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Who are the 3 witches in Shakespeare
The role of three witches in Macbeth
Who are the 3 witches in Shakespeare
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Compare the Ways that Shakespeare Presents and Develops the Flaws that lead to the Downfall of Othello and Macbeth
In the two plays both Macbeth and Othello have weaknesses that bring them astray this deteriorates their personality. Macbeth’s weakness is portrayed through his ambition, whereas Othello’s weakness is portrayed through his jealousy.
Macbeth from the very start is described as a “good guy”… and he is also represented as a brave, noble, good swordsman and a great leader, but this unravels when he begins to choose treachery and crime as an approach to gain power. “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee thane of Glamis!” “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee thane of Cawdor!” “All hail Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter!” Macbeth hears these prophecies from the three witches and remembers his ambition to become king. Shakespeare shows the three witches as an evil seed planted in Macbeth’s head, which gradually germinated through the play, therefore Macbeth decides to speed up the prediction by killing Duncan to gain kingship. In addition, Lady Macbeth also influences Macbeth’s ambition as she persuades him to do the evil deed. Lady Macbeth tricks Macbeth by using her cunning attitude. She makes him think that he needs to kill Duncan for his own benefit to gain more power. Lady Macbeth uses flattery to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan: ...
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...that he was wrong. Othello tells Lodovico: “Nor set down aught in malice. Then you must speak of one that love not wisely, but too well; of one not easily jealous, but being wrought, perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand, like the base Judean, threw a pearl away”. Othello tells Lodovico to describe him as how he actually is. To mention that he is not easily jealous but believes Iago’s tricks and manipulation. To describe Othello as a fool who disposes something so precious, like a pearl. Othello, himself, acknowledges that he is foolish and his jealousy blinds, taking him into the darkness and throwing away his true love.
Initially MACBETH is seen as a great soldier, a fearless fighter who has loyally defended his King against a treacherous rebellion. However, he is corrupted by evil in the form of three witches and their supernatural prophecies, and by ambition, not so much his own at first but by Lady Macbeth's ambition for him to murder Duncan, thus attaining the crown of Scotland.
Macbeth began this play with a great future ahead of him: a Thane to the King with a great life and many friends. Shortly after Macbeth is given the title Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth and his companion Banquo encounter a group of witches. The witches are portrayed as wicked and menacing, saying “Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air” (Act 1, Scene 1). This quote shows that what appears to be fair and good, similar to that of Macbeth at the beginning of this play. This quote also applies to the Witches themselves. The Witches’ prophecies to Banquo and Macbeth appear to be fair and very appealing to the men, but are actually very deceiving and leads to Macbeth’s ultimate downfall. Following Macbeth’s visit by the witches, he tells Lady Macbeth of his encounter but says that he does not wish to kill King Duncan to become King. Shakespeare characterizes Lady Macbeth as an evil mastermind, using her powers of seduction to challenge Macbeth’s masculinity. Macbeth may not have murdered for the throne if it was not for the actions of Lady Macbeth, who accuses Macbeth of being too kind hearted to take the closest path to the throne. Macbeth’s downfall begins with the actions that his wife convinces him to take. Shakespeare uses characterization to show that Macbeth is a tragic hero, but these characters’ actions also cause many conflicts that lead to Macbeth’s
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a trusted soldier, who is honest and noble. Unfortunately, he meets three witches who tell him three prophecies; that he will become thane of Cawdor, that he will become king and that Banquo’s sons will become kings. These three prophecies slowly change his opinions on life and turn him into a greedy, dishonest, tyrant, full of ambition. Lady Macbeth’s thoughts change as well when she is told about the three prophecies that were told to Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is ambitious, controlling and domineering. She is the one who encourages him to kill the king, she not only encourages him, she makes all the plans herself, which shows her determination and persistence."Yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’th milk of human kindness. To catch the nearest way thou wouldst be great. Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it." (Act 1, scene 5). Lady Macbeth is the force behind Macbeth’s sudden ambition and she tries to manipulate him into feeling guilty and unmanly for not following through with the murder, by using her husbands emotions, she manages to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan.
Lady Macbeth and the three witches are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall. The three witches told Macbeth a prophecy, which led him to murder anyone in his way for more power. In page 18, When Macbeth heard that he became the new Thane of Cawdor, he thought, “If it’s my fate to be king, then fate might make me king, without me having to do anything”. This is ironic because he ended up murdering innocent people such as his best friend and Macduff’s family to stay as the King. Macbeth relied too much on the prophecies from the three witches to save him from fear. “Im determined to know the worst, by any means I can. I have to know, for my own good”(p.72). Lady Macbeth was also
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the main characters are obsessed by the desire for power. Macbeth’s aspiration for power blinds him to the ethical implications of his dreadful acts. The more that Shakespeare’s Macbeth represses his murderous feelings, the more he is haunted by them. By analyzing his hallucinations it is possible to trace his deteriorating mental state and the trajectory of his ultimate fall. Throughout the play Macbeth is never satisfied with himself. He feels the need to keep committing crime in order to keep what he wants most: his kingship. The harder Macbeth tries to change his fate the more he tends to run into his fate. His ambition and struggle for power was Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play. Macbeth’s rise to the throne was brought about by the same external forces that ensure his downfall.
