Later in the scene, Macbeth explains his thoughts in a soliloquy. He admits to his visions of killing King Duncan. We know this because he says 'My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical'. The audience would then wonder if the witches put these images into Macbeth’s head. Another explanation for the visions is Macbeth's burning ambition. He may believe that the only way to fulfil his ambition is to kill King Duncan.
Banquo had a different view towards the witches. He believed that they shouldn't be trusted and that Macbeth should ignore them. All these points highlight the way Shakespeare presents the supernatural during the scene.
From scene 3 onwards, Macbeth seems to be under the spell of the witches but again, there were many influences on Macbeth that could also have accounted for his thoughts and actions. One of the main influences was Lady Macbeth. From the start, she believed that the witches could not bring harm and she also assumed that they would help them. We know this because she speaks of 'metaphysical aid'. This is another way of saying supernatural help. Lady Macbeth concluded that the witches were on their side from the letter that her husband sent her informing her of the three prophecies. When she receives the letter, she also seems rapt or entranced by the ideas. This could also lead an audience to believe that the witches had cast a spell on her. Again, another possible explanation could be her ambition to be queen. She mentions her ambition in a prayer to evil spirits when she talks of 'a crown'. The fact that she prays to evil spirits may also lead an audience to believe in the possibility of demonic possession. This was one of the apparent symptoms of possession along with the inability to pray, hallucinations, to be entranced, a change of appearance, disturbed behaviour and lack of fear. Lady Macbeth's reason for praying to evil spirits was to toughen her mentally for the task ahead.
Throughout the play, Macbeth’s actions and words could often be accounted for by the supernatural influences on him. This makes the witches a very important part of the play but there are many other influences on Macbeth especially his burning ambition and of course his wife, Lady Macbeth.
In act 1, scene 7, Macbeth talks of his moral and spiritual doubts about killing Duncan. Macbeth's thoughts are obviously reflections of a man with a conscience. He had many moral doubts and explained these in a soliloquy at the start of the scene. He spoke of the trust that Duncan had given him and also that he was a good king who didn't deserve this. He explained these points powerfully by using words like 'double trust' to emphasise the good character of Duncan.
After explaining all the moral doubts, he began to realise the power of the spiritual doubts on his conscience. He used the words 'deep damnation' to explain the possible punishment that awaited him in the after life.
Finally, Macbeth moved on to the reason for killing Macbeth. His 'vaulting ambition'. Macbeth was obviously a man of high targets and his ambition seems so great, that this one reason for killing Duncan almost over-ruled the several doubts about not killing him.
When Macbeth came to telling his wife about the doubts, he decided to tell her the feeblest doubt of all. He told her that people thought highly of him at that time, so he wanted to keep this reputation. At this point, the audience would be left wondering why he told her this above his other thoughts. The reason for it is that Macbeth wanted his wife to persuade him to do it. He knew how she would react to such comments and due to his vaulting ambition, wanted her to persuade him to fulfil his dream.
Lady Macbeth reacted just as he expected her to, and accused him of being a coward and unmanly. She even went to the extreme of saying, that if she had said what he had, she would prefer to kill her own child than go back on her word. This did persuade Macbeth as he wanted and they planned the murder together.
All of these points emphasise that Macbeth is influenced by the witches, but there are also many other aspects of his life that influence him equally.
Banquo too experienced evil visions similar to Macbeth’s in the play. He seemed determined to be unaffected by them and so an audience would be left wondering why Macbeth couldn’t take the same attitude towards the visions. The answer, of course, is the other two main influences on Macbeth. His burning ambition and his wife proved to be the source of his killer instinct.
Macbeth experienced hallucinations and the inability to pray in the play and at the time this would have been looked upon as the work of the witches. Both hallucinating and the inability to pray were apparent symptoms of demonic possession. Although some audiences would explain these events as work of the witches, they could also be accounted for by the conscience of Macbeth.
