ipl-logo

The Role Of The Witches In Macbeth

1600 Words7 Pages

In his book, William Shakespeare, Terry Eagleton offers a controversial insight to the role of the Witches in Macbeth. Eagleton views the Witches as the heroines of the drama for exposing the truth about the hierarchal social order describing it as, the pious self-deception of a society based on routine oppression and incessant warfare (Eagleton 1986:2). This essay will explore the implications of Eagleton’s insights, showing that even though they are controversial and original, they can very well be accurate. This will be done taking into consideration the historical context of the play, the role of the Witches as agents of fate and darkness, as well as the influence of masculinity and a hierarchal social order in the play. William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth during the early 1600s. During this time the Elizabethans believed in the Chain of Being (Donaldson 2015:15). This belief determined that everything in the Universe had an order or rank, with God fulfilling the highest of these. The King, would then represent God on Earth (Melani 2009:1). The more “spirit” a person had, the more power he would then also have. Together with this there was a social hierarchal divide that existed between the aristocracy and freemen. …show more content…

People both hated and feared these creatures. Traditionally scholars consider the Witches in Macbeth to represent darkness and chaos. They are also considered to be the connection with the supernatural world. Mondal ([sa]:1) states that they have the ability

Show More
Related
699 Words | 3 Pages

Mourning the weakness and inability of her gender, Lady Macbeth urges her husband to follow through with their devious designs. Inevitably, he gives in and completes the first of many horrendous deeds. Out of all his associates, Macbeth’s wife may actually have pushed him to murder to obtain the kingdom, with or without a prophecy. Yet, she could have had apprehensions of her own, or doubted her husband’s ability, thus deciding to keep her ambitions to herself. One thing is certain: she is a twisted enough person to contemplate such a purely evil

Read More
527 Words | 3 Pages

In the beginning of the play, the witches discussed they wanted someone specific to become the king. They were looking for a man who did not have kids but also had a friend with kids. The witches told Macbeth they predicted he was going to be the next king, and when Lady Macbeth first heard of this, she knew then and there, she was going to do anything to seize the throne. She was even willing to unsex herself. Lady Macbeth was willing to give up having children to become powerful in Scotland.

Read More
915 Words | 4 Pages

There was also traditions and beliefs that many of the people had to conform to for the sake of their lives like witches and success lineages. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the historical lens highlights the time period woven into the play through the witchcraft, literature, and Celtic tradition

Read More
777 Words | 4 Pages

For centuries , witches have been stoned to death and burned alive simply for being able to create magic . The notion of witches have been a taboo subject that most people would try to avoid but William Shakespeare did not make their reputation any better by depicting them as malicious and demonic in his famous play ‘ Macbeth’ which a lot of people tried making movies of . Despite bearing some similarities between the three videos in which the witches were in , the differences are profound . To start with , there are quite some similarities between the witches in the three movies . In George Wright’s , Rupert Goold’s , and Kurzel’s movies , all of the witches seemed to say the same lines , despite them being from different timelines .

Read More
1514 Words | 7 Pages

This study will focus on the way in which Shakespeare crafts his play and uses dramatic devices in his portrayal of Lady Macbeth in order to confront the gender stereotypes of the time, femininity and the natural order of society. During the early 17th century there was a substantial fear that if women were liberated from their domestic, maternal roles, the historically patriarchal society would unravel. With prevailing challenges of gender such as “When you durst do it, then you were a man” Shakespeare uses the character of Lady Macbeth to transgress the natural limits concomitant with her sex. In order to be able to answer the research question, it is vital to concretely establish the contemporary gender roles and the context of the play.

Read More
379 Words | 2 Pages

Before meeting the witches, Macbeth is an honorable man who won favor from King Duncan for his courage in fighting in battle. The witch’s Influenced him to do all the evil things the most of the play and it goes like this. The witches introduce the prophecies which two of them were full field. The first witch states that he will become “The thane of Glamis” in act 1, scene 3, page3 and the second witch says that he will become the “thane of Cawdor” but the third one is what changed the situation and it goes like the third witch says”All hail, Macbeth, the future king”.

