Why Are The Witches Important In Macbeth

In the play Macbeth, the Witches play a bigger role than one might expect. The Witches are temptations of evil and with the Witches’ mischief prey upon Macbeth’s ambition like puppeteers. The Witches give Macbeth numerous prophecies that are told to provoke Macbeth towards his doom. The prophecies give Macbeth thoughts of treason against the King, tells Macbeth to secure the kingdom from Banquo’s descendants, and give Macbeth the false courage that leads him to think he was invincible. If the Witches’ prophecies did not guide Macbeth, his life would not have led to tragedy.

Throughout the story of Macbeth, Macbeth’s ambition for power, provoked by his significant other, Lady Macbeth, and the witches’ prophecies consumed his life. At first he committed murder against King Duncan so he could become king himself, but the one murder had a domino affect. Although ambition can be a positive attribute for someone to acquire, Macbeth’s ambition began in Act One and proved dangerous as his death approached in Act Five. In Act One of Macbeth, Macbeth and Banquo meet three witches that tell them three prophecies. One at a time, each witch mentioned a prophecy, “All hail Macbeth, Thane of Glamis!

Macbeth has a trustworthy relationship with King Duncan until he questions the prophecies he received from three witches.First, the three witches were one of the reason I determine Macbeth is innocent, they delivered their prophecies to him declaring him that he would be crowned as king. Macbeth describes them as “Supernatural Soliciting”(Shakespeare). In Act 1, Scene 3,

And the third witch stats, “all hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter”. When Ross and Angus said to Macbeth you will be the king of the Crowder. Then, Macbeth believed the three witches after the second prophecy was proven. In addition, Macbeth’s weakness is seen when his wife influences over him to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth who lusts for power and position.

Hecate is the goddess of witchcraft and can be viewed as the leader of the three witches. She appeared early on in the play in Act III, scene v to explain to the witches that Macbeth will come back to the witches to ask them about his destiny. This scene help leads to setup the current scene that I am analyzing. After Hecate leaves, Macbeth shows up and asks for the witches. He wants the witches to reveal his destiny.

Ambition and Greed is first introduced in the beginning of “Macbeth” when Macbeth and Banquo are greeted with three witches. The three witches present them with three prophecies, two for Macbeth, and one for Banquo. “… All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor, All hail Macbeth! Thou shalt be king hereafter” and to Banquo “… Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none” (Act 1, Scene 3).

The three Witches contribute the most to Macbeth’s ruin. Therefore, Macbeths desire to become King grew deep in his heart. He desperately wanted the Crown and also the power to rule over the people of Scotland. Macbeth however suppressed his feelings; unfortunately Lady Macbeth’s greediness and the three Witches’ prophecies contribute lot to Macbeth’s downfall. Since Witches predicted that no man born from a woman could kill him, he would not be defeated until the forest of move to his castle.

Another intriguing yet blatant aspect of loss of identity in Shakespeare's play is drawn from Macbeth's drastic change in personality which drives from his thirst for power that starts to control him; ultimately changing who he ends up to be. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a highly respected individual - saluted for his service to the King. However when he meets the witches and is spoken to about the prophecy, this begins to change. Macbeth is immediately inclined to believe what the witches have to say through their persuasive and manipulative speech. One of the witches exclaims 'All hail, Macbeth - that shalt be King hereafter!'.

After Macbeth slaughters King Duncan, he is named king himself and starts to get paranoid about people finding out the truth. Banquo suspects Macbeth of cheating to become king and reminds Macbeth that his own son’s will become king someday when he says, “Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all, as the weird women promised, and I fear thou played’st most foully for ’t. Yet it was said it should not stand in thy posterity, But that myself should be the root and father of many kings” (Mac.3.1.1-6). Directly after that conversation, Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo. This is another murder that Macbeth never would have done if the witches were not to give Macbeth his

His wife, Lady Macbeth telling him to chase after his ambitions, and the three witches supposedly prophesying that his ambitions will be reached. Who was responsible for the final outcome of his descent? Lady Macbeth and the three witches were major influences in his descent, but ultimately was Macbeth responsible for his own destruction? To be able to identify who is really responsible for this unfortunate outcome, one must examine each person’s role in in the play and in Macbeth’s descent into madness. It is only logical to look at the three witches first, since they were the ones who planted the ideas of being King in Macbeth’s head.