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Although Macbeth did feature witches around a cauldron, that image was not original to Shakespeare. There is an image of witches brewing a potion in a cauldron from the book De Lamiis et Phitonicis Mulieribus, published in 1493 (over 100 years before Shakespeare wrote Macbeth).
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∙ 8y ago
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoFrom the history book he used as a source for Macbeth, Holinshed's Chronicles. This is what Holinshed said: It fortuned as Makbeth and Banquho iournied towards Fores, where the king then laie, they went sporting by the waie togither without other companie, saue onelie themselues, passing thorough the woods and fields, when suddenlie in the middest of a laund,* there met them thrée women in strange and wild apparell, resembling creatures of elder world, whome when they attentiuelie beheld, woondering much at the sight, the first of them spake and said; "All haile Makbeth, thane of Glammis" (for he had latelie entered into that dignitie and office by the death of his father Sinell.) The second of them said; "Haile Makbeth thane of Cawder." But the third said; "All haile Makbeth that héerafter shalt be king of Scotland.
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∙ 12y agoMacbeth has three witches (four if you count the character Hecate who was probably not written into the play by Shakespeare).
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What did people think of witches in Shakespeare's time?
In the seventeenth century, some people took witches very seriously indeed, as the events in Salem Massachusetts show. But curiously, in Shakespeare's play Macbeth, the witches are kind of silly and sing cute little songs. These songs were apparently added to the play by another playwright, Thomas Middleton, because the audience wanted the witches to be funnier. Nowadays no productions of Macbeth actually use the silly witch lines, because modern audiences want the witches to be scary. Maybe that is because they are not really frightened of them.
How did shakespeare use his words in his play?
He has the characters in the play say them. That is how you use words in a play.
What is Shakespeare's word for indecent?
Shakespeare did not use the word "indecent" although he did use "decent". The word "lewd" might be the word he would choose to express this idea.
What did Shakespeare's audience use to get the full effect of the play?
They used their imaginations.
What historian did shakespeare use to write Julius Caesar?
Shakespeare's play is based on Plutarch's Lives of the Greeks and Romans, which Shakespeare almost certainly took at school.
How did shakespeare use his words in his play?
He has the characters in the play say them. That is how you use words in a play.
What did people think of witches in Shakespeare's time?
In the seventeenth century, some people took witches very seriously indeed, as the events in Salem Massachusetts show. But curiously, in Shakespeare's play Macbeth, the witches are kind of silly and sing cute little songs. These songs were apparently added to the play by another playwright, Thomas Middleton, because the audience wanted the witches to be funnier. Nowadays no productions of Macbeth actually use the silly witch lines, because modern audiences want the witches to be scary. Maybe that is because they are not really frightened of them.
What is the use of the whole Birnam wood episode?
The Birnam wood episode in Shakespeare's Macbeth serves as a fulfillment of the witches' prophecy, adding to the atmosphere of supernatural elements in the play. It also symbolizes the theme of deceptive appearances, as the advancing soldiers use the branches to camouflage their numbers. This event contributes to Macbeth's sense of impending doom and his realization that the witches' prophecies are coming true.
Which Greco-Roman myth did Shakespeare use for play?
Shakespeare used more than one myth for more than one play.
What is Shakespeare's word for indecent?
Shakespeare did not use the word "indecent" although he did use "decent". The word "lewd" might be the word he would choose to express this idea.
Which language did shakespeare use in Macbeth play?
The play Macbeth is written entirely in English.
What did Shakespeare's audience use to get the full effect of the play?
They used their imaginations.
How did Shakespeare use supernatural in Hamlet?
because in this play appears a ghost
What historian did shakespeare use to write Julius Caesar?
Shakespeare's play is based on Plutarch's Lives of the Greeks and Romans, which Shakespeare almost certainly took at school.
How were stories with supernatural elements viewed differently in Shakespeare time versus how they are viewed today?
Shakespeare makes use of the supernatural in a number of plays. There are ghosts in Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar and Richard III. There are witches in Macbeth, Henry VI Part II, and The Tempest. There are fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream. In the Tempest Ariel is a spirit of the air. In Cymbeline the god Jupiter appears in a dream and in As You Like It, Hymen God of Marriage appears in order to marry all of the couples. What is the effect of all this? In many cases Shakespeare does it on purpose to highlight the difference between appearance and reality. In Hamlet, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream there is also a play within a play which highlights that the play is only a play, and the fantasies are only imaginary. The supernatural makes the play seem a little more unreal.
How does the spell double double toil and trouble go?
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble, is a quote from Shakespeare. The witches that MacBeth visits chant this, around a steaming cauldron. As to the actual spell, it seems to be related to their ability to predict the future. Whether modern witchcraft uses this, I have no idea. From the "spells" that some modern witches use, it seems likely. To quote Cecil "El retardo supremo, if you want an opinion."
How does Shakespeare use language to make the play more exciting?
he doesnt use the language to make the play more exciting he uses because how they use to talk
