James was very superstitious and wrote many books; The trew law of free monarch, and demonology. The trew law of free monarchs was on his theory of the divine right of kings ‘master of every person… having the power of life and death over everyone.’ Demonology was about witches and how they could turn the social order of the country upside down disturbing the divine right of kings’ theory. Which just one of the many powers they are said to posses.
Witchcraft hasn’t changed much over the years and neither has people’s belief about it the rich are scared of it, and the poor deal with it. But what do witches do? Well people always said that they cause illness, crop failure, death and changing the future and the order of society. Then with the first scene being about a group of witches it will scare and get the audience exited.
A deep, desolate place, three old hags walk across the ground muttering then they stop and the audience will think they are witches being that they are women in a unsociable place. Then under the disturbance of heaven, in thunder and lightning they start to chant and rhyme, and with their familiars gives more proof that they are witches. Then they one says ‘foul is fair and fair is foul’ and then the mention of Macbeth the name of the play making the audience think that this Macbeth must be evil. The audience will now be exited and waiting for the rest of the play.
The start of act1 scene three has the witches chanting and casting spells and talking about what they have been doing since they last met. As with eh last meeting it is set on a desolate heath then the with a rolling of drums showing a important person approaching ‘Macbeth doth come’ (line 34) so now we finally meet Macbeth whose first line links him once again to the witches and evilness ‘so foul and fair a day I have not seen’ (line ). Then Macbeth’s loyal friend Banquo gives his take and description of the witches ‘ that not look like the inhabitants of th’ earth (line39) so they must be so ugly and distorted that they are not recognisable as a member of the human race. Then they give Macbeth three predictions ‘ all hail Macbeth, all hail thee, thane of Glamis… all hail Macbeth, all hail thee, thane of Cawdor… all hail Macbeth how shalt be king hereafter.(line 46-49) Banquo then demands to now his fate, he is then greeted to now that he will be father to a great line of kings. Then enter Ross to give Macbeth the title thane of Cawdor, Banquo shocked by this shout ‘what can the devil speak true?’ the title whose previous owner was a traitor, just as Macbeth is to become, who in this scene think of the murder of Duncan but then says otherwise ‘ whose murder is yet fantastical… if chance will have me be king, why chance may crown me without my stir.’.
From the first prophecy Macbeth has sunk down into evilness killing king Duncan, the two guards he frames for the murders, then he hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance, but after Fleance escapes, Macbeth has the assassins killed. But now Macbeth returns to the witches to learn of his fate. When he arrives back to the hath the witches are making a potion with the head witch, Hectate and three other witches ‘ scale of dragon, nose of Turk and liver of blaspheming Jew’ (line 16-18) they cast the spell ‘ double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble.’ (Line19-20) when Macbeth comes close one witch says ‘ by the prick of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes’ (line46) the witch’ show Macbeth three apparitions, a armoured head, a bloody baby and a tree. The head ‘ beware Mac duff’ (line 69) the baby ‘ no man born of woman shall harm Macbeth’ and the tree ‘ thou shalt not be vanquished till great Birnham wood climbs great Dunsinaine hill’ (line 83, all quotes act four, scene one.) the witches give Macbeth a double edge warning what makes Macbeth invincible, in the end becomes his downfall. Then with music the witches disappear leaving the audience exited and impatient.
Shakespeare used the witches costumes and music to get the crowd exited and scared. But some may think did the witches turn Macbeth or did they just bring out the evil from deep inside Macbeth, with some help from his wife, making him cause the death of Duncan and Banquo, lady Mac duff and all her children. But did they also lead to the downfall of Macbeth with the final predictions (apparitions), by giving him false hope in his invincibility. I think that he had it in him the whole time and the witches and lady Macbeth just bring out the evil. Lady Macbeth who persuades Macbeth to kill Duncan and then plants the murder weapon on the guards, who then later kills herself through guilt and a bit of insanity.