Examples of these events occur during Act 2 Scene 1, when Macbeth talks of hallucinations in a soliloquy. Of course, he explained them as he saw it. He talked of seeing a 'dagger' with 'the handle towards his hand'. There are many examples like this in the play. As he returns from committing the murder of Duncan, he explains to his wife that he heard voices coming from next door to Duncan. One said 'God Bless us' and the other said 'Amen'. After explaining this to her he then tells her that he was unable to say amen. The inability to pray and hallucinations were both apparent symptoms of demonic possession.
Macbeth also experienced hallucinations during the banqueting scene. The people at the banquet were all the lords of Scotland gathered together with their new king. Macbeth had invited Banquo to the banquet and made sure that he could definitely attend. He had organised to have Banquo and Fleance killed on the way to the banquet. Then, when he began to talk to his guests, he mentioned Banquo by saying 'if only Banquo could be here'. As soon as he mentioned Banquo's name, his ghost appeared in Macbeth's chair. The audience would see this as dramatic irony. The fact that Banquo's ghost always appeared sitting in Macbeth's chair also tells the audience something. It gives viewers the impression that Banquo's children will become kings of the future. We think this because Banquo's ghost was seated in the king's chair and also, the witches' earlier prophecy told Banquo that his children would occupy the throne.
The visions of Banquo's ghost and all other hallucinations that he experiences throughout the play could be accounted for with two different explanations. One is a supernatural explanation. It is possible that the witches created the visions. This is the explanation that a Shakespearean audience would probably assume. The other is a psychological explanation. These horrific visions could all be due to the guilt generated by Macbeth from the murder.
During act 4, scene 1, the supernatural reaches it's climax in the play. It highlights how evil Macbeth has become and the witches play a big part in this aspect of the play. It is possible that the witches made Macbeth the evil man that he became but the other influences on him could also explain this. It also shows how much trust Macbeth has in the witches. At the beginning of the scene, the three witches are gathered around a cauldron in the usual setting of 'the moor'. They are making a ghastly potion full of horrific ingredients. Some examples of these are 'dog's tongue' and 'liver of blaspheming Jew'. We think that these horrific ingredients may be equivalent to the evil generated by Macbeth.
When Macbeth arrives, he is very impatient and demanding of the witches. He then begins ordering the witches to answer him with whatever he asked. The one aspect of his words that would strike an audience is the selfishness of Macbeth. He says that he doesn't care what happens as long as they answer him. He said 'even till destruction sicken- answer me!' This particularly outlines his sheer selfishness.
The witches agree to these terms and wait to hear the question that Macbeth is so desperate to ask. One of the witches then asks Macbeth if he wants an answer from them or the evil spirits that they serve. Macbeth then tells them to get these spirits for him to see. They then added some more ingredients to their potion and an armed head appeared. This is supposed to represent Macbeth's head in the future but of course he didn't realise this at the time. An audience that realises this notices the dramatic irony here. The first apparition told Macbeth to beware Macduff. Then, the second apparition appeared. This appeared as a bloody child, which represents Macduff as a child. He appeared as this because he was born from a caesarean operation. This apparition said that 'no man born of woman shall harm Macbeth'. Of course, Macbeth's reaction to this would be immortality. The third and final apparition was a man holding a tree. This signified Malcolm, the rightful king. This apparition told Macbeth that until the forest of Birnam, moved 12 miles to Dunsinane, Macbeth would not be vanquished. This would obviously reinforce Macbeth's belief that he was immortal. There is dramatic irony here because the audience understand what is happening but the character in the play is naive to these future events.
Due to the prophecy telling him to beware Macduff, Macbeth is very anxious about him. He immediately ordered a group of murderers to have his family killed while he was away. This highlights the amount of evil in Macbeth. Macduff's family had never harmed Macbeth in any way, yet he was going to kill them. This shows how evil he has become.
Macbeth’s views in this scene contrast Banquo's from the first time that he and Macbeth met the witches. From the first meeting, Banquo concluded that the witches were untrustworthy creatures. In this scene, Macbeth is very trusting of their words.
During act 5, scene 1, it became clear that the witches betrayed Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth seems to be experiencing a very traumatic event. Lady Macbeth's gentlewoman is with a doctor witnessing her strange behaviour. They begin to speak of past occasions that Lady Macbeth has been sleepwalking. The gentlewoman refuses to tell the doctor what she has heard whilst witnessing these events.
