‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair’
They do this, again to draw attention to the play; it is very dramatic and evil. This particular riddle is also saying that two opposites are the same. So the witches are trying to change the normal way of the world, this is another trait of an evil being. There is thunder and lightning during the scene, this is very dramatic and adds to the effect of the witches. The witches mention Macbeth’s name in this scene ‘to meet with Macbeth’. This introduces him as a character right at the start of the play.
In order to discuss the role of the witches in Macbeth this paragraph will look into Act 1 scene 3. Again in this scene there is thunder when the witches enter. This reinforces the sense of evil, which is given in the first scene by the witches and again scares people and draws attention to the stage. The three are preparing a spell for a sailor; this is linked with evil, which is how Shakespeare is trying to make them appear. Banquo is very shocked by the witches:
‘That not look like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ earth’
Banquo describes them here as not living on the earth. So he sees them as alien like creatures. The witches tell Macbeth and Banquo that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor, that he will be king and that Banquo’s sons will be kings. The third of these has particular importance, because of this Macbeth later gets Banquo murdered. As soon as the witches speak Banquo notices Macbeth reacting:
‘Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear
Things that sound so fair?’
Banquo instantly sees a reaction on Macbeth’s face. The witches have affected Macbeth in their first statement to him. The witches later disappear, ‘The earth hath bubbles, as the water has’. This proves that the witches are really witches and also adds dramatic effect to the play. Lennox and Ross appear and announce that Macbeth is to be Thane of Cawdor. This makes the first of the witches prophecies come true and has a large effect on Macbeth. Macbeth now starts to believe that the prophecies are true.
In order to discuss the role of the witches in Macbeth this paragraph will look into how the witches’ prophecies affect Macbeth’s actions. The prophecies tempted Macbeth to murder very quickly. In Act 1 Scene 3 just after Macbeth has been told the prophecies he is already beginning to think of murder, in an aside he says to himself ‘My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical’. This shows that the prophecies are making him think about murder even though he is not yet sure whom he will murder. By Act 1 Scene 7 the prophecies and Macbeth’s selfishness are forcing him to do things that he doesn’t want to do:
‘We will proceed no further in this business:
He hath honour me of late’
Even though he says this he still murders Duncan. He still kills him because his wife pushes him but none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for the prophecies in the first place. Later in the play after Macbeth had become
King he started to fear Banquo because of the third prophecy:
‘To act in safety. There is none but he,
Whose being I do fear
At this point in the play Macbeth has started to believe in the witches’ prophecies so much that he is doing things he doesn’t wish to do. He does not wish to murder Banquo but he feels that he must to ensure his own safety. There is no evidence that Banquo or Fleance were plotting against Macbeth so when Macbeth has Banquo murdered he is acting on the prophecies alone.
In order to discuss the role of the witches in Macbeth this paragraph will look into Act 4 Scene 1. An evil scene is immediately created with the thunder and the appearance of the three witches. This evil scene will draw the attention of the people again just over half way through the play. When Macbeth revisits the witches he is very officious and demanding:
‘I conjure you, by that which you profess,
Howe’er you come to know it, answer me.
Macbeth badly wants to know more of the witches’ prophecies. This is because he wants to protect himself from others that may be plotting against him, which shows how strongly he believes in the prophecies. The witches put the prophecies over to Macbeth in a very odd way, apparitions appear and tell him the prophecies. Shakespeare has done this to create a larger sense of evil and to draw more attention to the stage. The prophecies told to Macbeth in this scene are ‘beware Macduff’, ‘none of women born shall harm Macbeth’ and ‘Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill’. This leaves Macbeth feeling very confident and creates dramatic irony because now he feels invincible when he is not.
The role of the witches in Macbeth is to add dramatic effect/draw attention to the stage. The people of that era, including the king, were all scared of witches. Shakespeare exploits this and uses the witches at the beginning of the play to draw the audience’s attention. Shakespeare also uses the witches again half way through the play in Act 4 Scene 1 to again attract the audience’s attention. Shakespeare may also have written the witches into Macbeth to please James I. He was the new king in a new monarchy, the Jacobeans and it would be in Shakespeare’s best interests to impress and please the new king. The witches thicken the plot by introducing the prophecies to Macbeth. They exploit Macbeth’s weakness, his selfishness, with these prophecies and it is because of this weakness that his downfall occurred.
