The Three Witches Manipulate Macbeth

“Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!” (Shakespeare 1.3.67-68). In Macbeth, manipulation plays a big part in the play. Not only Lady Macbeth tries to manipulate Macbeth, but the three weird witches manipulate him as well. The prophecies the three witches give Macbeth change his future and the events in the play. The witches manipulate Macbeth in the play, they show him strange visions he misinterprets, and they tell Macbeth their predictions for his future. After hearing the predictions they had for Macbeth, he murders Duncan and takes the Scottish throne. In order to protect himself from being exposed as a murderer, Macbeth commits other murders, which make him crazy and filled with guilt. Since Macbeth

The second witch tells Macbeth that he will soon become the Thane of Cawdor. At the beginning of the play, Ross told Macbeth that he will be the next Thane of Cawdor since the previous Thane tried to go against King Duncan by joining forces with an enemy. After hearing the news Ross told him, Macbeth knew the witches were onto something. The third witch tells Macbeth he will become the King of Scotland in the future. “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!” (Shakespeare 1.3.50). Macbeth gets shocked after hearing this prophecy but becomes intrigued and orders the witches to tell him more prophecies. He takes into consideration the idea of being King and tells his opinions to Lady Macbeth. He was the Thane of Glamis, now he is the Thane of Cawdor so all he has left is to become King of Scotland. One of the witches’ prophecy warns Macbeth about Macduff as a threat. They show Macbeth a vision of an armed head which tells him to watch out for Macduff. Macbeth begins to worry but The witches told Macbeth many predictions of his future which he takes into consideration and results in

The witches decided to show Macbeth all these apparitions since he kept on demanding more information about the future. One is when a bloody child tells Macbeth that no man born of woman can defeat him. “Then live Macduff: what need I fear of thee?” (Shakespeare 4.1.71). Seeing this vision makes Macbeth feel relieved and doesn’t fear Macduff. Since every man is born of a woman, Macbeth has confidence that no man can kill him and that makes him invincible. A child wearing a crown and holding a tree tells Macbeth he can not be defeated until a forest picks up his roots and moves to Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth misinterprets this vision and doubts that Great Birnam Wood will actually move to Dunsinane Hill to fight him. He doesn’t know what the vision really meant which is that the opposite army, who is coming to fight Macbeth, cover themselves with the branches and leaves from that forest and come to Dunsinane Hill to attack him. Macbeth asks the witches a specific question about Banquo’s sons and they show him the final apparition. Macbeth sees the eight man in line with the rest of the kings which is Banquo, who smiles at Macbeth. He sees a line of 8 kings, one of them holds a mirror in his hand, the last king is the ghost of Banquo which makes Macbeth realize that Banquo’s sons will become kings. All these apparitions make Macbeth confused. He is fine with some prophecies but wants to prevent