Elizabethan Witch Essay

As cunning troublemakers who serve Hecate, the three witches play an instrumental role in the tragic downfall of Macbeth. Their presence and actions in the play have heavy connections to beliefs in witchcraft, prophecies, and magic from the Elizabethan era it was written in.

In the Elizabethan era, there was both 'good' and 'bad' magic. Those who practiced ‘good magic’ were called cunning folk, whereas practitioners of ‘bad’ or ‘dark’ magic were mostly referred to as witches. There were also those capable of practicing both 'good' and 'bad' magic.

Interestingly enough, most if not all witches were female; stereotypical Elizabethan witches were usually poor, middle-aged, single women who kept pets for company. These pets would be referred to

It can be summarized as: “If A happened earlier, and B occurs later, A must have caused B.”

There was not only widespread belief in witches and magic, but also a strong faith in prophecies. They were particularly powerful, with the ability to persuade people for or against a cause.

The source of this prophecy was Queen Elizabeth's astrologer at the time. The queen was said to have a "laissez-faire" approach towards witchcraft early on, until the threat of revolt spurred by prophecy became too large of an issue. Although ambiguous with her belief in witches and the like, Queen Elizabeth seemed to believe in astrology as evidenced by her having an astrologer.

It is political in nature, like most prophecies at the time and is meant to increase support for Elizabeth's reign as it says she will retain the throne, winning against an uprising.

Note that some of the signs (like a "watery trigon") could've been very loosely interpreted in order to support Elizabeth's reign. There is also some usage of Galfridian symbolism, and references to astrology—which makes sense, as its source is astrological in

They frequently refer to them by their names.

Macbeth, upon meeting them, also points out their masculine features (1.3.46-47) as such is a physical attribute once commonly assigned to witches.

Many witches back in the day came from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, so begging would have been common. When someone did not give, and a negative event occurred later on, the blame would've then been placed on the 'witch'. This is reflected in a scene where one of the weird sisters mentions cursing a sailor's wife who refused to give her a snack; the only difference is that these witches appear to actually be capable of witchcraft.

There are several prophecies throughout the play, and they all play a critical role in the unfolding of events. Considering how deeply seeped in belief in superstition was in Elizabethan England, it makes sense that the characters in Macbeth would be written to take prophecies seriously.

Most if not all the prophecies are related to Macbeth's reign, and political in nature. This is similar to how most if not all relevant prophecies at the time were political, relating to who would stay or rise in