After their short conversation, Lady Macbeth enters with a candle. The gentlewoman then explains to the doctor that she will never go anywhere where there is no light. This could be because darkness is associated with evil and she feels guilty for her previous actions. She may carry a light to cover up the evil. She then begins rubbing her hands together as if she is washing them. The gentlewoman then tells the doctor that she often does this and is indeed trying to wash her hands. She is referring to washing the blood off her hands after Duncan was murdered. At the time, she reassured Macbeth that 'a little water' would clear them of the deed. It appears that Lady Macbeth is beginning to feel guilty after such a calm reaction at first. She then refers to the murder of Duncan. She speaks of the amount of blood inside him. She later goes on to talk of Lady Macduff. She says 'The thane of Fife had a wife; where is she now?’ This is referring to Macbeth's arrangements to kill all Macduff's descendants or relatives. She then speaks of her hands never being clean and later says that all the perfumes of Arabia could not sweeten the smell of blood on her hands. This is another quote that highlights her guilty conscience. She also says 'Out damned spot! Out I say!' This would give a Shakespearean audience the impression that she had become as evil as the witches themselves. The damned spot was believed to be a red mark on the body of witches from which Satan had sucked blood. It was also sometimes referred to as 'the Devil's mark'.
Lady Macbeth is also heard saying that hell is murky. An audience may perceive this as her describing her life as a living hell.
During this scene, Lady Macbeth is seen as being in sane and the audience discovers that the witches betrayed her. Earlier in the play, Lady Macbeth prayed to evil spirits asking them to suppress her conscience, but at this stage in the play, she feels so much guilt that she describes her life as a living hell.
Macbeth's life also seems to be a living hell. During act 5, scene 3, Macbeth is in his castle in soliloquy, talking about his life and that he's lived long enough. This shows that Macbeth has had enough of his life and so implies that his life is of a poor standard. Shakespeare often refers to Macbeth's castle as hell throughout the play. After Duncan's murder, the gatekeeper described his job as being 'the gatekeeper of hell' and we are reminded of this when Shakespeare introduces one of Macbeth's slaves called 'Seyton'.
During act 5, scene 5, the audience would realise that the witches also betrayed Macbeth. This second betrayal proves the spite and vindictiveness of the witches. An audience would realise how low Macbeth's morale really is. He speaks of life being worthless and is obviously in a state of despair. He is then told that his wife is dead and his reply to this is 'she would have died hereafter'. He is unable to feel grief after all of the deaths that he has been associated with. Indifference to life was also a sign on possession and this quote may also give a Shakespearean audience the impression that he is possessed by demons. Later in act 5, scene 5, the army with Macduff and Malcolm arrive and as camouflage, they cut down Birnam wood and carry it to Dunsinane. When they arrive, Macduff finds Macbeth and they begin to fight. Macbeth isn't as worried as he should be because he still believes that he is immortal because of the witches' prophecy. Then, Macduff tells Macbeth that he was not born of woman due to a caesarian operation. The witches tricked Macbeth and Macduff killed him.
The witches betrayed Macbeth by leading him to believe that he was immortal. At the end of the play, the audience may be reminded of Banquo's words from act 1, scene 3. He spoke about the witches in this scene and said 'to betray's, in deepest consequence'. Banquo's warning came true and the witches betrayed Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in deepest consequence.
Overall, the witches played a very important part in the play. They were a great influence on Macbeth's actions from the beginning, but there were also other influences on him. There were always two possible explanations why Macbeth did what he did, a psychological explanation, and a supernatural explanation. For example, Macbeth could have had visions of killing Duncan because the witches put the visions into his head. It's also possible that he had such a burning ambition to be king, he created the visions and made himself believe that killing Duncan was the only way of fulfilling his ambition. An audience from the time of Shakespeare, would probably prefer to believe the supernatural explanation because at the time, witchcraft was a subject of popular fear and fascination. Today, with just a minority of people believing in the powers of witchcraft, an audience may believe the psychological explanation. Either way, the witches played a very important part in the play.
