Controlling Macbeth

William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) wrote many informative and well-versed plays, including The Tragedy of Macbeth. Shakespeare wrote his play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, in 1606 during the rule of James I, who symbolizes the completion of the witches’ prophecy, that a descendent of Banquo will become king. Some scholars argue Shakespeare was the best playwright of all time; however, the writer never came up with a complete storyline himself. His play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, based off the story of Mac Bethad mac Findlaich, demonstrates Shakespeare originality, by creating the plot and developing the storyline, but Shakespeare still based his characters on real-life people. Without much trustworthy knowledge about Mac Bethad mac Findlaich, Mr. Shakespeare allowed his imagination to run wild, creating a plot involving murder, deception, and greed. The Elizabethans, living at the time of Shakespeare, would have loved the plot and storyline, but may have gotten bored during the play, so Shakespeare needed an attention grabber. He chose to use witches in The Tragedy of Macbeth, just like he used a ghost in The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark. Dieter Mehl supports the choice of using witches for the play and states in his essay, written in 1983:

They [Macbeth and Banquo] try to extract some firm instruction, teased by the possibility of obtaining some usually hidden knowledge; the witches, however, create confusion, not certainty and this is perfectly in keeping with Elizabethan ideas of such ghosts and their influence on humans. (Mehl 44: 271)

To this day scholars still argue the meaning behind the use of the witches in the play. Some say they have no direct meaning; while others argue that without the use of the witches, Shakespe...

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Mehl, Dieter. "Macbeth by William Shakespeare." Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 44. Detroit: Gale, 1999. 271-72. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. Web. 24 April 2014.

Schegel, August Wilhelm. "Macbeth by William Shakespeare." Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris and Mark W. Scott. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Research, 1986. 183-84. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. Web. 24 April 2014.

Whately, Thomas, and Richard Whately. “The Character Macbeth.” Remarks on Some of the Characters of Shakespeare. London: J. W. Parker, 1839. Print.