In the play Macbeth, the protagonist; Macbeth, was influenced first by the witches telling Macbeth his prophecy. Also, Macbeth has his own ambition to rush his destiny and his wife, Lady Macbeth is pushing him to murder the king. According to Susan Snyder in the essay Macbeth: A Modern perspective “The witches provides nouns… Lady Macbeth provides the verbs.” (Snyder, 199) Without Lady Macbeth being that final persuasion, Macbeth wouldn’t have murdered the king. The murder was caused by a buildup of the witches teasing, taunting from Lady Macbeth and ambition from Macbeth’s own mind. The witches are evil characters that want to see the downfall in Macbeth’s life. “The instruments of darkness tell us truths/ to betray’s In deepest consequence.” (1.3. 23-135) Banquo saw the witches are evil unlike Macbeth, who starts believing after becoming Thane of Cawdor. “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.17-53) The idea of power was placed into Macbeth's head by the witches, even though he did not have it. “They put a title on Macbeth without telling what actions he must carry out to attain those titles.” (Snyder, 199) The witches give …show more content…
“I have no spur/ Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on the other.” (1.7.41-28) Macbeth has a strong desire and is anxious to be king after hearing the prophecy but also, doubt killing the king. “This Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been So clear in his office.” (1.7.39-16) Macbeth thinks about how Duncan is a good king and has not done anything wrong. Furthermore, Macbeth is a “kinsman” in “double trust” because he is meant to protect the king being the Thane of Cawdor not kill him. “Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, That tears shall drown the wind.” (1.1.41-24) Macbeth thinks about being punished here or in the next life. How everyone would be in tears if a good king like Duncan was
In the beginning of the drama Lady Macbeth dramatically influenced Macbeth. Macbeth would always second guess his decisions. Macbeth seemed inclined to listen to his wife. Throughout the story, Lady Macbeth would find a way to twist Macbeth’s emotion. “When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you where, you would be so much more the man” (Shakespeare, Macbeth 1.7 49-51). In this quote Lady Macbeth was insulting Macbeth, she was telling her husband he wasn’t man enough to kill King Duncan. “I have given suck, and know how tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling…dashed its brains out, had I sworn as you have done to this” (Shakespeare, Macbeth 1.7 54-58). Lady Macbeth brings up the baby that they had together. The baby died long before she says this. She explains that she would “smash” its head for him. This became the turning point in Macbeth’s decision to kill Duncan. At first he was hesitant to kill him, but Lady Macbeth angered and then saddened Macbeth. She twisted his emotions and provided the motivation Macbeth needed to kill Duncan. This is the start to Macbeth reign as 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.
The witches also kept repeating a quote that has a lot of meaning. They continued to say “foul is fair and fair is foul.” (I.i.12) This means that what seems right isn’t really right and what seems wrong isn’t really wrong. So the whole play is about false faces and how someone who seems normal and innocent isn’t really. The witches also seem to be an illusion. They are in a way human like, but at the same time they are also fake. They talked to Macbeth and told him three prophecies, which caused him to become greedy and kill King Duncan. The first time they told him what they saw was in Act 1. They said
William Shakespeare wrote the play Macbeth in approximately 1606. The play is a tragedy and this can be often identified before we have even read the play. The title “Macbeth” alone suggests the genre of the play is a tragedy as it is the name of a character. Life in Shakespeare’s time was very religious and the play was written in order to please King James I who was on the throne at this point. The idea of the theme of religion and witchcraft fitting into the play was also to please King James I as he was interested in witchcraft. The majority of people living in Shakespeare’s time were Christians and they believed that if you lived a good life, you would go to Heaven and if you were bad in life, you would go to Hell. At the time of the play, King James I was on the throne and this is significant as he makes Banquo a good character as he is the King’s Ancestor. This influenced Shakespeare’s writing because he had to write a play to please the King so Shakespeare included witchcraft as King James I was interested in witchcraft. The text of the play is based on “Chronicles: History of England, Scotland and Ireland” published by Raphael Holinshed in 1577. In Chronicles, Banquo is an accomplice to Macbeth in the murder of the King rather than a loyal subject of the King who is seen as an enemy by Macbeth. Shakespeare could have changed Banquo’s character in order to please King James I. The witches fit into the theme of Macbeth as the play is very religious and involves witchcraft and the powers of evil.
