But they speak a little differently in the film. At the start of the video, we hear the witches chanting a spell and they their words are rearranged. Strangely, the youngest witch doesn’t speak but the other’s voices sound old and croaky. In Act One Scene Three, the witches appear to be mocking Banquo and don’t look when speaking to him.
In the book, the witches chant and cast spells. They are brutal as they murdered a woman’s husband just because she wouldn’t share her chestnuts. They are able to control the weather and sell winds. “I’ll sell tee a wind”. They cause a shipwreck and detach a man’s thumb. The witches sail in sieves which shows that they’re supernatural. Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, is angry at the other witches for playing with Macbeth when she wasn’t there. All of them plan to confuse Macbeth and bring about his own ruin.
On the other hand at the beginning of the video the witches mark out a hole and put a dagger into a dead soldier’s hand. Then they set a rope beside him and sprinkle some ingredient over it, possibly ashes. When Macbeth and Banquo first meet the witches, the eldest is massaging the youngest witch’s back. Then the younger witch flashes at the men which is crude. Polanski uses unbearable music, out of tune bagpipes, to show us that the witches are excruciating.
In Act One Scene Three of Shakespeare’s play, Banquo says the witches are “withered, and so wild in their attire”. Later, he refers to them as “imperfect speakers” and then as “the devil”. He is aware of how wicked these witches are. Macbeth calls them “secret, black, and midnight hags” as well as describing them as the “weird sisters”. He knows they are not normal and knows they are bad. This is the same in Polanski’s film.
Shakespeare compares Macbeth to the witches. His first line is “So foul and fair a day I have not seen”. This line uses the same language as the witches, suggesting Macbeth is as evil as they are. Polanski uses this same technique to prove Macbeth and the witches are alike.
In the book, the witches are associated with mystery and the supernatural according to their words and actions. “Fair is foul and foul is fair, hover through fog and filthy air”. They said they can sail in sieves and sell winds which are not ordinary. Polanski illustrates this in exactly the same way but at the end of the first scene, we see the witches vanishing which is strange.
In Shakespeare’s version, the witches cast a spell to confuse Macbeth. Three apparitions appear from the cauldron, one at a time. The first is an armed head which give him a warning “Beware Macduff”. The second is a bloody child, possibly a newborn baby, and it tells Macbeth he’s invincible “None of woman born shall harm Macbeth”. The third apparition is a child, holding a tree and it says he’ll never be conquered. “Macbeth shall never vanquished be”. We get a better picture when we actually see the video of how Macbeth is confused. This method is also used by Polanski although after coming into contact with the apparitions,
he fainted and then woke up and thought it was all a dream.
Shakespeare shows us the witches power over Macbeth. They prophesised with his future and told him what he would to in order to become king. They are able to confuse him and have fun at his cost. They plan for him to bring about his own ruin. “As by strength of his illusion, shall draw him onto his confusion”. They deceive him at his own expense and tell him what he wants to hear through the apparitions, which conveys their power over Macbeth. They are able to show him the long line of heirs to the throne, all Banquo’s sons, by reflecting them into a looking glass.
Yet again we get a better representation when we watch the video as we can see exactly what is happening. We see the apparitions appearing from the cauldron and warning Macbeth and convincing him he is indestructible.
In my opinion, I would interpret Shakespeare’s witches as old hags and disgusting, as well as evil. They don’t appear to be usual at all, they are more supernatural – they sail on sieves and sell winds. I wouldn’t say they were paralleled to Lady Macbeth because I don’t think she is as evil. At the start we see the witches as depraved, whereas Lady Macbeth seems to be a nice woman, despite the evil within her that we don’t see until later in the play.
Polanski portrays witches which are worthy of belief by giving us the impression that they are immoral, deceiving and have a lot of power over normal people. We can see these witches in Macbeth are crude; the youngest witch flashes at Macbeth and Banquo.
The witches are not credible because they are too wicked and mystical.
Sailing on sieves and selling winds are unusual. They have too much power over individuals, like Macbeth.
