In the 1600s there was a heightened belief of witches so including them in this play is very apt. Many laws were passed banning witchcraft and executions of witches were very common. The reason everyone loathed witches so much is because they were seen as pure evil, agents of the Devil. If you angered a witch then they could curse you or worse. Witches are shown as evil in Macbeth because they lead Macbeth off and caused everything that happened in the story, right down to his death. Shakespeare probably included this scene to show that only something evil like a witch could make Macbeth’s life turn like this.
In this essay I will be studying two scenes; Act 3, Scene 4 and Act 4, Scene 1. In the foremost of these scenes, Macbeth has just had his friend Banquo murdered and the killer comes to tell him that the job is done. Macbeth congratulates the killer and goes to host a dinner party for a few Lords. Banquo was invited there but only Macbeth knows that he is dead. He goes to sit down in his seat but realises that Banquo’s ghost is sitting on the seat; however, as only he can see the ghost it appears to the other guests that Macbeth is hallucinating and has turned mad. The ghost leaves and Macbeth returns to his guests with the excuse that he had a fit which is why he acted in an odd manner. The ghost then returns and Macbeths “fit” returns. His wife makes an excuse for him again, blaming a mystery illness as the cause of the fit. The ghost disappears yet again and Macbeth is ready to continue the banquet however his wife urges the guests to leave for fear that Macbeth will reveal too much and that the guests will realise that they killed the king and Banquo.
The second scene begins with the 3 witches standing around a bubbling cauldron as they await the predicted arrival of Macbeth. Hecate (The queen of the witches) appears to check that all is ready for the arrival of Macbeth. Hecate leaves and Macbeth arrives, ordering the witches to tell him what he should do. The witches create 3 apparitions to guide Macbeth. The first tells him to beware of Macduff (A Scottish Lord), the second tells him that no man “born of woman” can harm him and the third tells him that he cannot be beaten until Brinham Wood moves to Dunsinane. Macbeth is happy at this news however his mood turns when the witches show him that Banquo’s descendants will still become kings even with Banquo himself dead. Macbeth calls in a servant and receives news that Macduff has gone to England. Macbeth makes a plan to take Macduff’s castle and kill his family.
In Act3, Scene4 there are many examples of language that create an atmosphere of horror or the supernatural. A good example of horrific language is when Macbeth says to one of the killers “There’s blood upon thy face”. He replies “’Tis Banquo’s then” To which Macbeth says “’Tis better thee without than he within.” This means that there is Banquo’s blood on the murderer’s face so Macbeth claims that blood is preferable being on the outside of the murderer than inside the body of Banquo. This is a good example of horrific language because it shows that Macbeth is blood thirsty and that he doesn’t even care that his best friend’s blood is on the face of his murderer. Another good example of horrific language is when Macbeth asks the murderer whether he had killed Banquo’s son. He says “Thou art the best o’ th’ cut-throats, yet he’s good that did the like for Fleance. If thou didst it, thou art the nonpareil”. This shows that Macbeth really has no care for anyone anymore because he is complimenting the murder if he killed Banquos’ son. He names the murderer ‘the best of the cut-throats’ which means that Macbeth believes he is the best murderer which is quite a gruesome title. Later in the scene Macbeth is hosting a banquet when Banquos’ ghost sits down in Macbeth’s seat. Macbeth is the only one at the banquet that can see the ghost although he thinks others can. He talks directly to the ghost and says “Thou Canst Not Say I Did It; Never Shake Thy Gory Locks At Me”. This is a good example of Shakespeare creating a supernatural atmosphere, as it shows that he is either truly seeing the ghost or has gone insane. It is possibly the latter as he has not been sleeping since the murder of the king. He says “thou canst not say I did it” which means that he is claiming that he did not take part in the killing of his friend. The ghost then disappears and Macbeth starts acting normal again until the ghost reappears. Macbeth says “The time has been That when the brains were out, the man would die; And there an end. But now they rise again…And push us from our stools”. This speech is basically saying that there must have been a strange murder to make a ghost appear. If Macbeth’s guests realised what he had said they might have realised about the murder of Banquo and Macbeths’ part in it. Other than the reason I previously stated Macbeth could be seeing the ghost of Banquo because of his feelings. He had just had his best friend murdered so he must be feeling guilty, even if it was deep down.
In act 4 Scene1 there are also many examples of horrific and supernatural language. This scene is mostly about Macbeth visiting the 3 witches that he previously met and the witches telling what will happen and what he should do. It starts off with them adding ingredients to a cauldron in preparation of Macbeth’s arrival. Even this shows their magical ability as they know Macbeth is coming before he even gets there. They go through a ritual of adding objects to the cauldron and add things that sound quite evil and magical: “Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog…For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble”. All these ingredients sound very magical and when the witches say “For a charm of powerful trouble” it helps to show that they are doing something to hurt someone. When Macbeth is about to arrive one of the witches says the infamous phrase “By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes”. This helps prove that Macbeth has become evil if even a witch (who were claimed to be agents of the devil) calls him evil. When Macbeth does arrive he asks to speak to the witches’ masters who appear from the cauldron. The first appears as an armoured head. Macbeth says to it “Tell me, thou unknown power...” but is interrupted by a witch who says “He knows thy thought. Hear his speech, but say thou nought”. This means that Macbeth doesn’t need to talk because the being already knows Macbeths thoughts. Only something un-natural could know someone’s thoughts so it again proves that the witches are not of this earth. The first apparition tells him to beware Macduff. 2 more beings appear from the cauldron: A bloody child who tells Macbeth that he cannot be killed from anyone “Born of woman” and a child with a crown on his head, who tells him that he shall not be defeated until “Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him” (This means he cannot be defeated until Birnam wood comes to Dunsinane, his castle). Macbeth is filled with confidence form these prophecies as he believes they mean he is invincible. He asks about whether Banquo’s descendants will still become kings (Macbeth is wondering whether killing Banquo changed the fate of his descendants). He threatens them to show him what will happen “Deny me this, And an eternal curse fall on you.” Threatening the witches is a very risky idea and shows Macbeths desperation at wanting to know what will happen. According to historical facts this scene was not originally in the play, but it was added later. I think that it was added because it adds more of a supernatural feel to the whole play and helps to show to the audience that Macbeth would still be a thane and not turn insane, if the witches hadn’t told him the prophecy.
Shakespeare is very good at creating an atmosphere of the supernatural in this play. He uses language that shocks the reader and makes them realise facts about the characters. The atmosphere that he creates of supernatural is very intense and would have helped heighten distrust and hate of witches back when it was first played. Possibly the best example of horrific language is when Banquo’s murderer says “Safe in a ditch he bides, with twenty trenched gashes on his head”. This means that the body of Banquo is lying in a ditch with twenty deep-cut gashes on his head. This is very horrific language as only one gash on Banquo’s head would have killed him, whereas 20 is just like rubbing salt in the wounds. Macbeth is a rather horrific play but it uses it for a reason. The language he uses helps to show the reader the truths about the characters and helps the story develop.
