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What influence do the witches have on macbeth
What influence do the witches have on macbeth
Influence of the witches macbeth
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When analysed through a historical lens, we can see that Macbeth’s experience with witchcraft is used by Shakespeare as a cautionary example for audience, to fear and be wary of such creatures. The witches portray a supernatural and deceptive theme in Macbeth and are convincing examples of witches. They support the belief of the 17th century audience, that real witches exist among their society. At this time, women were executed for allegedly practicing witchcraft (Blumberg, 2007). The most popular belief regarding witchcraft was that the Devil (this character is represented by Hecate) could convert ordinary women into witches by giving them the power to harm others. In Scene 8 of Act 5, Macduff faces Macbeth and engages in a bloody contest, …show more content…
resulting in the fatality of Macbeth. During this scene, Macbeth contemplates the words of the witches: ‘None of woman born shall harm Macbeth.’ With their words in mind, he is fearless and foolishly denies the opportunity to kill Macduff when given the chance. It is not until Macduff states he ‘was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped’ that Macbeth realises his fatal mistake. Although the witches had ultimately correct prophecies, they were deceptive and their predictions lead to Macbeth’s premature death. The pre-existing prejudice, derived from the actions towards witchcraft in history, would have been present in the audience. Macbeth’s unwise faith in the witches serves to justify the evil and hatred in which they are associated with. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth with the intention of making an impression on the new king of England, James I, who had contracted Shakespeare’s acting company three years prior. One method in which Shakespeare appealed to King James I is through the portrayal of witchcraft in the play, as James I had deep interest in the subject. Discussed in King James’s dissertation Daemonologie is the infamous North Berwick witch trials of 1590. The audience would have been familiar with the dissertation as well as the witch trials, since most were inhabitants of England and Scotland at the time. During the witch trials, the witches were tortured until they admitted their use of witchcraft to summon a wind storm with the intention of sabotaging King James’s boat. This event in history is alluded to in Macbeth as a witch states, ‘I myself have…all the quarters that they know, I' th' shipman’s card. I’ll drain him dry as hay.’ As the audience we can see, when analysing Macbeth from a historical lens, that the characters of the witches were incorporated into the play by Shakespeare to support the common belief of their existence and to reap the benefits of pleasing King James I. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the character of the witches can be analysed through a feminist lens to reveal the patriarchy that was present at the time in which it was set.
Men in the play were, as were real men at this time, authoritative and powerful figures whereas the women were emotional, weaker beings. In the play, the male roles are extended beyond biologically male characters to the witches. Banquo contemplates the witches’ physical appearance stating, ‘You should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so.’ The witches also adopt male personas when they act with control and power. The only way in which these female characters are able to escape their patriarchal restrictions is through embodying a masculine nature. This causes others’ reactions towards the witches to change: Macbeth believes their prophecies and they are feared by supposedly more superior men. The supernaturalism and masculinity of the witches enables the audience to accept the control that these women have over men in Macbeth. The supernatural tone embodied by the witches is extended by their unnatural masculinity. This allows them to gain power over Macbeth, telling him equivocal truths to manipulate him, knowing that their words will lead him to grave circumstances. Although adopting masculine behaviour, the witches are not able to entirely escape the patriarchy within the play, as they are portrayed by Shakespeare as powerful but evil. Although Macbeth was guilty of regicide, he was portrayed as heroic and ambitious whereas the witches, who were much less culpable were seen as evil, unable to escape the little femininity that they possessed. Macbeth reveals that, as a result of the patriarchy, in order to be authoritative or powerful one must be male. This play also reveals that in order to resist the patriarchy as a woman, one must belong to a sisterhood. The only women who succeed in gaining control of man in Macbeth are the witches, who form an exclusive group
that separates them for the rest of society. When analysing Macbeth through a feminist lens we can see that the witches represent the patriarchal view of women in society, as people with an affinity for malice.
This essay earned a 89/100. it was a lot of work considering the lines from macbeth for textual support.
