Discuss the Role of the Witches and Other Supernatural Elements
'Macbeth' Coursework Essay
Discuss the Role of the Witches and Other Supernatural Elements
In Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'
The play 'Macbeth' is set in Scotland, in the 11th century but written in 1600. It was written for Shakespeare's new patron, James I, following the death of Queen Elizabeth. James was very interested in witchcraft and Scotland, hence the theme of the play.
Many things influenced Macbeth to do what he did. First are the witches, who are introduced in the beginning of the play. The witches can foretell the future. They can also add temptation. They speak of meeting Macbeth when he returns from the battle. When they do meet up the witches tell Macbeth that he is to become 'Thane of Cawdor', 'Thane of Glams' and king. These prophecies introduce Macbeth to ideas of greatness. The witches, however, didn't force him to take action on the predictions but they do influence him. The first of the predictions came true very soon after meeting the witches, which pushed him further.
Another influence is Macbeth's wife. She first finds out about Macbeth's accomplishments in a letter. Lady Macbeth makes arrangements and plots the death of Duncan (the king). When Macbeth arrives, she tells him what she has plotted. Lady Macbeth is shown to be ambitious woman. She can manipulate Macbeth easily,
"That I may pour my spirits in thine ear"
She is the biggest influence upon Macbeth. The witches introduce an idea of what might happen and Lady Macbeth makes Macbeth believe that it will happen and helps him to force it to happen. She thinks that Macbeth is too kind to do such a deed.
"It is too full o' the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way"
She also believes that he will not be willing to kill Duncan to get the easy way to the throne. So she threatens his man hood and asks if he is frightened.
"Art thou affeard."
"And live a coward in thine own esteem."
This threatens Macbeth because he is a soldier and he should be used to killing but he doesn't want to kill the king because he wouldn't be doing it for defense. He is driven to evil and insanity by his own ambition. The main focus of this essay is about the supernatural forces of the witches.
The audience gets an idea of what the play is going to be about through observing the first scene. The play opens with a very short scene. It opens with the witches on a moor. There is thunder and lightning as the witches enter. This sort of weather is associated with supernatural and elements of evil. They mention Macbeth's name and a meeting place. The witches get the audience's attention by their appearance and the way they speak. The witches are dressed in cloaks, appear old, wise and ugly. The way they speak is in rhyming couplets. This makes them seem like they are chanting.
"When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"
They also, at the end of the scene, say one last rhyming couplet.
"Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
Hover through the fog and filthy air."
This suggests to the audience that there is going to be an essence of chaos where things are going to be both foul and fair. This left me thinking 'Who is foul and who is fair?' The witches are associated with thunder, lightning, fog, filth, cauldrons and unwholesomeness.
The play Macbeth is based on a true story, some of the characters actually lived. The witches however were added for interest. When 'Macbeth' was written in 1606 witchcraft was an interesting subject. The witches would be more interesting to an audience in the 17th century than to a modern day audience because they believed in supernatural forces. They believed that witches could:
* Curse
* Cast spells
* Predict the future
* Fly
* Vanish
* Control weather conditions
Thousands of people were killed because they might have been a witch. So this shows why the witches were introduced to the story. Even today it adds tension and suspicion the same way as a few hundred years ago, but we don't fear them.
Shakespeare opens the play on such a dramatic opening to show the theme of the play and to get people immediately interested and maybe make them feel a bit uncomfortable. The audience might have feared the play because it had witches. They are so important to the plot of 'Macbeth' because if they weren't in the play the idea of becoming king wouldn't have crossed Macbeth's mind. Even if he had thought about winning the throne by killing the king, the plot wouldn't have been as interesting. I think the witches' intentions are to cause abit of chaos. Witches were thought to be dangerous servants of Satan. So they could have just been looking to cause chaos with someone they know has the will power to do something like killing the king.
The first time Macbeth speaks he is in conversation with Banquo. The audience may find what he says disturbing.
"So foul and fair a day I have not seen."
So immediately the audience should be able to distinguish which of the two is Macbeth and which is Banquo. Macbeth's words may be found disturbing because he used the exact words the witches used. Therefore maybe the "fair is foul, foul is fair..." is a spell the witches cast. Duncan (king of Scotland), Malcolm (Duncan's son) and a Sergeant are having a discussion about the battle when ...
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The first time Macbeth speaks he is in conversation with Banquo. The audience may find what he says disturbing.
"So foul and fair a day I have not seen."
