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.
After a protracted discussion of the topic of who is to blame for the demise of Macbeth, the blame has come to rest upon the Three Witches. Within the play Macbeth, the Witches have done numerous things to cause the demise of Macbeth; influenced him through prophecies and apparitions, spurred his killing spree and manipulated him. From the outset, the Witches show Macbeth prophecies which lead to his downfall. These prophecies are the root of Macbeth’s misfortunes and evil doings, push Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to act upon their evil thoughts, and alter Macbeth from a loyal soldier to a traitor. First and foremost, the Witches were the root of Macbeth’s misfortunes and evil doings.
As the witches are taking these orders form Hecate, Macbeth charges in and exclaims, “How now, you secret black and midnight hags!” (4 . 1 . 48), thus revealing the malevolence and malice of the witches. His harsh words provide
. .] It is this synchronizing of nature and fortune that soothsayers study, and that the witches in Macbeth know something about. We call it fate, which over-simplifies it. (88-89) In his book, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, H. S. Wilson explains the stand taken by Macbeth in his relationship with fate: He pits himself no merely against the threat of hell but also against the enmity of "Fate" (as represented in the prophecies of the Weird Sisters): come, Fate, into the list, And champion me to th' utterance.
Images of Blood • It is a symbol of death, cold-blooded murder and a stain that is difficult to eliminate (seen in Lady Macbeth’s hand-washing compulsion). • It represents guilt as well as cowardice (the bloody dagger and the Ghost of Banquo). • It has been used to scapegoat innocent people (e.g. Macbeth puts Duncan’s blood onto the guards). • It also represents kinship, severing family ties and bonds.
The other interpretation is that something supernatural and scary is at work, that the dagger is a sign from the witches Macbeth spoke to. This part of his soliloquy uses a rhetorical question, as if he is questioning his own sanity, especially when he realises that it is his own blade, ‘such an instrument I was to use’, covered in ‘gouts of blood’. This shows the reader that Macbeth is already seeing the horror of Duncan’s murder and it creates tension for the reader. It then moves onto the dagger and how it ‘marshall’st’ Macbeth towards Duncan’s chamber, suggesting that the witches are beckoning him to kill the king. This in turn makes the reader feel apprehensive and afraid of the supernatural beings corrupting Macbeth, as it gives a feeling that they are always watching, and also highlights the mystical powers they seem to have.
As such Macbeth is morally vulnerable to them. The ways in which Shakespeare’s language gives us the imagery that the witches are so evil is when it quotes the oxymoron: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” This quote is important because it introduces the idea of deception which will be picked up in the imagery further through the play. Macbeth from the beggining of Act 1, scene 2, is always associated with blood. At first this is a positive view of imagery as it quotes: “Bellona’s bridegroom.” We get the impression that Macbeth is a “Noble hero,” other quotes such as: “ For brave Macbeth, he deserves that name” or “ O, valiant cousin, worthy gentleman,” show us that Macbeth is presented as a man that is one in a million. Further through the play however the image of blood is used to soak “ Devilish Macbeth,” a quote such as: “Untitl’d tyrant, bloody-sceptr’d” show this.
This is done through a variety of techniques but the most effective is the visual imagery Bronte creates through the vivid descriptions of Heathcliff. References to Heathcliff such as “child of the storm” and the “imp of Satan” create allusions of deep horror and terror for the reader. From looking at the noun ‘storm’ to describe Heathcliff’s place of origin there is a strong sense that Bronte is using pathetic fallacy to both fore shadow the terror to occur at Wuthering Heights and also the destructive nature of Heathcliff. A storm is a destructive type of weather which has connotations of being cold and wet which is a trope of gothic literature used to display terrifying events. This is evident in Shelley’s Frankenstein where she uses the description of a “dreary night” when horrifying events are about to occur.
So, evil is not just supernatural, but human too. The downward moral spiral that Macbeth enters could be seen as representing a strong statement about the nature of evil. Once Macbeth commits his first murder, Shakespeare points out that evil is all consuming and much more difficult to stop. There appears to be little that can restrain Macbeth from becoming increasingly evil. This could be seen as
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.