The definition of a tragic hero, as stated on dictionary.com, is a literary character that makes an error in judgment that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. It has been argued for years whether Macbeth from Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Macbeth, can truly be considered a tragic hero or whether he is solely a villainous tyrant. Although there are some valid arguments for the Macbeth is pure evil viewpoint, by looking at Macbeth in a holistic way you can see the tragic, the heroic, and the tragic hero within him. Macbeth is a tragic hero in every sense of the definition.
“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir?” Macbeth ponders after three witches foresee that he will become king in the tragic play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare (349). Macbeth is wondering how he could become king of Scotland without him intervening as he is not in line for the throne. He believes that he will have to take action to gain this position. Macbeth was right to doubt fate, because his choices led to his ascension to the throne and, later in the play, to his downfall.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare examines the significance of time in the form of one’s present and future through the unfortunate character of Macbeth. Macbeth is an ordinary soldier, loyal to the king as the Thane of Glamis, prior to his meeting with the three witches. The three witches reveal to Macbeth his future “All, hail Macbeth! Hail to three, Thane of Cawdor! All, hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3. 49-50). For the most part one does not know his or her own future. Our futures are uncertain and predictions like these do not always come true, yet Shakespeare has set Macbeth up in a way that he knows these predictions will come true. Not long after the witches state their claims
“This tyrant whose sole name blisters our tongues, was once thought honest…” (77). This quote represents the change of Macbeth throughout the play. The use of blood imagery is used to represent the character development of Macbeth from a noble thane to a murdering tyrant. We first see blood imagery characterizing Macbeth when he is called noble for defeating Norway. Then, the idea of un-washable blood shows that Macbeth’s character will change. When Macbeth begins to experience the blood of others on his own hands, it leads him to ultimately become the “villain” or antagonist of the play. Finally, before the death of Macbeth, blood imagery has been used to characterize Macbeth so much that he is now over confident and seems to be fueled by the idea of it. By examining the use of blood imagery, one can determine that blood represents Macbeth’s character development from an honorable thane to a disrespected tyrant.
Gender is evidently out of its traditional order within the play, and thus the three chosen exemplar characters to showcase this are Lady Macbeth, the Witches, and Macbeth. In saying this, Lady Macbeth is a clear example of how the traditional characteristics of a woman are non-existent as they are taken over by masculinity and strength. The witches challenge their womanhood due to the power they hold and attributes they have, all while Macbeth challenges his gender as he shows femininity through weakness and fretfulness.
Gender roles in Macbeths society automatically expect men to be physically and emotionally stronger than women, however, lady Macbeth plays as a juxtaposition to Macbeth; encapsulating the emasculating woman prototype. She wants to abandon all her feminine qualities as she recognises that the characteristics she wants are not acceptable for females. She asks the spirits to "unsex" (1.5 46) her and to fill her "from the crown to the toe, top-full/ Of direst cruelty" (1.5 46). It is in gaining these ‘masculine’ characteristics in Lady Macbeth ultimately attacks Macbeths biggest insecurity- his masculinity. Lady Macbeth is more ambitious and power hungry than Macbeth, and uses him as a vice for her own power conquests. It is at times when he doubts what is right and wrong for his own ambition, that Lady Macbeth uses her power of manipulation to call his manhood into question. At first, Macbeth suggests that killing the King would make him less a man and would cause him too loose his humanity, however, he changes his mind as Lady Macbeth proposes that a real man keeps promises and acts on his ambitions: "When you durst do it, then you were a man;/ And, to be more than what you were, you would/ Be so much more the man" (1.7 54-56). Macbeth therefore murders Duncan to prove that he would be defeated neither by his fear
Throughout history women have fought for the same rights of men. In the time of William Shakespeare they were seen in society as weak and vulnerable. They were seen to be good, caring and not as powerful as men. Men were the superior and ruled the land. Shakespeare has taken the stereotypical image of the women of the time and turned it on its head in ‘Macbeth’. Lady Macbeth is shown as a very powerful, strong woman. She has an evil about her that Shakespeare has used to make ‘Macbeth’ a supernatural play. Women were seen to be good and not as powerful as men, in ‘Macbeth’ Lady Macbeth is the dominate character and commands and persuades Macbeth to commit the murders and crimes that he does.
Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century.
When anything in life first begins to grow, it begins as a seed. The seed of a plant, or of a thought, or of an idea. Once created, the seed can do one of two things. It can grow, or it can die. Shakespeare’s play Macbeth tells the story of an innocent man who is turned evil from the seeds planted by those around him, allowing readers to explore the repetition of growth and how it is implied through characters. Throughout the play, growth is used to display Macbeth and Banquo as foil characters, show Banquo’s “goodness” through positive imagery, and to show Macbeth’s “evilness” through negative growth imagery. By analyzing Shakespeare’s use of growth imagery, critical readers recognize that growth enforces the idea that growth triumphs evil, embodied in the actions and consequences of Macbeth and Banquo as they make one of two crucial choices? Good, or evil?
away if she isnt grateful for the food that she has recieved. Katharine eventually thanks her husband, but still does not get enough food to satisfy her hunger. Katharine is then told by his “loving” husband to get ready in her best outfit to meet his dad at his house. The tailor then enters the scene, and Petruchio sends the man to get a bigger cap than he initially brought for his wife. Katharine told Petruchio that she is able to talk for herself, and shows more of a dominant role in the relationship that was not initially expressed before. Then, although Katherine thinks highly of the dress, Petruchio fires the tailor after complaining about the dress that he made. Petruchio decides that it is what’s on the inside that counts, and announces
Tragic heroes, who destined for a serious downfall, are the protagonist of a dramatic tragedy. A tragic hero is usually a great hero, who gets the most respect from other people; on the other hand, a tragic hero can also lose everything he gained because of his mistakes. His downfall is the result of a wrong judgment, a flaw which might combined with fated and external forces. The downfall can cause the tragic hero to suffer for the rest of his life. In many literary works, the downfall of the tragic heroes usually happen in their highest point. In the same way, Macbeth is a tragic hero in the play called “The Tragedy of Macbeth” which is written by a legendary writer, William Shakespeares. Macbeth is a great general who gained many respect from the people and even the king. In the highest point of his life, because of seeking for greater power, it created Macbeth’s downfall. Macbeth, a tragic hero, causes suffering for himself and others by committing murders and creating distress, which are the negative effects of seeking for a greater power.
Shakespeare is known for strong male heroes, but they are not laying around in this play, not that Macbeth is full of strong female heroines, either. The women in the play, Lady Macbeth and the witches have very uncommon gender belief, and act as inhumane as the men. While the men engage in direct violence, the women use manipulation to achieve their desires. As Lady Macbeth impels Macbeth to kill King Duncan, she indicated that she must take on some sort of masculine characteristic in order to process the murder. “Come, you spirits/ that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/ of direst cruelty.” (i v 31-34) This speech is made after she reads Macbeth’s letter. Macbeth, she has shown her desire to lose her feminine qualities and gain masculine ones. Lady Macbeth's seizure of the dominant role in the Macbeth's marriage, on many occasions, she rules her husband and dictates his actions. Her speeches in the first part of the book give the readers a clear impression. “You shall put this night’s great business into my dispatch, which shall […] gi...
Throughout the American history of many heroic leaders an excessive want for the power, leadership, and territory is what led to defeat, downfall, and even death. In the beginning of the play Macbeth was a good man ,but influenced by Lady Macbeth and her question of his manhood and the witches manipulative accusations of becoming King of Scotland forced Macbeth to murder his way to leadership and his death. Macbeth was valiant and brave ,but was influenced by the witches, Lady Macbeth, and ultimately himself.
This semester was challenge for me one because is the last English class that I need to took to transfer to San Francisco State and able to write Shakespeare was for me little complicated but I try to do the best I could. One the Stopping by Wood on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost it is very complex and can have multiple interpretations but was more easy when you explain each words and paragraph from the poem and understand what the author express. So writing the poem was an exciting experience, and I feel like I answered the question well. However, I encountered a few challenges when writing the essay. One of the challenges was the introduction and conclusion. I do not think that my introduction gives a proper transition to the first paragraph