At the very beginning of the play the witches are introduced before any of the other characters. This gives us the feeling that they are going to be a major part of this play. They enter in from the heath. In Elizabethan plays, the weather conditions are used to reflect the mood and actions of a character. The play begins with thunder and lightning as they three witches enter. They begin chanting about how they are going to meet next upon the heath were Macbeth will be. They then disappear.
“Where the place? “
“Upon the heath.”
“There to meet with Macbeth.” Act I Scene I lines 6-8
The witches in Macbeth raise questions in people’s minds. Are they real? How do they live upon the heath? These create suspense amongst the audience and keep them guessing.
Throughout the play the witches appear to posses people. Lady Macbeth is one of them. She calls upon evil spirits for assistance for her to be able to go through with the evil deed of killing King Duncan.
“Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe topfull of direst cruelty…” Act I Scene 5 lines 38-52
She is excited about the evil that she has allowed to posses her but becomes consumed by it and the doctor has to call for the divine to come and help her. The divine is the Christian goodness because the doctor believes she has been consumed by the devil. Macbeth is about the battle of good and evil and this is one of the battles. Lady Macbeth loses and commits suicide, she is condemned to Hell because the Christian Church considers suicide a sin.
“More needs she the divine then the physician.” Act 5 Scene I line 64
This quote is the doctor talking to the maid he is saying that she needs the help of god because he can do nothing for her.
The play begins with the three witches making a prediction of Macbeth’s life. At first he takes these predictions light heartedly and does not believe them, until the first prediction comes true. He then becomes dependent upon the witches’ predictions and does everything in his power to fulfil them. He goes to seek their advice and becomes obsessed with what they will say. Their influence grows upon Macbeth just as their influence in the play grows. This is Macbeth’s greatest weakness and the main reason for his downfall. The witches’ prophecies are only predictions; it is he who makes them happen. He turns from being good to evil.
“All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis.”
“All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor.”
“All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter.” Act I Scene 3 lines 46-48
The three witches have a strange appearance; they fascinate the audience. They appear sexless as Banquo describes them as having features of women but also masculine features such as beards. The witches provide a sinister atmosphere in the way they speak in rhyme and chants. They use short easy lyrics that are easy for us to recall. Most people who do not even know the play can recall the Hubble-Bubble chant.
“Upon her skinny lips; you should be women and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so.” Act I Scene 3 lines 43-45
As the play progresses we start to believe that the witches are responsible for all of the happenings in the play, for example creating the dagger that Macbeth sees before him and the dying Banquo at the feasting table. This creates excitement for the audience.
“Thou canst not say I did it; never shake thy gory locks at me!” Act 3 Scene 4 lines 50-51
This quotation is Macbeth talking to the ghost of Banquo he is telling the ghost that he can not prove that the killing was his doing.
Macbeth retains his free will throughout the play, it is his downfall that he decides to follow what the witches tell him, and if he had lost his free will you could not call him a tragic figure.
The witches attracted many people to come and see Macbeth including perhaps, the King with his fascination for the subject of witchcraft. It was the popular theme of the day; they add dramatic interest and turn the play into a mystery and thriller.
