The Witches' Evil Influence in Shakespeare's Macbeth

Audiences today enjoy both horror movies and books, content that such

experiences belong to the realm of entertainment. Macbeth’s

contemporary audience, however, watched the play against a context of

Renaissance beliefs about the paranormal and the divine. No wonder

then that these audiences’ reactions to the witches are so

contrasting.

Shakespeare portrays the witches in what seems to a 21st century

audience a stereotypical way. There are many things that come to mind

when we hear the word witches: Halloween, the Devil, magic, potions,

death, broomsticks and the clothes they wear which includes cloaks and

pointed hats. However, witches originate from long before Renaissance

times. At that time there were very few old people as life expectancy

was low. Country women tended to live longer and know more about

herbal medicines than townsfolk. This information was passed through

to their daughters. The women were old and therefore had wrinkled skin

and warts on their faces. Their men died before them through accidents

or fights. As a result of this, most of these women were widows

wearing black and having cats for company. It was a highly

superstitious time and the women used this to their advantage, making

a living by using white magic to cure and black magic to curse. People

even believed these women could see into the future. In the 14th

century a campaign began to destroy witches and by the time of

Elizabeth I, thousands of woman had been executed. When James I came

to the throne, believing himself to be God’s representative on earth

he considered himself the main target of the witches. He published his

own book on witches called ‘Demonology’ in which he listed their

powers such as the ability to curse,...

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...Through them, the witches show the

future of the Scottish and English thrones and confirm Banquo’s

prophecy. ‘Thou shalt get kings though

Thou be none.’

James 1 would have been able to trace his ancestory back to Banquo

which must mean that his children were kings. The witches appearance

in the play finishes when they perform a dance and disappear with

Hecate.

Our own attitude to Macbeth lies in the degree to which we feel that

it was the witches who caused Macbeth’s downfall. We can see their

spiteful intentions but we conclude that they are not active agents of

evil: they have no power to induce belief. They basically encourage

Macbeth’s boundless ambition and lead him to the way of evil. They are

important poetic symbols, manifestations of the ethical ambience of

the world of man. Because of this, they are an fundamental element of

the play.