Read More
1146 Words | 5 Pages

Influence of Witchcraft In Shakespeare’s day witches were not merely a novelty character brought out as a joke around Halloween. It was widely believed that witches were real and that they possessed powers that were considered to be of the devil. This belief in witchcraft eventually led to a widespread panic that was followed by the persecution of witches. Due to this belief in witchcraft at the time Macbeth was written and performed; the tone was already set. Shakespeare used this fear to create suspense within the play and it led to the involvement of the weird sisters and the crazed actions committed by Macbeth and his wife.

Read More
1010 Words | 5 Pages

People are responsible for the consequences of their actions. When people are not responsible for their own actions, they tend to blame others for their problems. The lack of personal responsibility makes us as human beings, less responsible. The more you lack personal responsibility, the more you make excuses in order to get out of your own personal problem. In the story, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, it shows Macbeth being a person that has little to no personal responsibilities.

Read More
1372 Words | 6 Pages

Through the course of ‘Macbeth’, masculinity is presented as a driving force to Macbeth’s crimes, making it a vital theme. In this essay, focus will be on masculinity’s presentation through Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In the beginning, Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as “valiant”: a prized masculine quality and the key to respect in their society. However, this trait becomes warped along the play. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth has power comparable to man’s

Read More
370 Words | 2 Pages

In the play Macbeth by Shakespere the main character Macbeth goes through many changes and ends up being an almost completely different person by the end. The two main Influences that attribute to corrupting him are Lady Macbeth and the witches. Lady Macbeth manipulates him using negative reinforcement, while the witches simply plant a thought and watch it overtake him.

Read More
919 Words | 4 Pages

The Role of Weird Sisters in Macbeth’s Collapse In Shakespeare’s great play the Macbeth, there are lots of causes of Macbeth’s collapse. The factors of both his own personality defects and his power hungry wife Lady Macbeth contributed to downfall of Macbeth. However, The Three Witches were the most disastrous for Macbeth. Firstly, the sisters revived Macbeth’s dormant desires to be the most powerful.

Read More
851 Words | 4 Pages

The women in Macbeth are presented by Shakespeare to be powerful and ambitious which was unlike the typical views during Jacobean times. The playwright portrays Lady Macbeth and the witches to be highly influential to male characters in the play, which again contrasts the contemporary views to that time. Their ambition and power are demonstrated through the perversion of nature. This highlights the evil and immoral side, they possess. Shakespeare, however, presented Lady Macbeth and the witches to be manipulative and cunning, rather than violent like Macbeth was during the play.

Read More
808 Words | 4 Pages

In this scene, there are 3 witches. These witches begin to discuss their plans. The first witch asks when they will meet and the next one states that when the commotion and fighting is over and done with and another says that this will be before the sun sets. They then begin to discuss where they will meet and they state that they will meet where Macbeth is. They then leave.

Read More
702 Words | 3 Pages

Often, it is the responsibility of oneself to determine the outcome of your life, however there will always be influential people who either directly or indirectly affect the decisions made. Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play believed to be written in 1605, focusing on the downwards spiral of Macbeth after he murders King Duncan in order to become King of Scotland, consequently developing feelings of guilt and paranoia. Through the establishment of atmosphere, comments on the actions of major characters, and foreshadowing events, Shakespeare develops the minor characters which include the Three Witches, Macduff, and the Murderers, to support and further prompt the development of the major characters, as well as to communicate essential moral truths and trite platitudes.

Read More
1079 Words | 5 Pages

She had the total control over her husband in plotting the murder of Duncan and chiding her husband for not acting more like a man; yet, despite this participation, she seems to be the main motivation for the revealing of the Macbeth’s stand in the usurpation of the throne: Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, And chastise with the valor of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crowned withal.(Macbeth 1.5.23-28) Next to this part some of her speeches for ambition of power portray her as an unnatural character that almost certify her as the fourth witch of the play. During her persuasion her cruelty and tendency for violence is intentionally brought to light when she claims even to kill her own child for what she has promised to do: I have given suck, and know How tender ’tis to love the

Read More

More about The Role Of The Witches In Macbeth

Related Topics

Open Document