The Witches’ New Clothes
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the author challenges the reads to ponder whether or not the witches foresaw the events of the play, or caused them to occur themselves. AS the play begins, Macbeth was a good, honest man, and loyal to his king; but upon meeting the three witches and hear their “prophecies,” he beings to defy that role by entertaining thoughts if becoming king. After writing to his wife, the Lady Macbeth, of this encounter, her ambitions feed off of such news and inspire Macbeth to commit treason. Finally, Macbeth himself, mad with his lust for power, puts himself in the position to have all of his trust placed in the final three prophecies, and therefore cause his downfall. By examining Shakespeare’s use of clothing imagery, one can determine that the three witches did, in fact, cause the events of the play by influencing Macbeth’s actions.
First, the witches’ first appearance in the play shall be analyzed; for that is where our story begins. The witches meet Macbeth by greeting him by his title of Glamis, his yet-to-be-given title of Cawdor, and then as King of Scotland; the latter of which having the purpose of introducing Macbeth to the idea that he may become king. Soon after this encounter, the Thane of Glamis is given the title of Cawdor, prompting him to say, “The Thane of Cawdor lives. Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?” (15) This is the first instance to suggest that Macbeth was being given a title that did not rightfully belong to him; as well as the idea that, as the witches were accurate of his becoming Thane of Cawdor, it stood to reason that they would be just as accurate concerning Macbeth becoming King. That is how the witches first influence Macbeth.
Next, the Lady Mac...
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...ps for it summarized in short, little sentences to allow the reader to fully grasp the idea of each body paragraph. As such, this final paragraph shall be a conclusion for you, dear reader, as a way to find closure from such written miracles soon coming to an end. Firstly, the witches introduce the idea of becoming king to Macbeth, who later shares it with the Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth then takes advantage of this information to further her and her husband’s place in society by convincing her weak willed husband to kill the King. Finally, Macbeth brought further ruin to himself by being foolish enough to seek out the witches’ guidance once more. This is how the reader can determine that the witches did, in fact, cause for the play’s events to occur.
Works Cited
Gibson, Rex, ed. (1993). Macbeth: Cambridge School Shakespeare. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Macbeth’s heroic deeds at the beginning of the play soon seem insignificant next to the primary event in the Act: the revelation of the witches’ prophecy. Their insightful proclamation that he will be king someday is both shocking and pleasing to Macbeth. Without this occurrence, this play might not have traveled a road of ambition and death, but instead one of calm acceptance and enjoyment of an already-elegant lifestyle. The seeds of desire were here planted, however, eliciting what became a bloody ordeal. The spark ignited, and a plan began to take shape.
Macbeth is willing to twist destiny and change the prophecy to protect his ambition, asking about his downfall to try and prevent it. The three witches’ prophecies strengthen Macbeth’s ambition; the first prophecy makes Macbeth realize his ambitions, and the second prophecy displays his willpower to protect that ambition. Being over-ambitious brought about the demises of not only Macbeth, but his family as well as the many people he killed in order to bring about his rise to power. This theme was demonstrated through several motifs, including hallucinations, blood, and prophecies.
The witches caused much confusion throughout the play, to Macbeth and anyone associated with them. For instance, when the witches spoke to Banquo and Macbeth they said, Hail thee, thane of Glamis/ Hail thee, thee of Cawdor/ that shalt be king hereafter.” This statement was directed to Macbeth, but it very much confused him, as he was thane of Glamis, but not thane of Cawdor or certainly not king. Moments later he was to be crowned thane of Cawdor by King Duncan. The actions of King Duncan led Macbeth to believe he was going to become king. Lady Macbeth, when reading about Macbeth’s encounter with the witches, automatically devised a plan for Macbeth to become king. This plan involved killing the king, but to convince Macbeth that it was supposed to happen, she extremely criticized him and put him down on all thoughts. Her emasculation of him subjected him into thinking, killing the king was the only way to gain
The prophecies told by the witches are one of the factors that contributed to the degeneration of Macbeth's character. If it had not been for the witches' revelation that he was to become, "Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and King of Scotland" (I.iii.46--49), Macbeth would've still been his ordinary self. As a result of the prophecies, the arousal of Macbeth's curiosity concerning the possibility of how he could be King of Scotland could be seen. As the play progresses, Macbeth slowly relies on and devotes his trust to the witches' prophecies. Shakespeare utilizes the witches as a remedy for Macbeth's curiosity thereby corrupting his character.
When Macbeth becomes king he controls almost everyone, from servants to assassins. He even attempts to order the three witches to do his bidding. However, Macbeth’s actions and demeanor later in the play are the result of Lady Macbeth, who holds sway over her husband. It is she who at first coaxes and controls Macbeth, resulting in the change in his personality. The supernatural, in particular the three witches, exert control over both Macbeth and his lady. In fact, it is their influences that initiate the sequence of events, and are therefore an integral part of the play.
In the play of “Macbeth”, Shakespeare gradually and effectively deepens our understanding of the themes and most importantly the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The main theme of Macbeth is ambition, and how it compels the main characters to pursue it. The antagonists of the play are the three witches, who symbolise the theme appearance and reality. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relation is an irony throughout the play, as most of their relation is based on greed and power. This is different from most of Shakespeare’s other plays, which are mostly based on romance and trust. There is also guilt that leads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to the final consequences of the play. As the progresses, the constant changes in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are exposed.
