MACBETH

WITCHES INDUCE EVIL

        In the Jacobean era, the most common idea of a witch was an old woman with the ability to summon evil spirits.  Witchcraft was linked with worship of the Devil.  King James I was obsessed with the threat posed by witches; hence everything evil was blamed on them.  Many women were falsely accused of practicing witchcraft and were tortured until they confessed, then faced imprisonment, banishment or execution.  The literature of ancient Greece and Rome abounds with tales of witches, who spent most of their time mixing magical potions from herbs and gruesome animal parts. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a play that was presented to King James I in 1606, three witches appear quite a few times, once brewing a potion.  Although the three “weird sisters” (or witches) may appear to be the evil forces of the play leading to the demise of the protagonist, clearly their role is to help bring out evil traits in other characters.  Amongst these characters are Banquo, Lady Macbeth and, of course, Macbeth, whom the “weird sisters” help expose wicked attributes.

        The witches help bring out immoral traits in Banquo.  In Act one, Scene one, Banquo wants the witches to predict future, for he will not fear the prophecies as Macbeth did.  Banquo says:

                …To me you speak not

                If you can look into the seeds of time,

                And say which one will grow and which will not

                Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear

                Your favors nor your hate. (1.3; 60-64)

Banquo wants the witches to state his future.  This is evil, for Banquo is telling the witches to disregard Macbeth and pay more attention to him.  He is being selfish and not thinking of others, not even thinking of his best friend: Macbeth.  Since Banquo told the witches to ignore his best friend, it comes to no surprise when in Act three, Scene one, Banquo suspects Macbeth of murdering King Duncan.  In his soliloquy, Banquo affirms his suspicions: “Thou hast it now: King, Cawdor, Glamis, all. / As the weird women promised; and I fear / Thou play’dst most foully for’t” (3.1; 1-3).  The witches turned the best of friends into potential enemies.  Although Banquo suspected Macbeth, he didn’t tell anyone of his suspicions.  Again in his soliloquy he states: “But hush, no more” (3.1; 10).  Banquo is to remain silent hoping his own prophecies will come true, being dishonest to his country.  The weird sisters bring about cruel attributes in Banquo, such as greed, suspicion and dishonesty.  

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        The witches also bestow evil characteristics in Lady Macbeth. In Act one, Scene five, Lady Macbeth finds out that the witches told her husband predictions of his future and that he is to be Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. This makes Lady Macbeth quite attracted to what the witches said. She desires power – and she’ll do anything to attain it. She states:

                That I may pour my spirits in thine ear,

                And chastise with the valour of my tongue

                All that impedes thee from the golden round,

                Which fate and metaphysical aid doth ...

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