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What role do the witches play in influencing Macbeth's decision to murder the king?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
The three witches in Macbeth can be viewed as evil for various different reasons. But first of all you must consider the time the play was set and what the religious morals the people had. If you do not know the answer, it's that the audience Shakespeare wrote this play for were extremely religious.
The witches in the play Macbeth are constantly referred to as animals and there is a scene where one of the three witches changes her form and takes on that of a rat. Well this could be seen as an act of evil because if you know the fable Adam and Eve, Satan/the devil changes his form into becoming a snake which tempts Eve into eating the apple from the forbidden tree. Well the witches changing form can be depicted from that bible story - and anything associated with the devil can be deemed as evil. Another part in the play is when one of the witches refers to another as "Paddock" which in old English was the name given to toads. If you Google toads and their symbolism in Elizabethan times, they were pure evil and there were many tales linked to Toads.
And at the beginning of the play they star with "fair is foul and foul is fair" (I think, I'm not sure!) well this is chanting and one only chants when praying to dark magic and most of the play is set in darkness which also sets the mood for the play which has a pathetic fallacy effect as the mood reflects that of the weather.
To conclude, yes the witches in Macbeth are evil.
- Hope that helped. I'm doing Macbeth essays in year 12, AS English Literature myself and those are just points I gave, but you can expand further - cause they are pretty vague. :) x
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Kinayakun
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoThe witches show the fact that if you turn bad you will be punished, this is shown by Macbeth who was first seen as a hero who then turned bad dreaming of becoming king and got caught up in greed power and killing, but eventually the guilt got to him he saw a ghost of someone and felt it more then he was killed by Macduff and his wife who was being manipulative was thought to had killed herself.
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoIn the play "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare, the witches foretell the events that will take place. Their predictions elicit ambition and fear and help set in motion the very things they prophesize. The supernatural and underhanded nature of the witches also contributes to the play's theme and tone.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoWhen Macbeth first met the witches , they told him that he was soon going to be named Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and be crowned the next King.
King Duncan did name Macbeth Thane of Glamis/Cawdor, but he entitled his eldest son, Malcolm, to become the next king. This angered Macbeth, hence, bringing him to the decision of killing the king.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoHe is strangely conflicted by what he hears from them. He does not really believe that the future they predict is fated to happen, although he toys with this idea ("If fate would have me king, why fate may crown me"). He believes that he must act to fulfill the prophecy. At the same time, he believes that he can act to thwart the prophecies he doesn't like, by attempting to kill Fleance and Macduff. And yet he seems to comfort himself with the prophecies about Birnam wood and not being harmed by men born of woman. Sometimes he seems to believe in the power of the witches to foretell the future and sometimes he does not. Mostly he believes what he wants to believe.
This can be said to be the witches' influence. They plant ideas in Macbeth's brain--that he could be king, that Banquo is a rival, that he leads a charmed life, and he believes what he wants to believe and acts accordingly. They open the gates to his capacity for self-deception.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoThey use personification to tell of mcbeths life
Wiki User
∙ 12y agothey tell the future to Macbeth and mess wit him>
Wiki User
∙ 15y agoThey are bad. They kill a women's husband because the lady wouldn't give her any of her nuts.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoThey tell Macbeth and Banquo about the prophecies which essentially "gets the ball rolling" in the story and explains why Macbeth does what he does.
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He is totally guilty. You might say that Lady Macbeth is guilty for conning him into it, or the witches are guilty for making the prophecy that starts the Macbeths thinking about becoming king and queen, but Macbeth must take responsibility in the end for going along with the murder plan, even if it made no sense, and he knew it made no sense, to do so.
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Guilt over Duncan's murder, and paranoia over the repercussions of her actions
Who are the pendal witches?
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Why is Lady Macbeth anxious to have Duncan at Dunsinane?
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