Discuss the Role Played by the Witches in the Tragedy of Macbeth

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Discuss the Role Played by the Witches in the Tragedy of Macbeth

        A classical tragedy tells the story of the downfall of a great man. The hero always has good qualities and usually a high status. His downfall is bought about by some weakness “tragic flaw” in his character. The tragic hero’s downfall involves and affects those around him. The tragedy usually results in the audience’s pity for the tragic hero. When the play is named after the hero, he is called an eponymous hero. All the above apply directly to Macbeth. He begins with the impressive title: Thane of Glamis, he is a cousin of King Duncan and he’s a great War hero. He’s physically a very strong man, very brave and a great general. He’s very loving and affectionate towards his wife, he is loyal to the king at the beginning of the play and is naturally confident. The main flaw in his character is his ambition! This driving ambition is played upon by circumstances. The witches encourage his ambition. Macbeth becomes falsely confident and his killing gets out of control. Many innocent people suffer: Banquo, Macduff’s wife and children and Kind Duncan to name a few. Once Macbeth becomes king he becomes a complete control freak and makes many, many enemies. Some of his subjects stay with him right through to his death but this is out of fear rather than loyalty. We pity Macbeth at the end of the play. He has lost everything. He has gone from being a powerful and respected Thane to a greedy, authority-seeking tyrant with no friends and lots of enemies.

        The play opens on a scene of the witches plotting to meet Macbeth. This scene introduces many themes and ideas. Immediately, we, the audience, are introduced to an evil and supernatural atmosphere. The audience at the time of Shakespeare would’ve believed in the witches completely. As we see in Shakespeare’s stage directions, there is a storm. We hear there is also a war going on and in reference to that, the witches begin they’re habit of talking in riddles. The war has a double meaning.

        “When the battle’s lost, and won.”

This sounds odd but actually makes perfect sense. There was a war between Scotland and Norway at the time and obviously one side would win and one side would lose. That is what the witches mean. It could also be taken a different way. As soon as the war is over and Scotland has won, Macbeth begins the greedy and ambitious struggle to become king. The storm and the battle represent an upset in nature and things in turmoil. Another term with a double meaning is used at the end of the play. The first line of the quote tells us that appearances can be deceptive. Something that appears beautiful on the outside can actually be ugly and “foul” on the inside. This refers to many parts of the play. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth himself appear very normal and are positive characters at the beginning of the play. Macbeth and his wife become more and more evil as the play draws on.

        “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,

        Hover through fog and filthy air”

The final line of the scene (the bottom line of this quote) shows us what the typical impression of a witch was at the time of Shakespeare. The witches were expected to fly. The air they fly through is foggy and “filthy”. Undoubtedly an evil atmosphere has been created in the opening scene of this tragic play.

        Act 1 scene 3 is a crucial scene. This is the scene that sets the plot in motion. It begins with the first witch telling the other two about the havoc she has just been wreaking on a sailor and his wife. When Macbeth enters the scene on horseback with Banquo, he also speaks of “foul and fair”. Maybe the day is foul because the storm still lingers in the air. Maybe the day is foul because the witches are very near. Perhaps the fact that Macbeth repeats the same phrase as the witches compares him to them and makes them appear very similar. I think it’s all the above. When Banquo and Macbeth happen upon the witches on this foul day, Macbeth is greeted by the hags and addressed by three titles. The first is thane of Glamis (Macbeth already owns this title), the second is thane of Cawdor and the third, final and strangest is King.

“FIRST WITCH: All hail Macbeth, hail to thee Thane of

                Glamis.

SECOND WITCH: All hail Macbeth, hail to thee Thane of

Cawdor.

THIRD WITCH: All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King

                Hereafter.”

At first it is Banquo who seems excited by this news and Macbeth appears cautious. This soon changes though. Banquo asks Macbeth why he isn’t excited by what the witches have said. Banquo also asks the witches about his own future. They reply in riddles.

        “FIRST WITCH: Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.

        SECOND WITCH: Not so happy, yet much happier.

        THIRD WITCH: Thou shalt get Kings, though thou be

                none…”

The last line is most important. It basically says that Banquo will not be a king but his sons will be. This is important for later in the play. The witches predict in a different way for a reason. They tell Banquo less because they are secretly there to meet Macbeth. I think they tell Banquo something because it will stir up even more trouble later. After the witches predict for Banquo, Macbeth becomes more interested in his own future. He challenges the witches to reveal more. Macbeth doesn’t understand the predictions. He knows that he is Thane of Glamis but he thinks the Thane of Cawdor lives. And being King,

        “Stands not within the prospect of belief…”

Join now!

But the witches vanish and Macbeth and is left unsatisfied. Banquo and Macbeth start to engage in a conversation about whether or not this actually happened when two noblemen of Scotland enter: Ross and Angus. They bring news of a promotion for Macbeth. They say thank you from the King for Macbeth’s efforts in the war and inform Macbeth that he has been given the title of Thane of Cawdor. This news comes as a huge shock for Banquo and Macbeth. Banquo refers to the witches as the devil now,

        “What, can the Devil speak true?”

Macbeth doesn’t ...

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The number and amount of quotations used needs to be reduced. Also there doesn’t appear to be an analysis of linguistic terms such as alliteration, repetition and the use of metaphors and how these add depth to the play. There is actually a good range of vocabulary used throughout the essay. The essay flows well and is fairly fluent. There a few issues with spelling and grammar, mostly though this isn’t too bad.

The use of quotations feels forced, they do not always fit in with the essay and they are represented badly, the candidate should not have added each quotation as a new paragraph. There is an instance where the candidate paraphrases and then adds in a whole chunk from the play, including who is speaking, this is just not necessary. For the most part the candidate uses quotations to retell the story, however there are attempts to analyse the meaning behind them. The candidate does actually have some interesting ideas especially in the beginning of the ninth paragraph. The essay appears to become more in depth the further you read.

The is too much retelling of the story, which is basically why this essay is so long and therefore the candidate doesn't discuss the title of the essay at all. The candidate basically goes through the whole play, instead of focusing on essential scenes such those in which the witches appear. My advice would be to cut down and refocus this essay.