So immediately the audience should be able to distinguish which of the two is Macbeth and which is Banquo. Macbeth's words may be found disturbing because he used the exact words the witches used. Therefore maybe the "fair is foul, foul is fair..." is a spell the witches cast. Duncan (king of Scotland), Malcolm (Duncan's son) and a Sergeant are having a discussion about the battle when Macbeth's name is mentioned. They start talking about how brave and noble he is.
"For brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name."
"Noble Macbeth."
"All's too weak for brave Macbeth."
When Banquo and Macbeth finally meet the witches I get the impression that the witches are uncomfortable to be around. Macbeth and Banquo don't believe they are human. They appear confused because of the witches appearance. They seem female but their appearance is so strange.
"You should be women and yet your beards forbid me to interpret."
At first the witches don't make sense to Macbeth so he asks for more explanation.
"Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more"
Macbeth doesn't believe the predictions at first. Soon Macbeth starts to believe the predictions when he has found out that he has been named Thane of Cawdor. Banquo isn't thrown by the witches' predictions. Banquo also believes that the whole thing is insane and that they had been drugged to believe,
"Or have we eaten on the insane roots"
Banquo believes that evil wants trust, so evil can deceive. He thinks that the witches want trust so they can betray trust in important matters to get somebody in trouble.
"The instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray's in deep consequence."
Lady Macbeth seems very happy to have heard about the predictions. There is a certain sense of evil to Lady Macbeth.
"O never shall sun that morrow see"
She is a dominant lady, because of this she seems to have power over Macbeth. She is able to control and manipulate him. Lady Macbeth always seems unsatisfied. She has more ambition than Macbeth does, Lady Macbeth seems to want the crown more than Macbeth. She manages to sort out a plan before she see's Macbeth.
Straight away we get a sense of evil to Lady Macbeth.
"it is too full o'the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way"
Lady Macbeth feels that Macbeth cannot do the deed because he to too kind and too full of human goodness to kill someone.
"The illness should attend it; what thou wouldst highly"
Lady Macbeth is saying that in order for Macbeth to become king he must accompany evil with his ambition. As his ambitions are high and his evil is low it will be hard to persuade him to kill Duncan. So Lady Macbeth threatens his man-hood.
"Art thou affeard"
Lady Macbeth also calls on evil spirits to help her become stronger. If she were stronger she could kill Duncan herself because she knows that Macbeth won't be-able to do it without lots of persuasion.
"Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts! Unsex me here"
When she says this, she is asking evil spirits to take away her woman qualities so that she isn't as sensitive as a female and feels she doesn't have it in her to actually kill someone. From this you can tell she has started plotting. She cannot kill Duncan so she tells Macbeth to do it. Macbeth had not thought about killing Duncan to get to be king. Lady Macbeth wants Macbeth to act normal so as not to be suspected of the killing. Macbeth's time was a time when a king was considered to be the closest person to god whilst being on earth. This makes Macbeth not want to kill the king, he feels he will be eternally haunted by his ghost.
"Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't"
Lady Macbeth makes Macbeth sound innocent and not much like the fierce warrior he is.
Just by looking at this scene you can see that Lady Macbeth has an evil nature. She immediately thinks that the only way Macbeth will become king is if she or he kills the king. Whilst Macbeth believes that he will become king by not doing anything, if the predictions are correct. Lady Macbeth is playing with fate.
"If Chance will have me king, why,
chance may crown me, without my stir"
Also her calling on evil spirits makes us believe that she cannot be a pleasant woman.
In act 2 scene 1 we observe Banquo, Macbeth and Fleance talking in the courtyard of Macbeth's castle. Banquo mentions that he dreamt about the three sisters (witches) and says that the predictions for Macbeth are correct.
" I dreamt of the three weird sisters:
To you they have show'd some truth"
Banquo asks for time to speak with Macbeth when he can spare some time. Macbeth answers that he will follow his advice when the time comes. With this Banquo says,
"In seeking augment it, but still keep
My bosom franchis'd and allegiance clear,
I shall be counsell'd."
I think that Banquo saying that he is loyal to the king, has stirred Macbeth's guilt. Macbeth, being one of the king's soldiers, should be loyal also but Lady Macbeth has pushed him to kill Duncan. She has also convinced him that it was too late to change him mind. Tension is also shown by the short answers that Macbeth was giving Banquo.
When the servant, Banquo and Fleance exit, Macbeth sees a dagger. It is a hallucination of a dagger because Macbeth cannot actually grab it. He attempts many times to grasp it but fails to do so every time.
"Is this a dagger I see before me"
"I have thee not, and yet I see thee still"
By viewing this as an audience it invites the conclusion of madness because the audience wouldn't actually be able to see a dagger. The dagger may represent the sense of evil over coming Macbeth, as his ambitions grow bigger. I think that Shakespeare is trying to show that from madness evil can happen.
