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Theme fate in macbeth
Theme fate in macbeth
The issue of power in Macbeth
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The Role of Witches in William Shakespeare's Macbeth In Macbeth the witches make a huge contribution to the play and the way it comes across to an audience. The witches portray many themes in Macbeth, such as the theme of fate, and the way that they are supposed to have the power of changing someone's fate, and the way they can control people using their power. The witches also depict a theme of pure evil, and the way they treat others in the play shows this. Religion also is a big theme in Macbeth, references to the trinity, whether it is the unholy, or the holy trinity. Also blasphemous and sacrilegious beliefs appear often throughout the play. As well as these themes, one of the biggest is the theme of motherhood, and particular the distortion of motherhood. References to babies being killed appear which only hints at the evil that the witches bring to the play. The witches often speak about being able to change someone's fate, and in the time which Shakespeare wrote Macbeth people had strong beliefs about this as does Macbeth who speaks about fate often. This also hints at the connections between the witches and Macbeth. "Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel" =============================================== Here the captain is talking about Macbeth's victory over the Norwegians. He uses the very significant phrase 'Disdaining Fortune' This relates to Macbeth being able to defeat his fate, which is very important because the witches are said to be able to change about witches and the powers they were supposed to possess. James I, the king in Shakespeare's time had a strong belief in witches and devoted a lot o... ... middle of paper ... ...usly a dangerous thing to do, because if he treats them like friends it means he trusts them. The fact that Macbeth trusts the witches' shows that his ambition and power hungry nature have taken over the way he thinks, and it has taken away the little caution he had in the first place. The witches appear to be taking advantage of Macbeth's ambitious nature and they are using it against him, to get him to trust them more and more. Even thought they never lie to Macbeth they only ever tell him half-truths, which ends up misleading him as he does not think to work out what the witches are telling him. Also Macbeth, because he becomes completely absorbed by his new found power he becomes very cocky, and decides to ignore the fact that there maybe a threat to his life because he doesn't think about what could happen to him.
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The Dramatic Impact of Witches on William Shakespeare's Macbeth The inclusion of witches in Macbeth heightens the dramatic impact of the play because in the time William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth many of the general public did not know to much about witches, so when witches were included in Macbeth many people were shocked which made the play more dramatic because many people did not expect witches to be included in the play. Also witches in Shakespeare's time were treated very poorly In some cases witches were pricked with a special needle to see if they were immune from pain so these type of cases heighten the dramatic impact of the play because the general public knew how witches were treated and how powerful they were. The introduction of witches at this time was particularly dramatic because people knew how vicious they were because at that time pamphlets were put on sale describing the lurid details of witchcraft trials, so people knew how vile witches were. This made it particularly dramatic because witches were really the centre of attention at that time as convicted witches were being executed so putting witches in a play would have been very dramatic.
if someone was a witch or not, they would tie the woman onto a ducking
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The Role of Witches in Act 1 of William Shakespeare's Macbeth The people of England endured a lot during its vindictive and powerful history. Reformation both in politics, economy and especially in religion had created a more independent England. Henry VIII had broken away from the disintegrating yet more prevailing and orthodox Catholic Church, for his desire to gain a divorce from his current wife. It was customary in the Catholic Church that only the Pope could grant a divorce, and so the Pope refused to bestow one.
side, but it was there to be brought out and it didn't really take a
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 truths. 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. 'When you durst to do it, then you were a man,' (Macbeth, Shakespeare Act 1 Scene 7) Lady Macbeth's constant harassment pushed Macbeth and made him commit all this evil. When you reason things out by yourself you tend to now what is right and what is wrong, a conscience. But with the outside influence from the witches he thinks that that is his destiny and he must do everything to fulfill it. One can wonder if Macbeth ever had a chance of doing what was right after he met with the witches. He is overthrown and killed. Through his own ambitions, the ambition of his wife and the witches' prophesies, Macbeth has caused his own destruction and downfall. We can now clearly see that ambition not achieved through our own ability leads to destruction. 'Hail Thane of Glamis and of Cawdor and shalt be King hereafter'. (Act 1 Scene 3) These prophecies from three strangers are taken without question and probably without good judgment. Just the thought that he may be King clouds his thoughts and ambition takes over. The witches can predict the future, they can add temptation, and influence Macbeth, but they cannot control his destiny.
... the witches is too mysterious. The forest came to Dunsinane meant the soldiers were hiding under cut trees, so it looked like the forest was actually moving closer. But it was just the appearance of reality. And another prophecy that he misunderstood is that only a man not born of a woman could kill him. But this prophecy only meant the man that would kill Macbeth was born by C-section, maybe that was an operation too new so that Macbeth did not know about it. But Macbeth lives long enough to see that everything came to a bad ending. No wonder he wants to die and not see the “sun” anymore. But if he felt sorry for all his wrongs, maybe he did not go to hell. Macbeth paid, just like his wife, for believing in lies and doing wrong. But Shakespeare is a genius because he found one place where liars and people who believe in magic can find an honest job: acting.
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.
showing that through the witches temptation not only is Macbeth destroyed the Kingdom is as well. They are part of the 'larger organism'. The witches also give misleading advice throughout the tragedy. This advice causes him to become scared and makes him feel as if he needs to kill more people to protect himself. This false sense of fate and power on his part is a major factor in his downfall. So, the witches influence Macbeth by causing his ascension, his madness, and his demise. They cannot thus compel his will to evil; but they do arouse his passions and stir up a vehement and inordinate apprehension of the imagination, which so perverts the judgment of reason that it leads his will toward choosing means to the desired temporal good.)
The witches influence Macbeth in his achievements and awaken his ambitions. They give him a false sense of security with their apportions of truths. The witches are the ones who made the idea of killing Duncan into Macbeth’s mind. They also told him that he would become thane of Cawdor and later would become king of Scotland. Macbeth wants to know more.
In the play it can be seen that there are various ways in which the