The play opens with the three witches presumably in a wide and remote “open space”, a “heath”. This scene is short, only 12 lines, but immensely powerful in introducing the backdrop of the production. The witches immediately establish the influence of the supernatural in the play, inject an eerie feeling that they either created the storm in the opening scene, or were produced by it. This further ascertains their role as the supernatural influence on Macbeth.
The storm is an example of pathetic fallacy that illustrates the power of the elements and those that seemingly control them. The witches bring further examples of elemental imagery by mentioning the “sun”, “thunder”, “lightning”, “rain”, “fog and filthy air”. In the 21st century we do not appreciate how terrifying this scene would have been to a Jacobean audience. They would have seen the references to storms and the setting sun as ill omens and symbols of the supernatural. Further references to “Greymalkin” and “Paddock” would have chilled the audience, as one of the Jacobean beliefs associated with witches was the link to the supernatural world through the help of witch’s familiars.
The lone fact that the witches mention Macbeth before he even knows they exist symbolises that an invisible bond links him to them already, that they have decided to toy with his fate. The penultimate line; “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”, further perplexes the audience and provides the leitmotif of disturbance, confusion and anarchy throughout the play.
In this scene we first get introduced to the witches’ special rhythm: unlike any other character in Shakespeare’s Macbeth they speak with a distinct drumbeat that is almost their “theme tune”. The thing that distinguishes it from the verse of the other characters is that it not Shakespeare’s usual blank verse, but written in trochaic tetrameter, which mean that the stress follows the pattern of strong stress, light stress, whereas every other character’s blank verse follows the opposite pattern of light stress, strong stress. The following examples demonstrate this rhythm:
“When the hurlyburly’s done,
When the battle’s lost and won.”
The effect of this rhythm is that it is specific to the witches’ language, setting them apart from other characters with their incantatory verse. The trochaic style of verse has an insistent rhythm, similar to a drumbeat or hammer-stroke. These features of the language make it very suitable for chants and spells.
We see the witches again in Act 1 Scene 3. This scene opens with another reference to Jacobean folklore. The second witch says she has been “killing swine”, which was a widespread “hobby” of witches of the time. They were believed to put spells on and kill cattle, a primary source of food and income, to spite the general public. The reference to the sailor’s wife shows that people of this period were usually scared to vex a witch for fear who they could take their revenge, in this tale, the sailor. The mention of the sieve, a witch’s vessel of choice, and a rat without a tail, as when witches transformed themselves into animals they are usually incomplete; and the promise of “giving wind”, as witches were believed to be able to control the weather, further convince the audience that they have a very strong connection to the supernatural world.
The way that they meet Macbeth and their language during their greeting makes it obvious that they are seeking him out with the specific purpose of influencing his destiny. Their threefold salutations build up from Thane of Glamis, up the social ladder to “King of thereafter”, playing into ambitions he is not yet aware of. These have extraordinary power, as these are the first words the witches speak to Macbeth. They clearly have a large impact on Macbeth, as he “starts” when he hears their addresses. They promise Macbeth the title of King and that Banquo “shalt get kings, though thou be none”. The way the witches simply vanish “into the air” when asked for an explanation adds to the mystery of their demeanour.
Although we do not see the witches again until Act 4 they are firmly implanted on Macbeth’s mind and the mind of the audience. By implicitly placing the idea of murder into his head they stamp the play with their prophecies.
The next time we meet the witches is the now very famous cauldron scene. This scene, perhaps more than the other scenes involving the witches, contributes a sense of darkness and mystery. The unusual thing about this meeting that sets it apart from their two previous encounters with Macbeth is that he seeks them out, not the other way round, like before. This signifies that Macbeth has travelled so far down the path of evil that he can now easily find other evil beings with ease. This is further proved by the 2nd witch that says “something wicked this way comes” meaning Macbeth is now so “wicked” that he has outdone the witches in evil.
This scene is frequently parodied and taken out of context, however when it is read in milieu with the text, there is no sense that this a comic affair, but that it is meant to chill the audience with its vivid imagery.
When Macbeth finds them, the witches are casting a spell. This is yet another link to the superstitions of the age, the ingredients go up in calibre and rarity as the scene progresses. The pattern of progression starts with fairly common animals one would find in this country, such “eye of newt, and toe of frog” and these fairly domestic creatures are followed by rare, exotic and in some cases mythical beings:
“Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches’ mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravined salt-sea shark”
The array of animal ingredients give way to human ones, such as the “liver of blaspheming Jew”, “nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips”. Shakespeare used these particular nationalities as during this time anyone who was not a Christian was considered a barbarian. If a modern audience might perhaps not pick up the Jacobean references of some of the ingredients, the mention of the “finger of [the] birth-strangled babe” would disturb even a modern audience.
The apparitions are a key feature of this scene. When the witches give Macbeth the choice of hearing it from their “mouths or from [their] masters” it insinuates that there are beings more powerful than them capable of summoning apparitions. This hints that the witches have reached the climax of their powers.
The first apparition, an armed head, tells Macbeth to “beware Macduff”, playing into the fears of Macbeth directly. The second apparition, a bloody child, tells Macbeth that he is safe as “none of woman born/Shall harm Macbeth.” The third apparition, a crowned child with a tree in his hands, tells him that
“Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until
Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him.”
The apparitions contradict one another, with one saying that Macbeth should fear Macduff and the other two giving assurances that unless a wood walks to his castle and a man who was not born of woman fights him he cannot be harmed.
As the play continues it becomes apparent that the witches did not reveal the whole truth in their apparitions. Macbeth finally realises this just before he fights Macduff:
“And be these juggling fiends no more believed,
That palter with us in a double sense;
That keep the word of promise to our ear,
And break it to our hope.”
These confusing messages link to the mention of “fair is foul and foul is fair” by the witches in the first scene of the play once again highlighting a theme of confusion and disturbance.
The witches are a substantial part of the play and aid in bringing out the key ideas of the play to the audience. They highlight the underlying themes of Macbeth, such as darkness, mystery, terror and the power of destiny. They contribute a sense of evil and the impression that men’s lives are heavily, if not completely governed by fate. Without the witches’ contribution of supernatural influence on the play, it would lose all its darkness and mystique.