The witches play a key part in the play and are the representation of evil in mankind. Although witches are mythical beings now, back when the play was written they were very real. These witches represent evil in the play as well and are the ones responsible for causing all of Macbeth’s and all subsequent problems. From the beginning of the play it is made clear that they gain nothing from harming Macbeth and only wish to bring harm to other people. For these reasons they are the characters with the most blame upon their shoulders. The witches set things in motion by giving Macbeth a set of prophecies, the most important one being “All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter.” Here we find the source of all problems in the play. The witches had counted on Macbeths own ambition to push him into committing terrible acts with horrific consequence in order to make sure that prophecy would come and true, so that he would become king.
At the same time, Banquo, a good friend of Macbeth’s who is present when the witches speak to him, is not fooled by the witches. Banquo recognizes from the very beginning that the witches mean no good and realizes that “the instruments of darkness tell us truths; win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence.” What this means is that the witches are not to be trusted. They may have told Macbeth some truth but in the end they mean him harm. Act 4, Scene 1 supports this argument. Macbeth wishes to speak to the witches a second time in order to receive a second set of predictions. The predictions he receives are made out to deceive him and take advantage of the fact that he yearns for power. One very important prediction, the second one, given by the witches is, “Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth”. It would appear that this prediction can only mean good because, at first glance, it looks as if no one born of a woman can harm Macbeth.
However Banquo is proven right later on when Macbeth realizes the witches were speaking to him in paradox’s in order to confuse him, having him misinterpret key prophecies. Macbeth states “be these juggling fiends no more believ’d that palter with us in a double sense, that keep the word of promise to our ear and break it to our hope”. In this line Macbeth realizes that the witches have ‘betrayed’ him. They made it appear to him that he was invincible, unable to be killed by any man born of a woman. Yet they failed to tell him that a man born of Cesarean birth, like Macduff, could still kill him. This is the reason behind his death. He had trusted the witches to speak the truth, yet their paradoxical predictions, which were meant to create a sense of ambition and total power, caused him to underestimate the enemy and eventually led to his downfall.
Although it is possible to throw the blame onto somebody else, such as Lady Macbeth, who persuades Macbeth into committing the initial murder, it is undisputable that without the witches none of the events would have occurred. Even Macbeth cannot be held accountable for his actions because the witches took advantage of him. They relied on man’s ambition and his strive for power, all they had to do is give him the initial nudge. For this reason they decided to present Macbeth with these predictions, in order to raise his hopes. Macbeth was manipulated by the witches and therefore everything resulting from his speaking to them (all of the murders and Macbeths own downfall) are the witches’ fault, which is why all other arguments are rendered invalid and the witches are entirely to blame.
Word Count: 796
