“All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!”
Macbeth will be wondering about how they new this because he has never met them before. He may also think that they have the power to read minds otherwise how would they know.
The second witch says:
“All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!”
Macbeth will really be confused here because the thane of Cawdor already exists.
The third witch says:
“All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”
Here is the first time where this thought will be introduced into Macbeth’s head. But at the same time he knows this is impossible. King Duncan is alive and well. Even if he dies the elder son Malcolm will be the next in line for the throne.
The witches also make a prediction to Banquo. They tell him that his sons will be king. Banquo is not convinced and warns Macbeth. However Macbeth is more persistent and wants to hear more.
“Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more.”
Banquo and Macbeth talk more about what happened as they continue to their camp site. They believe what they experienced may not be true. As they were resting, Ross a messenger from king Duncan tells Macbeth that he is the new thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is really shocked but at the same time he is proud of his new title. Banquo is also shocked to hear the news.
“What, can the devil speck true?”
Banquo uses the word “devil” immediately to describe the witches which indicates that both Macbeth and Banquo see the witches as an evil force. Macbeth starts to believe in the witches and thinks about their second prophecy to come true.
At the moment where Macbeth gets the title he sends a message to his wife, Lady Macbeth telling her about what happened and what the witches predicted. Macbeth calls her
“my dearest partner of greatness”
This indicates that Macbeth thinks highly of his wife and want to enjoy everything together.
To celebrate the victory of the battle, King Duncan decided to join Macbeth’s castle for a feast. Should he take the risk and kill Duncan or stay loyal? When Macbeth arrives at his castle, Lady Macbeth already wants to know more about the predictions. Lady Macbeth also wants to take advantage of Duncan’s visit.
Lady Macbeth calls for the spirits that tend on mortal thoughts to give her strength to do the task.
“Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty!”
When the king arrives Lady Macbeth acts very welcoming, but the worst is to come. During the feast Macbeth goes outside to think about what to do. He is shortly joined by his wife. Lady Macbeth asks him to kill king Duncan. She uses Macbeth’s love towards her to persuade him to kill Duncan. She says that if he kills Duncan his love would be stronger and it would make him more manly.
“When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And, to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man.”
She calls him a coward.
“And live a coward in thine own esteem”
Lady Macbeth’s persuasion is so great that Macbeth finally gives in. He kills Duncan and the killing is blamed on the guards.
As days pass Lady Macbeth starts to get unwell. She talks during the night and reveals what she has done.
She regrets what happened and cannot forget about it.
“What, will these hands ne'er be clean?”
She sees blood on her hands and cannot get rid of it.
“Here's the smell of the blood still”
I believe around this time the evil forces that inhabited her body has left her. She gets far apart from Macbeth and their love starts to degrade. Then finally she commits suicide because she cannot bare the guilt any more.
From here I believe that the three witches were responsible for Macbeth’s action.
The three witches tell Macbeth more about what to come. They tell Macbeth to be aware of Macduff.
“Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff;
Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough.”
They tell him that a man born of a woman shall not harm him.
“The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.”
And finally they tell him that until Birnam wood starts to move, Macbeth will not be harmed.
“Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until
Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him.”
These three prophecies makes Macbeth more confident. Macbeth also has Macduff’s family killed to keep him in throne.
During the last part of the story Macbeth is left alone to defend for himself. The witches take no more responsibilities. Macbeth has also forgotten about his wife and just lives for himself. Towards the end Macbeth is killed by Macduff who has come from England with Malcolm. Macbeth’s death is celebrated.
As you can see Lady Macbeth played a vital role in the story. If she hadn’t persuaded Macbeth to kill Duncan then none of this would have happened. However the witches also played a big role in the story. The three witches told Macbeth things that will happen, or did they? They could have told Macbeth the things that the witches wanted to happen. The witches may also have taken over Lady Macbeth and when she was no longer needed, they could have killed her.
In my option the witches are forces that create and direct this story. They make the characters act the way they want to.