planned scheme? The audience in Elizabethan times would have jumped to the immediate conclusion that the witches were solely responsible. Although this is the leading case for the destruction of Macbeth, there are extenuating events and mental inducement from other characters that perpetuate Macbeth to make certain decisions.
There are more aspects than just Macbeth or Lady Macbeth that caused the collapse of Macbeth; and this is evident from the first line of the great tragedy. The play opens with the three witches planning to meet. In Act I Scene 1 lines 3-4 the witches state that they shall meet when everything is calm and the battle is over. This can instantly convey a sense of foreboding. When the reader hears that the witches already know a great deal about the present situation, one might say that they are behind the development. Later in Act I Scene 3 lines 48-61 the witches again give premonitions of the future. As they give false homage to Macbeth (false in that they only want to lead him on) in foreshadowing. In Act 1 scene 4 lines 48-52 Macbeth shows utter disdain for Malcolm being chosen as the Prince of Cumberland. He doesn’t know what to do now. Should he let things take their course or should he act upon what the witches told him. These things are stirring in Macbeth’s mind as many events unfold. In Act 2 Scene 1 lines 22-24 Banquo had recently asked if Macbeth had been thinking about what the witches had said. Macbeth lied to Banquo’s face without the slightest flinch or guilt. This denotes that Macbeth has been pondering the premonitions so much that he has undergone a character change. This tragic hero gets so involved in deeds and actions that he must later go back and meet with the witches again to find out where he stands. In Act 5 Scene 1 the witches use illusions and spirits to instill vivid portraits inside Macbeth’s conscience. The first apparition confirms his suspicions against Macduff and also makes him weary about his future. The second apparition gives a false truth about a man being born of a woman not being able to inflict injury upon Macbeth. Macbeth takes this the wrong way and becomes conceded. The third apparition adds to Macbeth’s ego because Macbeth laughs at the thought of a forest moving on its own volition. When Macbeth sees the final apparition it sparks fury deep in his heart against Banquo. Although the witches are not seen after this great presage, they are present in Macbeth’s conscience. Macbeth eventually dies because he won’t let go of his attachment to the witches’ predictions. There is still the account of the “third” murderer that accompanies the other two murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance. Some say that the witches had a part in Fleance’s escape.
When Macbeth makes certain actions the witches are guiding him indirectly. Shakespeare stumbled onto a wonderfully ingenious area of psychology in the utilization of subconscious reflection. Every ounce of knowledge gathered from the witches persuades Macbeth to make his decisions accordingly.
One might say that Macbeth was just an above average person with noble and exceptional characteristics, who fell victim to a tragic flaw. This can be noted by the many flights from reality Macbeth makes throughout the tragedy. From seeing the dagger in Act 2 Scene 1 to seeing Banquo’s ghost in Act 3 Scene 4. Macbeth is a figure that we can sympathize with and bestow pity upon.
I think Shakespeare included the witches mainly for King James I and also because many people in the audience in Victorian times would have believed witches existed and had powers, so this intrigued both the king and the audience into watching “Macbeth”. Because the king believed that witches were evil and in league with the devil so did the common people of England. In Victorian times most people obviously believed that witches could do all sorts of things like disappear into thin air, fly on broomsticks, cause bad weather or storms, make people fall ill using spells and potions, and I think Shakespeare was just elaborating how dangerous witches could really be and how they could get you into all kinds of trouble. Shakespeare undoubtabely wrote the play to make the king happy and to basically show just how dangerous three female witches can really be.
