I think the witches are present in the play because they act as the instigators for the dreadful events that follow their predictions. They create a tense environment in the sense that at the time, christianity was abundant and witchcraft was frowned upon. By Macbeth acting on the witches' predictions, he therefore becomes evil. The witches not only initiate his thought of murder and corruption but also represent the evil that has corrupted his own thoughts, feelings and judgement.
Some would argue that they are pawns in the events that happen, as is Macbeth. However, I think differently. The usual supernatural characters that are present in Shakespeare's plays are ghosts. Witchcraft is a completely different matter and I think this emphasises the evil surrounding Macbeth and the country whereas ghosts act more as a memory or a symbol of the past.
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i can understand your view that they are instigators but i dont believe that they corrupt macbeth because i think that this is because of his own accord.
ReplyDeleteGOOD POINTS :D
Although I am someone who agrees that the Witches could be pawns, I agree with you that they can also be interpreted as their own destiny and are not being controlled. It can go both ways :)
ReplyDeleteI like your comment about how the witches represent the evil in Macbeth, I agree with this. And the point about the ghosts being symbols of the past, very good! i never thought of them like that. x
ReplyDeleteI agree witht the fact that the witches are dominating Macbeth's judgement, but your last point he does use Banquo's ghost in this play but the witches and the ghost both intertwine with each other as present problems as a reminder of his insanity
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, witchcraft was not actually an evil act as Shakespeare represents in this play. Paganism was a peaceful religion and its intriging as to why the thought of witches has evil connotations.
ReplyDeletebut your right these witches were infact evil representations of a higher power, all in turn leading to Macbeths down fall