Written for AP English my senior year, fall 2010. Can I just say that (spoiler alert) I think it was a huge cop-out for the witches to prophesy that "none of woman born shall harm Macbeth" and then Macduff to be like "Oh hey, I can kill Macbeth because I was born via C-section!" Huh? You still came out of a woman, moron!
The Witches of "Macbeth"
By C. Randall Nicholson
William Shakespeare's famous play "Macbeth" is a gripping dramatization of historical events. The characters are portrayed as complex people who struggle with intense psychological issues of man's vices versus his conscience, and the plot is on as epic a scale as the sixteenth century could fathom, with the fate of an entire country hanging in the balance. These reasons alone would justify its continuing appeal among modern readers and audiences. However, Shakespeare chose to infuse the story with yet another dimension; namely that of the supernatural. Witches mentioned in the historical account are taken seriously and unmistakably portrayed as workers of dark magic. To Shakespeare's contemporaries such things were completely real, and to this day the witch's prophecies add a degree of intrigue, suspense, and tragedy to Macbeth's plight.
It can be debated fiercely whether the witches are in fact responsible for Macbeth’s rise to and fall from power, or the lapse into madness that accompanies it. Even with his wife manipulating him as she does, he is like all men still accountable for his own actions. At the least however they provide a catalyst that eases the process along. It is of course they who say to him, “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!” (Act 1 Scene 3, Lines 51-53) Although Macbeth implores them, “Say from whence you owe this strange intelligence or why upon this blasted heath you stop our way with such prophetic greeting. Speak, I charge you” (Act 1 Scene 3, Lines 78-81) they refuse to tell him any more. Such ambiguity allows Macbeth’s imagination and speculation to run wild, especially when their promises of his being Thane of Glamis and Cawdor prove reliable. Will this other prophecy come to pass on its own, or should he help it along? The faint yet tangible promise of power arouses his natural human greed and brings to mind thoughts that in other circumstances would be banished immediately. He says to himself, "This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, why hath it given me earnest of success commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs against the use of nature? Present fears are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man that function is smothered in surmise, and nothing is but what is not." (Act 1 Scene 3 Lines 143-155) This would appear to be not only his first step towards committing atrocities, but also toward his equally infamous insanity.
It is reasonable to assume that the witches are completely aware of how Macbeth’s story will play out, and that it is completely as they intend it to. They see into the future very clearly, being correct about Macbeth’s kingship and that of Banquo’s posterity which would otherwise present rather lucky guessing. Yet, as mentioned previously, because they were so ambiguous when telling him these things, they set the stage for his downfall. The question is, however, were they aware of the path that he would take, or merely the outcome? Later in the play their knowledge of the future is rather more specific than they let on. They tell Macbeth (through their apparitions), “Beware Macduff!” (Act 4 Scene 1, Line 81) and moments later, “Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” (Act 4 Scene 1, Lines 90-92.) Macduff is the man who was not of woman born – not naturally, at any rate – and so essentially the witches’ apparitions are telling Macbeth that he will be killed by Macduff, but deliberately separating the facts in such a way that the arrogant man will not make the connection until it is too late. He is also shown “A show of eight kings, the eighth king with a glass in his hand, and Banquo last.” (Act 4 Scene 1, stage directions) These are Banquo’s descendants, whom they predicted would become kings. Seeing as they have access to visions of the specific people involved, and that the events are not that much closer in time now than at the beginning of the play, it would seem they knew many more details than were divulged in the first place. Did these details include Macbeth's killing spree, or did the witches add that as their own special touch? This seems completely left up to the audience.
Finally one may wonder what motivates the witches to interfere with human events as they do. Are they wicked creatures devoted to spreading chaos and destruction, or do they merely consider themselves so far above mortals as to make a game of it, as an immature and deplorable person would kick an anthill? At the very beginning of the play the witches say, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Act 1 Scene 1, Lines 12-13) which is rather self-explanatory. The witches detest things of truth and beauty and instead relish the chaos and destruction that they aid in coming to pass. When they meet with their mistress Hecate, she condemns their actions – but only because she was not allowed to participate! She chastens them, “Have I not reason [to be angry], beldams as you are? Saucy and overbold, how did you dare to trade and traffic with Macbeth in riddles and affairs of death, and I, the mistress of your charms, the close contriver of all harms, was never called to bear my part or show the glory of our art?” (Act 3 Scene 5 Lines 2-9) Her blatant mention of contriving harms makes it clearer still what the witches’ intentions are. (Most editors and scholars agree that this scene and some passages in Act 4 were not in fact written by Shakespeare, as their presentation is different here than in the rest of the play. However, it obviously had his blessing to remain a part of the play, so whatever the reason it is still a valid source.) The goal of Hecate and the witches is clearly to facilitate the spread of death and tragedy among ordinary mortals, for no other reason than that they dearly enjoy being cruel and malevolent.
