Witches And Witchcraft In Macbeth

The play Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare in 1606. During this time, the reign of Queen Elizabeth I had just come to a close, and King James I of Scotland held the position of the throne. Shakespeare had written several plays for Queen Elizabeth I and most of them were light-hearted, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream. On the other hand, Shakespeare had written more cynical works, such as Hamlet and Macbeth during the reign of King James I. The belief in witches and witchcraft though had started when Queen Elizabeth I was in power. The ideas of the Renaissance combined with the newly founded ability of the printing press increased the public’s interest in magic and witchcraft. Witches were commonly accused of causing unexplainable

Once the “deed” is done, Lady Macbeth’s desire for power lessens while Macbeth’s grows. Now that he has possession of the crown, he wants to protect it. Going back to the witches’ prophecy, he recalls that the descendants of Banquo will succeed him. Macbeth wants his own children to take his place when he passes on the position of king. If they don’t, he has put himself through emotional torture and guilt, and will have killed the king he was loyal to for nothing. To prevent Banquo’s youth from inhabiting the throne, Macbeth decides he must eliminate his friend because he is the only one who threatens his throne. “There is none but he whose being I fear… he chided the sisters when first they put the name of king upon me and bade them speak to him. Then, prophet-like, they hailed him father to a line of kings.” (3.1.60-65) His fear of losing the throne drives him to plot Banquo’s death. Not wanting to do the dirty work, Macbeth hires two men to kill Banquo and his son Fleance when they return from their horse ride. Once again it is seen that the witches’ prophecy has influenced the thoughts and actions of Macbeth. He has set off on a killing spree, murdering everyone who could be a potential threat to his crown. The more he kills, the more insensitive he becomes to death. The prophecies have started to consume Macbeth. Since Fleance escapes, Macbeth chooses to meet with the witches a second

In this play, it the influence of the witches and their prophecies led to a snowball effect. The original prophecies set all the actions in motion. Once Macbeth killed King Duncan, he felt the need to keep on killing people. He tried to secure his throne by preventing the prophecy of Banquo’s children becoming kings from coming true. In doing this he had to kill both Banquo and Fleance. This led to the murders of Lady Macduff and her son. Macbeth became ruthless and cruel. It is as if the prophecies dehumanized him because Macbeth was so caught up in having them go his way. He was prepared to take any measure needed in order to keep his title of King of Scotland. In addition, Macbeth never really doubts the witches. After the prophecy of his title “Thane of Cawdor” is right, he believes anything and everything they say. On the other hand, Banquo is a little more cautious. He is intrigued by the words spoken by the witches but does not completely trust the information they are giving. If the witches were excluded from Macbeth, all the murders throughout the course of the piece may have never occurred. It is interesting to see how significantly the supernatural influenced the plot. Shakespeare wrote this play “to enlighten King James I as to the consequences of a belief in witchcraft and the terrible wrongs already committed in punishing those accused.”