The witches gave Macbeth illusions and made him think and make the wrong choices. They made him think that he was better than everyone else and almost god like, “for none of woman born shall harm macbeth” (4.1). This shows that Macbeth was not making the wrong decisions, but the witches made it seem like he was. In the story it is hard to tell who to blame between the witches and Macbeth because he mad the wrong decisions but most of them were because of the witches. They also made him think he’s become king easily, by saying “all hail Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor” (1.3).
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the story started with Macbeth being a loyal and brave thane to King Duncan. After the three witches had told him that he was eventually going to become king, he was over taken by ambition and power, which led to the kings’ death and Macbeth taking over the throne. There are many arguments about whose ambition led to all the murders and events in the play. The actions and words of Lady Macbeth could have led to the encouragement of Macbeth, which made him act upon his feelings, which ultimately led the murders and everything else that had happened around those events. The words of the witches could have also driven him to act upon everything.
Is it the witches’ fault that Macbeth became a cold-blooded killer? Are the witches an important figure in the Scottish play? Did the witches constantly tell the truth to Macbeth? These are a few of the questions that people who have seen the Scottish Play “Macbeth” written by the famous play writer Shakespeare would ask. Witches are essential figures in the play of Macbeth.
Near the end of the play in Act 5 is when Lady Macbeth’s evilness takes over her mentality. She begins to think that the blood from the horrid crime is still on her hands. This mental breakdown is what leads her to her inevitable doom. However, I do not think that Lady Macbeth should be considered as a Witch just based on her participation in the murder of Duncan. In conclusion, I think that Lady Macbeth is more responsible for the murder of Duncan due to her manipulation
/ Leave all the rest to me”, and urges her husband to kill him, Macbeth is unable to resist (1.6.71-73). As well, the conspicuous lack of involvement by Lady Macbeth in the evil acts Macbeth commits later in the play dispels any attempts to lay the blame on her. In the murders of Banquo and of Macduff’s family, she is not involved at all. Macbeth commits these acts alone, compelled by his own insecurity. Again, like the witches, while she may manipulate Macbeth, it is he who carries out the act.
The role of the witches is to tell Macbeth his prophecies. The
Macbeth was not the true villain because he was influenced by ambition and persuasion in the form the witches prophecy, “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter.”(1.3.50) This led to the thoughts of murder for Macbeth’s gain. It is clear that the witches are the only true villain, because only they were the main cause for all of Macbeth’s murders. Not only is it clear in the play, but if you look at the background knowledge surrounding the play, you would know it was written for King James of England, who was very persistent in capturing and prosecuting “witches” , so Shakespeare had made the three witches the villains to give himself a good image with the king. This is why the witches are the true villains, because they had planted murderous thoughts in Macbeth’s mind and then tricked him with illogical prophecies. With all this said, the witches’ absolute supernatural powers corrupted them
To do this to Macbeth, they need to gain his trust. They need their prophecies to come true to make Macbeth fully believe in their ability undoubtably. One of the witches could have easily disguised themselves as a murderer to watch over the acts. “Thou shall get kings though thou be none.” This quote is from act 1 scene 3 line 67 and page 9. One of the witches is the speaker.
William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character; Macbeth, is seen as an evil character. The play is based off of Macbeth’s decisions and his actions to become King. In the beginning Macbeth starts out as a hero in Scotland’s war with Ireland and towards the end he is transformed into a murderer. Macbeth is not wholly evil because of is heroism in the war, his love for Scotland, and because he didn’t want to kill King Duncan initially. Macbeth was brain washed by his wife and tricked into killing the King.
The Witches Purpose In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, there are three witches that tell Macbeth his prophecy that he will become king of Scotland. Macbeth becomes obsessed with the thought of power, and goes on an evil path to become king. The witches however do not do anything after that other than give Macbeth a second prophecy. All they do is play games and watch the events of Macbeth unfold, and it is shown that their purpose is not needed. The entire reason that they were in the play in the first place was because the audience of the time loved witchcraft.