The real witches of the historical events that inspired this play probably did not figure so prominently in them as this. Shakespeare took many liberties with his adaptation however, and it is clear why he chose to include this one. Audiences of his day must have been gripped as they watched the despicable hags play the fate of Macbeth and his peers, and held their breath as they waited for the outcome and the downfall they knew to expect. Today the story is still more interesting for their inclusion even though the supernatural has lost its credibility to the lay person. It is more than the story of a man corrupted by his lust for power and the bloody trail he forges to acquire it. It is the story of a man cheated and manipulated by evil creatures for their own amusement (to say nothing of his wife), who may or may not be ultimately responsible for the path he ends up following. Shakespeare apparently believed people would find this much more entertaining, and as always, the master of theater was absolutely right.
Read more of my essays here.
It can be debated fiercely whether the witches are in fact responsible for Macbeth’s rise to and fall from power, or the lapse into madness that accompanies it. Even with his wife manipulating him as she does, he is like all men still accountable for his own actions. At the least however they provide a catalyst that eases the process along. It is of course they who say to him, “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!” (Act 1 Scene 3, Lines 51-53) Although Macbeth implores them, “Say from whence you owe this strange intelligence or why upon this blasted heath you stop our way with such prophetic greeting. Speak, I charge you” (Act 1 Scene 3, Lines 78-81) they refuse to tell him any more. Such ambiguity allows Macbeth’s imagination and speculation to run wild, especially when their promises of his being Thane of Glamis and Cawdor prove reliable. Will this other prophecy come to pass on its own, or should he help it along? The faint yet tangible promise of power arouses his natural human greed and brings to mind thoughts that in other circumstances would be banished immediately. He says to himself, "This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, why hath it given me earnest of success commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs against the use of nature? Present fears are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man that function is smothered in surmise, and nothing is but what is not." (Act 1 Scene 3 Lines 143-155) This would appear to be not only his first step towards committing atrocities, but also toward his equally infamous insanity.
It is reasonable to assume that the witches are completely aware of how Macbeth’s story will play out, and that it is completely as they intend it to. They see into the future very clearly, being correct about Macbeth’s kingship and that of Banquo’s posterity which would otherwise present rather lucky guessing. Yet, as mentioned previously, because they were so ambiguous when telling him these things, they set the stage for his downfall. The question is, however, were they aware of the path that he would take, or merely the outcome? Later in the play their knowledge of the future is rather more specific than they let on. They tell Macbeth (through their apparitions), “Beware Macduff!” (Act 4 Scene 1, Line 81) and moments later, “Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” (Act 4 Scene 1, Lines 90-92.) Macduff is the man who was not of woman born – not naturally, at any rate – and so essentially the witches’ apparitions are telling Macbeth that he will be killed by Macduff, but deliberately separating the facts in such a way that the arrogant man will not make the connection until it is too late. He is also shown “A show of eight kings, the eighth king with a glass in his hand, and Banquo last.” (Act 4 Scene 1, stage directions) These are Banquo’s descendants, whom they predicted would become kings. Seeing as they have access to visions of the specific people involved, and that the events are not that much closer in time now than at the beginning of the play, it would seem they knew many more details than were divulged in the first place. Did these details include Macbeth's killing spree, or did the witches add that as their own special touch? This seems completely left up to the audience.
Finally one may wonder what motivates the witches to interfere with human events as they do. Are they wicked creatures devoted to spreading chaos and destruction, or do they merely consider themselves so far above mortals as to make a game of it, as an immature and deplorable person would kick an anthill? At the very beginning of the play the witches say, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Act 1 Scene 1, Lines 12-13) which is rather self-explanatory. The witches detest things of truth and beauty and instead relish the chaos and destruction that they aid in coming to pass. When they meet with their mistress Hecate, she condemns their actions – but only because she was not allowed to participate! She chastens them, “Have I not reason [to be angry], beldams as you are? Saucy and overbold, how did you dare to trade and traffic with Macbeth in riddles and affairs of death, and I, the mistress of your charms, the close contriver of all harms, was never called to bear my part or show the glory of our art?” (Act 3 Scene 5 Lines 2-9) Her blatant mention of contriving harms makes it clearer still what the witches’ intentions are. (Most editors and scholars agree that this scene and some passages in Act 4 were not in fact written by Shakespeare, as their presentation is different here than in the rest of the play. However, it obviously had his blessing to remain a part of the play, so whatever the reason it is still a valid source.) The goal of Hecate and the witches is clearly to facilitate the spread of death and tragedy among ordinary mortals, for no other reason than that they dearly enjoy being cruel and malevolent.
The real witches of the historical events that inspired this play probably did not figure so prominently in them as this. Shakespeare took many liberties with his adaptation however, and it is clear why he chose to include this one. Audiences of his day must have been gripped as they watched the despicable hags play the fate of Macbeth and his peers, and held their breath as they waited for the outcome and the downfall they knew to expect. Today the story is still more interesting for their inclusion even though the supernatural has lost its credibility to the lay person. It is more than the story of a man corrupted by his lust for power and the bloody trail he forges to acquire it. It is the story of a man cheated and manipulated by evil creatures for their own amusement (to say nothing of his wife), who may or may not be ultimately responsible for the path he ends up following. Shakespeare apparently believed people would find this much more entertaining, and as always, the master of theater was absolutely right.
Read more of my essays here.