In the beginning Macbeth was such a nice guy. That all changed when he met the three witches. When Macbeth first meets the witches they say two things that begin Macbeth's trail of evil. "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cowdor!" I iii 49, is the first thing that leads to the trail. The second is, "All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!" I iii 50. These two predictions told by the witches caused great ambition to happen within Macbeth. Lady Macbeth finds out about the predictions, and drives Macbeth's ambition even harder. Lady Macbeth tries to get Macbeth to kill King Duncan, because she wants Macbeth to be king. "He that's coming/ must provided for: and you shall put/ this night's great business into my dispatch;/ which shall to all our nights and days to come/ give solely sovereign sway and mastedom." I v 65-69, this is a quote from Lady Macbeth explaining to Macbeth that when King Duncan come to stay, they will kill him. After Macbeth killed Duncan he killed the King's guards, so no one could question them. All this was just the beginning of a walk down an evil trail.
William Shakespeare had tragedy in Macbeth. Macbeth had been a Thane, which is a noble. Lady Macbeth wants to be Queen of Scotland in Macbeth wants to be king no matter what it takes Macbeth was going be king and Lady Macbeth was going to be queen. Lady Macbeth was a very strong mind person. Lady Macbeth suffered from the effect of bipolar and schizophrenia.
Firstly, he defeats his enemies. Next he is praised by the other soldiers and King Duncan appoints him as the Thane. For example, if a person desires for a manager title, the person will work hard to earn it, and it is possible that other workers will see this and boost the chief individual’s desire. It is from here that the person might think they deserve the title and look for more power. Similarly, Macbeth must have thought somewhere in his mind to be king. In the book Witches’ Caldron: a study of motive in Shakespeare’s Macbeth Dr. K.C. Mathur says that although the witches did prophesy he would be king and even boosted his desire “They did not create the thought of murder of King Duncan. It was Macbeth’s own latent ambition embodying his power drive and seeking affirmation that invites the witches.” (Witches Caldron, 6) Dr. Mathur also says “Macbeth had acquired this status and it is not surprising that he thinks of achieving higher status by being aggressive and domineering. It is this psychological impulse that is projected in his ambition for the crown and not any criminal instinct or latent evil.” (6) There was a negative environment of witches and the association of Lady Macbeth around Macbeth which influenced him to murder. The environment creates a huge part in the play and if he had a good environment it is possible that he would have remained loyal to King
Macbeth’s visions and the prophecies of the witches cause Macbeth to make poor decisions, which lead him to his eventual downfall. Macbeth started off as a noble, virtuous man, he was loyal to the king and was well respected by the other noblemen. The prophecies and hallucinations corrupted Macbeth’s intentions and as a result, Macbeth became power hungry and overzealous. A combination of Macbeth’s ambition and paranoia lead to many senseless murders.
The play “Othello” by William Shakespeare was written in 1604 during the Elizabeth era. Othello is one of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s dramas. He enjoyed unheralded success in the combat zone, which gave him the reputation as one of Venice’s most competent generals. Even though he has great success in the battlefield, he has a dramatic flaw that causes a downfall in his life. The dramatic flaw that causes his downfall is jealousy. This was brought on by a simple persuasion of Iago, the evil character in the play. Even though Iago used extreme manipulation to get Othello to be jealous, Iago did not really have to try very hard to get Othello in a jealous state of mind. Othello was blinded by his jealousy which led him down a path of constant questioning of his wife and his friend Cassio. Throughout the play we see his dramatic flaw sink him deeper and deeper into a cloud of doubt which eventually leads him to kill not only his love of his life but also himself.
Among the greatest gifts that the renaissance produced was the eloquent and incredible Shakespearean plays. Written mostly in the 1590s these plays have been performed and admired countless times; entertaining mass audiences by providing interesting tales that explore the depth of human insights and the different universal themes. Among the many Shakespearean plays Macbeth, written in 1606, stands out with its short composition but multiple themes. This tragedy narrates the tale of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s quest to grasp ultimate power by ignoring their morals and succumbing to their dark desires, which ultimately leads to their downfall. This tragic play portrays the desires, needs, and temptations that accompany ambition in men and women. However the ambition in Macbeth is blind, it does not abide to the morals, but it allows space for dark actions as means necessary for accomplishment. Blind ambition serves as the main driving force that drives Macbeth to subdue to his dark desires, defy his noble behavior, and ultimately his downfall.
Macbeth, whom initially was a very reasonable and moral man, could not hold off the lure of ambition. This idea is stated in the following passage: "One of the most significant reasons for the enduring critical interest in Macbeth's character is that he represents humankind's universal propensity to temptation and sin. Macbeth's excessive ambition motivates him to murder Duncan, and once the evil act is accomplished, he sets into motion a series of sinister events that ultimately lead to his downfall." (Scott; 236). Macbeth is told by three witches, in a seemingly random and isolated area, that he will become Thank of Cawdor and eventually king. Only before his ambition overpowers his reasoning does he question their motives. One place this questioning takes place is in the following passage:
Macbeth is seen as a “valiant cousin, worthy gentleman” (I, ii, 24). He is a brave warrior who is well respected in his community, until the witches prophesied to him that he would one day be king (I, iii, 50). Macbeth interpreted that he must act to fulfill the prophecy. He sends a letter to Lady Macbeth asking what to do. She suggests that he should kill Duncan.
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.
(A discussion on the contrast and comparison between two characters in Macbeth and The Tempest)