Explore the role of the witches in 'Macbeth'. To what extent do they influence Macbeth and how would the Elizabethan audience have responded to them?

Authors Avatar

Explore the role of the witches in ‘Macbeth’. To what extent do they influence Macbeth and how would the Elizabethan audience have responded to them?

 

It is the purpose of this assignment to explore whether the witches influenced Macbeth sufficiently to cause him to commit murder, treason and regicide, or whether Macbeth was capable of committing these crimes on his own and the witches only made this happen a little earlier and a little more certainly. We will also explore the Elizabethan audience, their superstitions, and how they would react to the character of the witches as seen in Macbeth.

Historically, the witches have been seen as evil beings that gain evil powers from the devil to use during their lifetime, in return for their souls when they die. In the United Kingdom, man’s belief in witches and the supernatural was very strong during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Laws were passed by Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and James I prohibiting witchcraft and making the practise punishable by death.

Witches were used as scapegoats in Elizabethan society. During the years 1580-90 there was a famine and rebellion throughout the land, 160 witch trials took place in south-east England alone. In the years 1620-30, there was relatively little famine only 25 trials took place, the Civil War then broke out in 1642, the number of trials rocketed to 75.

If the crops failed or if an animal was sick, people would automatically suspect that a witch was involved because the people at this time had very little medical or scientific knowledge to explain these occurrences.

The majority of witches executed were old women who lived alone, if they kept any sort of animal for company, e.g. a cat, then people could claim that the animal was a “familiar”, an evil spirit given to the witch by the devil and the woman would be tried. Shakespeare shows that these women are witches, because in Act 1, Scene 1 the witches call their familiars:

“I come Greymalkin!”
        “Paddock calls!”
        “Anon!”

People believed that witches fed their familiars on their own blood through a mole or a birthmark. During trial the “witch” would be searched for such a mark, or even tortured into a confession.

James I was terrified of witches, who he believed destroyed his ship “The Tiger” and tried to kill him. The populace would follow the example of their monarch and as a result people hated witches and were horrified by the accounts they heard.

The effect that the witches would have had on the Elizabethan audience would have been phenomenal. The audience would be filled with fear and awe every time the witches appeared on stage, and they would be shocked to see Macbeth consulting with witches, which was an act punishable by death at the time.

Shakespeare uses numerous special effects where the witches are concerned. This is especially true of the four scenes where the witches directly appear, scenes Act 1 Scene 1, Act 1 Scene 3, Act 3 Scene 5 and Act 4 Scene 1. In all four cases, thunder precedes the three witches, almost as though nature is protesting against the witches’ presence.

I will now analyse the four scenes in which the witches can be seen to directly influence the play.

In Act 1,Scene 1, the very first stage action in Macbeth reads:

        “Thunder and lightning, enter three witches.”

 After this scene the witches vanish into the mist. Shakespeare is associating the witches with the negative aspects of the weather in order to confirm to the audience that the witches are indeed evil and he is also hinting at their ability to change the weather at their own will, or in other words to control nature. This is also mirrored with their ability to see in to the future, the witches say:

“When shall we three meet again, in thunder, lightning, or in rain?”

This phrase has a double meaning. It could mean that the witches can see into the future and can therefore predict when it will rain, and when it will not, or that they can control the weather, and are deciding what weather they should conjure up when next they meet. If the witches are capable of controlling nature, then surely they could be held responsible for further mishaps in nature, for example, the day being “strangely dark” in Act 2, Scene 4.

The lightning would have been chemical flashes, possibly gunpowder, which would also account for the thunder. The witches vanish at the end of the scene through a trap door in the stage,  which would have definitely impressed the audience because at this time, that was a state-of-the-art special effect. These special effects would have told the audience that the witches were supernatural beings because the special effects of this kind were not used on any other character than the witches. The witches cauldron also sinks into the floor in Act 4, Scene 1, which is another type of special effect that is used only on the witches.

Join now!

Another trait that belongs solely to the witches is that they constantly speak in rhyming couplets. This trait shows that they are evil, and just before Macbeth is killed he too speaks in rhyme.

 “But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, brandished by man that’s of a woman born”

 Shakespeare does this to show that Macbeth is as evil as the witches, and so the audience show no sadness when Macbeth is killed on stage moments later. This may have been the reason that Shakespeare decided to begin his play with the witches. They would have risen through ...

This is a preview of the whole essay