Macbeth was Significantly influenced by the witches and Lady Macbeth in the murder of Duncan. The witches influenced Macbeth by expressing to him that he would be king, therefore started him thinking about it. Also Lady Macbeth influenced him by questioning his manliness consequently Macbeth felt as if he had to prove his masculinity to his wife. However he was not influenced by his own ambition as if it weren’t for his wife and the witches he probably wouldn’t have killed Duncan at all. The witches and Lady Macbeth significantly influenced Macbeth to gain influence over Macbeth. Macbeth was significantly influenced to kill Duncan and become king only by the witches and Lady Macbeth.
The three witches in Macbeth are not the most powerful characters in the play, nor are they the catalyst to all of Macbeth’s crimes. At a first glance, it seems that the witches were the advocators to Macbeth’s actions. However, after another look at the situation, it isn’t hard to see that the witches only pulled out Macbeth’s dark side that was hiding just below the surface, and let him destroy himself. They only
Macbeth's ambition also influenced his declining character. However, Macbeth's ambition had not been strong enough to carry the motive to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth's influence also comes in to play because if not for Lady Macbeth, his ambition would not have been intensified enough to drive him to obtain and maintain his title of King of Scotland no matter what it took, even if it meant murdering.
To begin, Macbeth experiences an internal downfall due to his ambition where he battle between his desires and moralistic values. Initially, the idea of attaining power over Scotland by killing King Duncan sparks a sense of fear and paranoia in Macbeth, however, his conscience struggles to take over his ambition: "that we but teach/ Bloody instructions, which being taught, return/ To plague the inventor. [...] I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but only/ Valuing ambition, which o'erleaps itself/ And falls on th' other-" (1.7.8-28). At this moment, Macbeth contemplates on killing King Duncan as he visualizes the long term consequences of committing the crime. The reader can grasp his moral judgement as he understands that by proceeding with the murder, he is only causing his own demise and punishing himself. With that b...
The three Witches in the play hold the ultimate power over Macbeth. The Witches are seen as the devil, tempting and leading Macbeth into bad situations. If the Witches had never given Macbeth the idea that he would be king, then he never would have killed Duncan or began his steady decline.
In Macbeth, witches are described as beings who view life in a different standpoint. They believe what is good is bad and what is bad is good. The witches had not only helped, but have also broke Macbeth. After the “weird sisters” tell Macbeth he will be thane of Cawdor, thane of Glamis and King, Banquo says:
The witches play a very important role in "Macbeth", as they initiate the evil plot. Even from the prologue we can see the witches are evil. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair:" (Act 1 scene 1 line 11). They uphold their evil status throughout the play although their power is not fully demonstrated until the prophecies come true and also later where they conjure up the three apparitions. The witches are truly evil and love evil for its own self unlike Macbeth. "Spiteful and wrathful; who. as others do,/Loves for his own ends, not for you." (Act 3 scene 5 line 12-13). Throughout the play they provide the strongest impression of evil. They are continually committing mischievous deeds, such as, "Killing swine" (Act 1 scene 3 line 2), tormenting sailors and casting spells.
While not the only contributing factor, Lady Macbeth does play a substantial role in the downfall of her husband. She is a like a catalyst for Macbeth and essentially pushes him to do what he would not have been able to do on his own. Macbeth himself highly ambitious and determined, but his wife is even more so. At first he refuses to kill Duncan but she persists and eventually gets him to do it. It is important to note here that Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth forward by manipulating him. In this sense, she can be related to Cathy Ames from East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Also, being a woman, she is confined by the conventions of society which prevent her from doing much. At what point she even wishes that she were 'unsexed' so she could commit the murder herself. Because of this, she pours her ambition and desire for power into Macbeth. Again she accomplishes this through manipulation. For example, at one point when Macbeth is disagreeing with her idea of killing Duncan, she questions his manhood:
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 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.
The witches are not existing in nature and we cannot explain them according to natural laws in our world. Also in Act I section iii, the main plot line of the play is established when the three witches make their first appearance with Macbeth and Banquo. They are objective that both Macbeth and Banquo can see the witches and even talk to them. It reveals that the witches are real instead of being a product of the imagination of Macbeth. The witches who have supernatural powers are not difficult to find in Macbeth.... ...