Shakespeare portrays the witches as unnatural from the beginning as they meet away from humanity in thunder and lightning. This removes the relationship between them and normal humans. Meeting in stormy weather implies that they are evil. In scene three Banquo describes the witches’ appearances.
“So withered, and so wild in their attire,
That look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ earth,”
Banquo notices the irregularities, which the witches have and is unsure about what they are. He questions if they are from earth as he begins to believe they are alien. Moreover Shakespeare incorporates the number three in his physical portrayal by using three witches on stage. This was associated with magic during that period.
The setting further emphasises the nature of the witches. Scene one opens with the witches in a deserted place with thunder and lightning. At the end of scene one act three, when Macbeth orders them to speak more the witches vanish. No living thing on earth is capable of vanishing, which adds to the extra- terrestrial character of the witches. This would amaze the audience, as they would not be able come to terms with something vanishing. This would make the witches out to be mysterious, which would frighten audiences.
The witches’ speech is noticeably different from the other characters in the play, which makes them stand out. As I previously mentioned Shakespeare incorporates the number three into this play, for magical effect.
“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!”
This is an example of how the witches use three in their speech. Each witch says, “All hail to Macbeth,” so therefore it is said three times. This creates an eerie effect. The witches also speak in riddles and rhymes, which creates a mysterious aura around them.
“ Fair is foul, and foul is fair,
Hover through the fog and filthy air.”
Shakespeare incorporates alliteration of ‘f’ into this rhyming couplet. It is unusual for this style to be used in everyday speech, which once again demonstrates that the witches are unlike the rest of humanity. The witches chant, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” which means that they believe right, ‘fair’, is equivalent to wrong, ‘foul’. This implies that they have no conscience and are inhuman. Having no conscience would suggest that they have no morals, allowing them to commit the worst of crimes without guilt. This makes the witches purely evil.
In this section of the essay I shall be comparing and studying the witches’ in Roman Polanski’s version of Macbeth. There are several alterations to the witches’ part. This may be in-order for the witches to have a more significant effect on a modern-day audience and so it makes it easier for people to understand.
In act one scene one Polanski opens with the witches on a foggy beach, whereas it says in the text that the witches are at an open place with thunder and lightning. This gives a more unsure eeriness to the scene, whereas thunder and lightning has a startling effect on the audience. Polanski’s chose a beach, probably because it is so vast and expansive that the sense of isolation is quite apparent. A lone seagull flying in the sky creates tension, as it is unusual to see a seagull on its own. In act three the witches are in misty hills, whereas it states in the text that the witches are upon a heath. This is similar to Polanski’s hills. The fog makes the scene seem strange and negative, adding to the character of the witches.
The blood red sunset creates a sense of death, which sets one of the themes for the rest of the play, which is murder. In act one scene one the lighting is very dull and grey. Seeing the witches in these light conditions adds to their withered appearance. In act three the lighting is also very grey and murky, and there is a storm. The storm gives us the impression that the surroundings of the witches reflect their evil character.
Throughout act one scene one and three there are similar wailing sounds and high-pitched notes playing, which emphasis the eerie surroundings. The witches speak with croaky unclear voices. One witch has a high pitch voice while the other has a low pitch voice. This contrast makes them sound insane as the say their riddles. The wind makes whistling sounds, which creates a weird atmosphere. This would make the audience tense.
Polanski alters some of the text in order for a greater dramatic effect. In the first scene he moves these lines:
“ Fair is foul, and foul is fair,
Hover through the fog and filthy air.”
He moves them from the end of the scene to the beginning. I believe this shows the character of the witches immediately. Only two witches speak, as the third appears to be dumb, adding to the relationship with animals. The spell from scene three in the text is moved to the first scene. A modern-day audience would be familiar with witches casting spells, so having the spell at the start of the film would help the audience to recognise that they are witches.
The witches wear dark earthy coloured rags draped over them, taking away from the shape of the body, which makes them look alien-like. They have dirty faces and messy hair, which relates them to wild animals in appearance. One of the witches has an eye closed over. This abnormality would have great effect on the audience, as it is a disgusting sight.
The visual effects, used by Polanski, would have a much greater effect on the audience than Shakespeare’s description. The witches dig on their knees in an animalistic manner. They drop a human arm in to the hole that they have created and cast a spell. This ritualistic behaviour demonstrates the unusual manner in which they live. After they fill in the hole in again they pour a vial of blood into the sand. This visual effect enhances the barbaric nature of the witches. In scene three the witches are huddled together rubbing each other’s back. This is another animalistic character. When the witches are about to vanish one witch crouches down and lifts her skirt to reveal a masculine feature, which therefore makes her gender questionable. Polanski uses this feature, because it would have a more explicit message with a modern audience. At the end of this scene the witches do not vanish, but go into an underground layer. This suggests that the witches dwell underground like animals, unlike the rest of humanity who have evolved into living in buildings above the surface.
Polanski uses the special effects in which film can be shot to add effect to the play. The camera shot in act one scene one begins with a panoramic view of the beach, showing how vast and isolated it is. The different camera shots fade together, continuing with the eerie effect. The camera zooms in for a close up of the props and visual effects for a more dramatic viewing. The scene ends with the witches shuffling into the distance, once again adding to the vastness of the beach. In scene three the camera pans around the rocks onto the witches. This gives the feeling of unexpectedness, not knowing what is around the corner. During this scene the camera doesn’t stay focused on any particular character, making the situation seem tense.
I believe that Polanski’s realisation of the Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is a good interpretation and it gives a modern audience a better understanding of the witches’ characters. Polanski uses the advantage of visual screenplay and special effects to portray the witches in an evil unnatural light, which would be difficult to create through words.