The dagger may have been put there by the witches to help Macbeth kill Duncan. This could have happened but I don't think it is so, because the witches gave a prediction and I don't see how they would influence his actions from then. Macbeth's path towards evil started when Lady Macbeth suggested the plan of killing Duncan. Macbeth's last words in this scene are,
"I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven, or to hell"
Having said this it seems that he enjoyed killing Duncan. He is saying what's done is done and that all that's left for Duncan is heaven or hell.
Macbeth and Lennox are discussing the terrible weather from the previous night. The way Lennox describes the weather seems to reflect the murder of the king.
"The night has been unruley...Lamemtings heard i' the air;
strange screams of death...Of dire combustion and confus'd events"
The bad weather could have been conjured by the witches. Bad weather and the supernatural have always been seen to have some sort of a link, as with the animal's strange behavior. Duncan's horses went wild,
"Contending 'gainst obedience, as they would
Make war with mankind"
The horses broke from their stalls and falcons were attacked and killed by other flying predators (hawks). The link between nature and the supernatural world needs balance.
Evil happens in the human world, some thing evil or out of the ordinary must happen in the natural world. These events are important to show the audience that evil things are going on and supernatural links human evil.
Macbeth had sunk so badly to evil that he winds up killing his best friend Banquo. To protect himself he must kill many times not to be found out. Covering up again and again to stay out of trouble.
Banquo shares his suspicions of Macbeth killing Duncan with the audience (thinking out loud).
"Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all,
As the weird women promis'd; and, I fear,
Thou play'dst most foully for 't."
He speaks of the witches and his own predictions. His childrens' predictions bring him hope. However Macbeth had been thinking about Banquo's predictions. In order for Macbeth to become king he needed to kill the king. To make the witches prophecies come true only for Macbeth he needs to kill Banquo and Fleance. This prevents Fleance from becoming king, stops Banquo's suspicions and enables Macbeth' son, when he has one, to become king. So Macbeth plots to kill Banquo. This shows how evil Macbeth has actually become because when he killed Duncan he was forced (in a way) to do it. Macbeth feels he has control over everything now that he is king and by killing certain people he can control his destiny. Macbeth hires 3 assassins to kill Banquo and Fleance, but Fleance manages to escape the murder. Macbeth beings to think that nobody can be trusted in this world so he kills the murderers off himself. Another example of how he is becoming more evil. He does this with no sympathy.
In act 3 scene 4 we witness the ghost of Banquo. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth hold a banquet with many guests. I think the ghost image is triggered when a murderer walks into the hall, especially when the message is that Fleance had escaped. Again distress and madness enters his mind and he begins to hallucinate but this time instead of the dagger, his own best friend is sat in Macbeth's seat covered in blood and gashes. The banquet had a formality,
"You know your own degrees; sit down."
But when Macbeth is stirred by the image of Banquo Lady Macbeth asks the guest to leave without the formality in which they arrived.
"Stand not upon the order of your going,
But go at once."
The audience might look at this scene as a panic. They also observe again Macbeth acting in an unhinged manner but after the deed of death, not before. Again Lady Macbeth takes control but soon loses it, as she doesn't understand what's going on in Macbeth's head. Macbeth also must have made his guests feel uneasy because they cannot see the ghost, only Macbeth can see the ghost of Banquo. Macbeth see's Banquo's decaying body just sat in his chair, the ghost doesn't physically say anything, he just looks over at Macbeth. This is what makes Macbeth panic,
"Thou canst not say I did it: never shake
Thy gory locks at me."
Macbeth seeks out the witches for a second time in Act 4 Scene 1. He shows them his interest in the prophecies because he demands a second prediction. The witches, one at a time, appear in symbolic form. 'An armed head' represents Macbeth's head. This represents Macbeth's future, as in Act 5 scene 7 Macbeth's head is cut off and presented Malcolm. The apparition however just warns Macbeth of Macduff and descends,
"Macbeth! Beware Macduff;
Beware the Thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough."
Macbeth takes the warning and is thankful for the caution message but seems to be in a hurry to get on to more predictions, as he didn't say a lot about the apparition,
"Whate'er thou art, for thy good caution thanks;
Thou hast harp'd my fear aright. But one word
More - ."
The second apparition, the 'bloody baby', this is a representation of Macduff. Macduff tells Macbeth who had been 'untimely ripp'd' from his mothers womb. Again with this prophecy Macbeth doesn't quite understand what is being said to him. Macbeth thinks he is going to be safe, this gives him confidence. He feels that nobody can kill him because of what the second apparition had told him,
"The power of man, for none of women born
Shall harm Macbeth."