The one thing that all of Shakespeare’s plays have in common is a tragic conclusion, which results in the death of the hero. What is unique about the deaths of these heroes is that all of the problems that lead them to the end are self-induced. The heroes are always in control, and make crucial judgemental errors which ultimately lead to their own demise. While it is clear that the hero Macbeth causes his own death in this famous play, there are also third-party influences which push him towards this end. The three witches plant a desire for power and growing confidence in Macbeth, while Lady Macbeth eventually persuades him to go down a path of violence, and kill King Duncan in order to take his place on the throne. These actions highlight the women of the play as the greatest influences on the development of the plot and Macbeth’s demise.
The witches have a strong effect on Macbeth's character; they highly influence him in his accomplishments and awake his ambitions. They give Macbeth a false sense of security with their apparitions of truth. Instead, they prove to be harmful for Macbeth, who takes too much comfort and confidence in his interpretation of the truths. They are the ones who plant the actual idea of killing Duncan into Macbeth's mind. But if it were only the witches prophecies, then Macbeth surely would not have murdered the king. '
Powerful in nature and curious to the eye, the witches in Macbeth were hooks of fascination. One never knew what would come next when it came to the witches. They possessed a dark authority and supremacy unlike any other and the temptation to ignore them was unfeasible. They brought with them gloomy days and evil thoughts. The witches could draw you in and begin to almost play with your mind if you let them. This is what ultimately led to the down fall of Macbeth. Collectively, the witches in Macbeth acted as a catalyst for all of Macbeth’s actions.
n the play "Tragedy of Macbeth", William Shakespeare presents many examples of foreshadowing which pulls the reader in and displays an interesting and unique way of story telling. Right from the beginning in (Act 1, Scene 1) three witches appear who are the main sources of foreshadowing and start the entire story by agreeing with one another to meet up again "when the battle's lost and won". Further along in the play the actual prophecies given by the three witches occur when they meet Macbeth and Banquo then greet Macbeth with three titles "Thane of Glamis" "Thane of Cawdor" and "King hereafter". Following after, the witches don't meet Macbeth again until (Act 4) and during this meeting Macbeth learns three more prophecies that foreshadow his life to come. The three prophecies are an armed head, a bloody child, and a child crowned with a tree in his hand. The importance of the opening scenes and further along in the play start to bring truth of the prophecies in Act 4. In the beginning (Act 1, scene 1) of Macbeth the appearance of three witches shed light to what might happen. Everything starts to unravel when the three witches declare to meet up again with each other "when the battle's lost and won". Also a short time after that they yell out together "fair is foul, and foul is fair" this foreshadows that some sort of evil will be coming and that there will also be a victory of sorts to either the witches or the main character in the story, but the audience doesn't know specifically what is to happen. These also suggest a great battle will be fought against good and evil. However these events that are soon to follow will unfold at a rapid pace. This foreshadowing can be detected by the audience because they can feel the suspense...
Macbeth’s choice to put his trust in the witches, rather than take heed like Banquo, leads to his own destruction. Macbeth first encounters the three witches after his victory over the Norwegians. When Macbeth passes the three witches on the road, the greet him with, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!” All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (I,iii,49-51). Macbeth doubts these claims until Ross and Angus soon tell him of his newly acquired title, the Thane of Cawdor. He starts to believe the sisters to be true and that he just might become king. Macbeth jumps to the conclusion that the three sisters are of the supernatural and decides to trust them. He does so despite Banquo’s warning, “ But ’tis strange. And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray ’s in deepest consequence...
Once the “deed” is done, Lady Macbeth’s desire for power lessens while Macbeth’s grows. Now that he has possession of the crown, he wants to protect it. Going back to the witches’ prophecy, he recalls that the descendants of Banquo will succeed him. Macbeth wants his own children to take his place when he passes on the position of king. If they don’t, he has put himself through emotional torture and guilt, and will have killed the king he was loyal to for nothing. To prevent Banquo’s youth from inhabiting the throne, Macbeth decides he must eliminate his friend because he is the only one who threatens his throne. “There is none but he whose being I fear… he chided the sisters when first they put the name of king upon me and bade them speak to him. Then, prophet-like, they hailed him father to a line of kings.” (3.1.60-65) His fear of losing the throne drives him to plot Banquo’s death. Not wanting to do the dirty work, Macbeth hires two men to kill Banquo and his son Fleance when they return from their horse ride. Once again it is seen that the witches’ prophecy has influenced the thoughts and actions of Macbeth. He has set off on a killing spree, murdering everyone who could be a potential threat to his crown. The more he kills, the more insensitive he becomes to death. The prophecies have started to consume Macbeth. Since Fleance escapes, Macbeth chooses to meet with the witches a second
They challenge Macbeth’s character over the course of the play by giving him three simple prophecies about his life. The witches cause the play’s theme to start as very dark and gloomy because of their prophecies to Macbeth. If
“All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Glamis. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Cawdor. All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.3.51-53) and also goes on to tell Banquo that his descendents will be kings even though he won’t become one. At first Macbeth dismisses these claims, and Banquo suggest that they were just hallucinating, but the idea of becoming Thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland has been implanted in Macbeths head. Coincidentally just before Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches Duncan announces to Ross that Macbeth will be the new thane of Cawdor “No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death, and with his former title greet Macbeth.”(1.3.76-76) When Macbeth finds out that he will become thane of Cawdor from Ross and Angus he starts to truly believe that he can and will become the new king. The witches use this previously announced fact “Hail to you, thane of Cawdor” as a catalyst, to trick him into believing that he will become king which makes him take action towards the prophecy, but which was really his free will maki...
The witches’ prophecies tempt Macbeth to begin walking down the path of evil leading to his demise. They are the catalyst that