This is riddle and the witches speak in riddles and paradoxes as they are mysterious beings of the universe. In the very opening of the play the witches appear in storm and rain and plan to have the rendezvous with Macbeth. As the three witches leave, they chant a witchly chant: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair: / Hover through the fog and filthy air" (1.1.11-12). As creatures of the night and the devil, they like whatever is "foul" and hate the "fair." So they will "hover" in the fog, and in the dust and dirt of battle, waiting for the chance to do evil.
In Macbeth, the darkness in the hearts of the characters either disappear or the characters realize what the darkness had done to them. When the images of witches are brought up in any piece of literature, they are usually associated with darkness and/or evil. This is also the case in Macbeth. Shakespeare uses many techniques to enforce this stereotype of witches. He uses pathetic fallacy to convey the dark surroundings as they “Hover through the fog and filthy air” (1 .
The witches In the beginning scenes of Macbeth, the witches are seen as mysterious. This is shown when in act 1 scene 1 they plot to do something later on. Stage directions showed thunder and lightning which Shakespeare intended to make the atmosphere of the audience mysterious and dark, which gives the audience an impression that the witches are up to no good. The first witch says "when shall we three meet again" "In thunder, lightning or in rain?" Another mysterious scene is where they meet Macbeth and disappear into the air.
• The Witches and the supernatural world is considered ‘unnatural’ or ‘out of the ordinary.’ • Macbeth’s interaction between his world and the supernatural changes the nature of his world. • Human nature seems dead at night, as it blurs reality and wickedness overpowers (Macbeth commits Duncan’s murder at
Tragedy is marked by the choices which the main character makes. Throughout this story, Macbeth's decisions are greatly influenced by many elements of the unexplainable supernatural world, causing his actions to be somewhat unpredictable majority of the time. The first major scene involving the supernatural world begin with the introduction to the three witches, this appeared in Act 1 Scene 1. The witches meet on a moor and they discussed their plans of where to meet Macbeth.  Webster defines witches as, "1: one that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers; especially: a woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or familiar : sorceress — compare warlock 2: an ugly old woman : hag 3: a charming or alluring girl or woman 4: a practitioner of Wicca." The supernatural was mentioned in definition 1, therefore, the three witches were also part of the supernatural elements in the play Macbeth.
The role of females within Macbeth is of pivotal importance; the role of female characters – both witches and Lady Macbeth serve as a threat to the established social order as well as providing the play with some of its most darkly dramatic scenes and evocative language. The witches imbue the play with a sense of the supernatural which, for a Jacobean audience steeped in the traditions of dark magic, which would have created a great sense of terror. When Shakespeare combines their apparent powers with malevolent intention, the threat to the social order is augmented. The prophetic speech of the three witches carry with it some significance; revealing Macbeth’s latent lust for power and consequently, in his role as tragic hero, his harmartia: Macbeth’s belief in the witches ultimately leads to his committal of regicide and a gruesome string of murders thereafter, Macbeth’s actions confirm the witches’ final prophecy which appears to confirm their supernatural omniscience. Despite their underlying pressure throughout the play, the language that the witches use with each other is some of Shakespeare’s most dramatically engaging and disturbing.
Through the use of darkness and concealment, Shakespeare not only serves the purpose of lending the play to the Gothic genre, but both elements also work as a catalyst in order to trigger future events in Macbeth. Darkness is heavily sighted as being associated with evil in the play, seen in Lady Macbeth’s monologue. The femme fatale character calls “come,thick night” when she asks to be unsexed by “spirits.” Here, Shakespeare associates night time with the unnatural and thus comments on how darkness can sometimes cloak the “human kindness” in a person. Here, night time is used to mask the kindness associated with femininity, and therefore Lady Macbeth is able to cloak herself in “thick” darkness in order to become a key component in Duncan’s death. This is significant in revealing character in Macbeth.
Rupert Goold’s interpretation of ‘Macbeth’ is very stylised; the set and costumes are key to creating the defined gothic horror of the production. The eerie set of a morgue, an old hospital and the Macbeth’s cold and unfeeling “home” and the dour colour palette (a mix of murky and grimy dark greens and browns) go hand in hand in creating the ghostly atmosphere of the film. Unlike the animation and Trevor Nunn’s production, Goold’s version is not set in the time period Shakespeare intended it to be; it has connotations of post-war Russia, although the exact setting is not mentioned. However, Macbeth’s transition from an accomplished war ‘hero’ to a Stalinesque dictator reinforces this idea. It also differs from the other two productions in the way the witches are portrayed.
This is evident in Shelley’s Frankenstein where she uses the description of a “dreary night” when horrifying events are about to occur. There is also a sense of mystery involved through this description of Heathcliff’s heritage, the use of ‘storm’ demonstrates to the reader that he is perceived as not being human. This again is reminiscent to Frankenstein’s creature who had no clear heritage and was incidentally born during a storm. The similarities with Gothic monsters and Heathcliff does not end there. In Stoker’s Dracula the vampires are refered to as the “children of the night”.
An example of this can be seen through the portrayal of the witches in Shakespeare's play, the witches communicated in rhyme demonstrating a uniquely supernatural element to the characterisation in the Shakespearean Times. In Brozel's adaptation, the witches are presented as garbage men, where they commute in chants and song as well as use of a modern idiom. The portrayal of the witches in Brozel's adaptation represents the low class in the hierarchy of society at time of composition. The unappealing aspects of the these members of society creates a sense of unsettling discomfort in their presence. In the original play, the witches use rhyme and meter, this separates the witches from other characters as this was deemed supernatural in Shakespeare's time.