He thinks this means that nobody can harm him. Macbeth is wrong however because Macduff was not born from his mother. He was prematurely removed (caesarean). Macbeth only learns this in Act 5 Scene 7 where Macduff tells him.
The third apparition is 'a child crowned, with a tree in his hand' is representing Malcolm who is rightful king of Scotland. He approaches the palace camouflaged with tree branches. The third apparition tells him that he will not be vanquished until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him. Great Birnam Wood is about twelve miles from Dunsinane,
"Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam Wood
to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him."
For the third time Macbeth feels safe and does not understand the predictions. Macbeth however is left to wonder whether or not that Banquo's child will reign.
Macbeth believes he has seen what he wanted to see but again the supernatural forces have deceived him. Though Macbeth cannot interpret these predictions, Shakespeare expects the audience to understand the prophecies. Dramatic irony was used when the apparitions talk. We, the audience, understand the meanings of these prophecies.
Macbeth understands what the prophecies mean when Macduff reveals himself to be caesarean born. By this time it is too late for Macbeth to react or do anything about the situation.
The warning of apparition one brings Macbeth to fear Macduff's family because if Macduff's family lives then his family shall take the throne, so he orders Macduff's family to be killed. He does not just order the death of Macduff's family but everybody in Macduff's castle,
"The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon fife; give to the
edge of the sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls."
Lady Macbeth dies in Act 5 Scene 5. Macbeth shows little interest,
"She should have died hereafter; there would have
been a time for such a word."
This shows how much he has change from a caring husband and excellent loyal soldier to an evil, selfish and ungrateful murderer. All he seems to care about is his throne and the witches prophecies coming true. He plays fate again by ordering the death of Macduff's family straight after the predictions. Lady Macbeth started Macbeth's path down to evil. The death of Lady Macbeth symbolises that the goal of complete evil has now been completed so the existence of Lady Macbeth is no longer significant as Macbeth doesn't need someone there to push him to do what he does. He ordered the killing of Banquo without consulting his wife. This also shows the insignificance of Lady Macbeth anymore as well because her role becomes less and less as the play goes on.
As Macduff and Malcolm lead the English army through Birnam wood to Macbeth's castle, Macbeth starts to realise the predictions coming true but still feels confident that his life is in good hands.
"I bear a charmed life, which must not yield to one
of women born"
When Macduff reveals himself to be not mother born Macbeth realises how much danger her is in and decides to forget the predictions because he thought they meant something else and did not think that they would be bad predictions. He does not believe the witches prophecies any more,
"and be these juggling fiends no more believ'd"
Macbeth fights to the death, so it is as if he turns back time and is the way he was when the play started.
Conclusion
The play 'Macbeth' would not have a plot without the role of the witches, Macbeth or Lady Macbeth. These three characters made the bloody events of the play happen. Without the witches the idea of Macbeth being king would not have been suggested, without Lady Macbeth the murder of the king would not have taken place, without Macbeth the murders wouldn't not have been committed. The play has an enormous effect on the audience. They witness a person dramatically change from an innocent, bold warrior to a 'dead butcher'. Macbeth was a victim of his own ambition. The witched gave Macbeth an ambition to work on, Lady Macbeth pushed him to act upon it and Macbeth carried it on from then. I think Macbeth must have had some evil in him to do such things in the first place. The evil probably grew with each person he killed/ordered to be killed. Even ordering a murder is evil because you are still murdering someone. Macbeth only killed to get people out of the way and to keep himself on the throne. The combination of the three vital characters (witched, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth) led the play to contain lots of bloodshed. If I were to blame somebody for the bloodshed I would blame Lady Macbeth. The witches just told Macbeth his prediction and Lady Macbeth acted on them, whereas Macbeth was prepared to wait for his time to sit in the throne. This leads me to a thought. Was it really Macbeth's fate to kill the king? If he hadn't killed the king would his opportunity to be king still come along? My first thought on this play was that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were trying to take control of their fate and that the witches planted the idea in their heads. The witches said Macbeth would be king and with this Lady Macbeth decided to plot the death of the king, but was this supposed to happen? Was this Macbeth's fate or did he take the wrong path by killing the king?
I don't think an audience of Shakespeare's time would enjoy it to the same amount of a modern audience. Although the play is still enjoyed today, an audience in Shakespeare's time would enjoy it more because of the witches and the impact of the play. The play was written for Shakespeare's time to enjoy. I believe it is still a successful play today but because we know the existence of the witches is just a myth it would not effect us as much to see witches and supernatural goings on, on stage.
