Why did the information from the witches' apparitions spur Macbeth to commit more murders?

Answer 1

The Witches had mainly 2 encounters with Macbeth.

The 3 witches first encounter with Macbeth was when Macbeth and Banquo were returning from a victorious battle. The 3 witches gave Macbeth three prophecies "All hail Macbeth;Thane of Glamis" "All hail Macbeth;Thane of Cawdor" "All hail Macbeth;To be King hereafter" The 3 witches planted the seed of evil in Macbeth with these 3 prophecies, and the seed gradually germinated through the play.

Macbeth was the Thane of Glamis by 'Sinel's Death' and when he was given the news that he was the Thane of Cawdor as the previous committed treason and was stripped from his tittle 'What he hath lost noble Macbeth has won' he was deeply influenced by the witches prophecies. He was always thinking of those words the witches said "Have we eaten the insane roots?" It made Macbeth think that he will eventually be king, it caused the thought of evil to be implanted in Macbeth; to kill Duncan in order to gain kingship 'My thought whose murder yet is but fantastical. And in Act 1 scene 4, Macbeth now has totally fallen into the words of the witches "Stars hide your fire let not light see my black and deep desires' he was made believe of the witches' words and has decided to do the deed (killing duncan).

However right before the Murder, Macbeth tried to take things into his own hands and had his own compelling thoughts of why not to kill Duncan. Macbeth was his Kinsmen and subject, he received golden opinions and was only honored of late. Other than those reasons "my intent, except for vaulting ambition' it was his ambitious heart together with the push of Lady Macbeth 'screw you courage to the sticking place and we shall not fail' and the words of the witches that influenced him to do the deed, the witches implanted the thoughts of murder and made Macbeth decide to commit murder.

After Macbeth committed murder and was king he was still not happy, his 'mind full of scorpions' This was because Banquo's children prophecised to be King and his presence threatened his Kingship. All those factors pushed Macbeth to decide to kill Banquo and his child. From here we can again see that Macbeth trusted the words of the 3 witches he was deeply influenced and the words of the Withches manipulated Macbeth in his decisions. And that when Fleance escaped the murder Macbeth was tormented, this led Macbeth to have a 2nd encounter with the 3 witches.

During the second encounter with the 3 witches, they showed Macbeth 3 apparitions. The first was an armored head which could possibly be the head of Macduff depicting the warning, or it could be the sign to the end of the story when Macbeth was beheaded and his head flashed around the country of Scotland. The armored head said 'Macbeth Macbeth!Macbeth! Beware of the thane of Macduff! Beware the thane of fife!" Macbeth responded through thanking it. The second apparition was a bloody child telling Macbeth to "be bloody, bold, resolute. Laugh to the scorn of man as no man born of woman shall harm Macbeth. Macbeth response was "what i need fear thee? make assurance double sure thou shalt not live" And the third apparition was a child with a crown on his head and a tree in his hand saying 'Macbeth shall never be vanquished till Birnam wood to high dunsanine hill. And Macbeth's reactionwas "impossible for a forest to unfix itself." From here Macbeth has totally place his trust into the Witches, he believed the withces and had a singled minded thinking because of the trust and influenced he had towards the witches, he thought that he was invincible and cannot be harmed however in the later part of the story he discovered he was wrong. The witches also showed him a 4th apparition it was a line of 8 phantom king and the ghost of Macbeth at the end. He was angry and cursed the 3 witches.

Again the words of the witches cause him to order the murder of Macduff's family. Although it was just an apparition Macbeth believed in it as he was influence through the first encounter. He was still being manipulated in his actions. And during the battle between Macbeth and Macduff, Macbeth again said ' i bear a charm life, no man born of woman shall harm me' this again showed his absolute trust towards the witches. However he later discovered he was wrong believing in the witches. Macduff was 'untimely ripped from his mother's womb', and thus resulting in Macbeth's defeat.

In conclusion, the Witches were the cause of everything. They implanted seeds of evil in Macbeth and made him to believe in them. Macbeth's decisions then was made through the influence of the witches and most of it had a negatice impact.

Answer 2

he is very shocked and does not know what to think. He suddenly seems to regret all of the things he has done.

1st Apparition says he should fear Macduff. The 2nd says "none of women born shall harm Macbeth". 3rd tells Macbeth fear nothing.

Actually, the third apparition says that Macbeth will die when Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane. It is these three prophesies that causes Macbeth to be over confident and cocky - therefore thinking less of the incoming army. His false assurance eventually leads to his downfall.

Answer 3

One of the witches' apparitions warned Macbeth against Macduff. So Macbeth decided to leave nobody at Macduff's castle in Fife alive. In Act 4 Scene 1 of the Shakespearean play, Macbeth [c. 1014-August 15, 1057] visited the three witches. He had hired three murderers to slit the throats of Banquo and of Banquo's son, Fleance. But Fleance had escaped while his father lay in a pool of blood in the park near the royal palace at Forres. And so Macbeth needed to find out how the death and the escape affected the security of his royal rule over Scotland. The witches called forth four apparitions. The first was an armed head that warned Macbeth against Macduff. The second was a bloody child that spoke of the powerlessness of men born of women. The third was a crowned child who held a tree in one hand and reassured Macbeth of his invincibility as long as Birnam Wood didn't move to Dunsinane Castle. The fourth was a long line of kings followed by Banquo's ghost. After the meeting, Macbeth resolved to kill Macduff. But a subsequent meeting with the noble Scotsman Lennox informed Macbeth of Macduff's flight from Scotland. With the witchly warning against Macduff in mind, Macbeth resolved to go ahead and have Macduff's entire family and household slaughtered.

Answer 4

all hail Macbeth thou shalt be kind hereafter!