How do the Witches in Macbeth Reflect contemporary ideas of witchcraft? Are the Witches solely responsible for Macbeth's Downfall, or can you suggest some other Influence?

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Nicholas Marshall 11A

How do the Witches in Macbeth Reflect contemporary ideas of witchcraft? Are the Witches solely responsible for Macbeth’s Downfall, or can you suggest some other Influence?

        When comparing the witches from the play ‘Macbeth’ to their image of the time we must first make clear what that image is. During Macbeth’s time, the 17th century, there was a universal belief of witches. This belief was in the fact that witches were powerful and fearful, unlike their pantomime figures of today, and that they had extraordinary powers which the public couldn’t understand. Using their power they would do evil things and so as a result the witches were hated.

        In the play, ‘Macbeth’, I will analyse in detail how the witches reflect this image and then with my accurate answer I will decide if the witches are solely responsible for Macbeth’s downfall or if there were other factors involved.

        To get an image of the witches in Shakespeare’s time we must first look at a contemporary source. ‘The anatomy of melancholy’ by Robert Burton is a good text source where a very specific image of witches is given. I will compare this to ‘Macbeth’s’ witches to see whether they reflect Burton’s ideas and consequently contemporary ideas. Within the text he mentions that witches can;

        “…cause tempests…make friends enemies, and enemies friends…enforce love, tell any man where his friends are… hurt and infect man and beasts… fly in the air, meet when and where they will…the aid of demons, and put deformed in their rooms, which we call changelings…make men victorious. Fortunate, eloquent…they can walk in fiery furnaces, make men feel no pain…can stanch blood, represent dead men’s shapes, alter and turn themselves into several forms at their pleasures.”

        From this text is the general idea of what witches were thought to be able to do within their time. Obviously an exact image can’t be given because people’s views of witches varied from place to place in that time but the above source gives a general idea of what witches were thought to be like: powerful, mysterious and fearful.

        With this text and contemporary image I will compare the ideas to Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth. It is mentioned that witches could fly within Robert Burton’s text. This is also evident in Macbeth;

        “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,

                Hover through the fog and filthy air.”

This quote is taken from the first scene of act one, when the witches meet and discuss where to meet. The words ‘hover’ and ‘air’ are both related to flying because hover means floating, and that is what you do when flying, but you are usually moving and that’s why the word ‘through’ is used to describe movement, and ‘air’ is what you go through when flying. So Shakespeare manages to convey the image of his witches flying in his play, reflecting one point of Burton’s contemporary image. You may have also noticed that words like ‘foul’ and ‘filthy’ are used within this quote to connect the witches to unpleasant images.

        Burton also says how witches can meet when and where they like, choosing any weather condition to meet in. Macbeth’s witches can also do this;

        “When shall we three meet again?

        In thunder, lightning, or in rain?”

This quote is the first thing said in act one, scene one and is said by the first witch. The witches within this act are discussing where and when to meet. The quote carries the image that ‘Macbeth’s’ witches can meet when and where they like by the quote’s open questions. They are open because the witch is not being specific and so, as a result, it shows that witches have a choice. The witches never mention how anything can hinder them so this openness of choice can easily be extended to be seen as an ability that the witches can meet when and where they like. The second line involves several types of weather within its question; ‘thunder, lightning, or rain’. This variety of weather suggests that they can choose which type they wish to meet in as we assume that they will not wait until the area they wish to meet in has that specific weather naturally. This control of choice consequently leads us to think that they have control over the weather. Again Shakespeare uses negative descriptions; ‘thunder, lightning and rain’ are all negative types of weather. This in turn gets associated with the witches and so they also get a negative image.

         The contemporary image from Burton also mentions the fact that witches can change shape and hurt people. The witches from Macbeth are also mentioned about this ability;

        “Her husband’s to Aleppo gone, master o’th’Tiger:

          But in a sieve I’ll thither sail,

          And like a rat without a tail,

          I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do.”

This extract from ‘Macbeth’ describes how the first witch was denied some nuts by a sailor’s wife. The first witch therefore took her revenge by ‘doing’ in her husband, who is master of the ship called ‘the Tiger’. This source describes her method of doing this. The ability of the witch being able to transform is conveyed by the sentence ‘and like a rat I’ll sail’. The witch saying this is talking about how she’ll transform into a rat as a disguise aboard the ship, explicitly describing the witch’s ability to transform. The witch’s want to do harm is shown by the last sentence of this quote, ‘I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do’. This is an abbreviation for ‘I’ll do him in’ which means ‘I’ll kill him or at the least hurt him’. This message of violence and hatred towards the sailor shows clearly the description of hate that Shakespeare has given the witches. Once again, like before, there is a description of impurity to make the witches sound vile. The sentence ‘and like a rat without a tail’ shows us that the witch doesn’t turn into a normal rat but a deformed one. Rats on their own are usually despised creatures anyway but Shakespeare goes one step further and makes the witch turn into a deformed, incomplete or unnatural rat as it is ‘without a tail’. Since the witch becomes this rat on choice then these descriptions are also relevant to her as well.

        My last point is how both the witches from ‘Macbeth’ and Burton’s contemporary image can ‘represent dead men’s shapes’;

        “Prithee, see there! Behold, look, lo! How say you?

        [To Ghost] Why what care I? If thou canst nod, speak too.”

This is a quote from Macbeth in a banquet after Banquo’s death. The ghost is Banquo and it is apparent within this quote that no one can see this ghost except Macbeth. This is shown in the first line by Macbeth’s confusion. He is pointing to the ghost and saying to someone in his olden English, ‘look, there he is! Can’t you see him?’ The only explanation for his confusion is if no one else can see the ghost except him. It is important to make one thing clear before I make my next point. In Shakespeare’s time, it was thought that ghosts were not specific to one person’s vision: everyone could see them. This means that the ghost of Banquo must have been an illusion. The only people that could have summoned an illusion in this play are the witches. So the witches in ‘Macbeth’ can ‘represent dead men’s shapes’ as it is shown by them raising an illusion of Banquo. Considering that Banquo is dead, the witches represent a dead man’s shape in this way.

        Now that I have fully established that the witches in ‘Macbeth’ do reflect contemporary ideas I can start to discuss whether or not the witches are solely responsible for Macbeth’s downfall. My belief is that they weren’t solely responsible for Macbeth’s downfall but were a component towards it. This then means that there were other influences that created Macbeth’s downfall. These other influences include Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s own personality and character.

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        It is these three influences that change Macbeth so dramatically. This change is apparent by looking at the beginning and end of the play. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth has a very positive image;

        “For brave Macbeth…Like Valour’s minion…valiant cousin, worthy gentleman…noble Macbeth…’

These positive adjectives along with the ‘evil’ enemy that Macbeth was fighting at the time, that contrasts and shows up his greatness makes Macbeth look very good indeed.

        By the end of the play though Macbeth’s image has completely changed;

        “…the tyrant’s grasp…bloody, luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful, sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin that has ...

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