The Three Witches In Macbeth

Macbeth might be just one man, but he is not the only one in control of his own fate. Throughout the story, it is extremely evident that Macbeth is not the one in control. Lady Macbeth is the one who convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan, which transforms him into a much darker, evil person for the rest of the story. But the three witches prophecies are the true reasoning for all of these evil thoughts and actions in the first place. The story begins with the three Witches providing Macbeth with three different prophecies about his future, and when his wife finds out she attempts to control Macbeth to force these prophecies to come true. Macbeth was given prophecies multiple times, and every time he hears a new one, that he when he begins to make

Using their prophecies to entice Macbeth, the 3 witches drive everything that Macbeth does throughout the story. From the very first Act, the 3 sisters’ very first prophecy is what drove Macbeth and his wife to kill Duncan and he is in their control from then on, “In such a world killing a king seems almost in the nature of things; violence is in the air and the witches are its dealers. The first scene has the powerful authority inherent to first scenes: whatever happens after the opening develops out of it and is shaped by it. The witches are an integral part of whatever follows” (Cohen). The witches always come into the scene and control all of Macbeth’s decisions, whether he is aware of it or not. Stated in a paper written by Derek Cohen, “The witches can never be removed from the equation: their imprimatur is on every segment of the play. While Macbeth seems to act autonomously, he has seen the witches and they have infected him with a slow poison. They have a transformative effect on what he does and how he thinks” (Cohen). The Witches have control over Macbeth and all of his decisions from the very first scene. The witches are the reason that Macbeth became King, and then, eventually, for his downfall. In the story, the 3 sisters give Macbeth prophecies that immediately affect the decisions he makes that follow, that always have major impacts on his entire future. In Act 4, scene 1 of the play, the witches have 3 different apparitions come to Macbeth with three different prophecies. In this scene when given the prophecies, Macbeth immediately believes them but does not take them as seriously as he should. One of the prophecies the witches give Macbeth states, “.. Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him.” (Document D). Later, in Act 5, scenes 5 and 8, all 3 of the prophecies that the witches provided to Macbeth come true. A messenger