It could be that he has damaged himself so that he is unable to feel empathy for others - or that the evil is innate. Macbeth displays some very evil characteristics - selfishness, coldness, obsession and cold-blooded murder. Shakespeare explores the degree to which he alone is responsible, and how far others contribute to Macbeth is perhaps Shakespeare's greatest exploration of the problem of evil. Evil is positioned both within and without. The witches are objective figures but Macbeth's first utterance in act 1, scene 3 suggests that he shares a similar thought with the witches.
So they will "hover" in the fog, and in the dust and dirt of battle, waiting for the chance to do evil. Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair" is a paradox, a statement that appears to be contadictory but actually expresses the truth. The witches are foul, but they give fair advice. Macbeth seems like a hero, but he is a plotter and dastard. It is quite interesting to note that the words of the witches will have an echo in Macbeth’s “So foul and fair a day I have not seen”.
One can look at Macbeth’s actions as the play unravels and see that he is clearly headed down a path towards disaster resulting from one source: his ambition. It is his desire to become king that overpowers his good nature and pushes him to break all moral boundaries. Prior to his encounter with the three witches, Macbeth was a trustworthy man; one loyal to his King, wife and friends. But with the news of his future, a secret desire for power emerges and controls him as the play continues. For instance, in act 1, scene 7, Macbeth’s ambition has become to great for him to handle: “To prick the sides
Throughout Macbeth there exists confusion as to what is real and what imaginary, and, for the most part, it is Macbeth himself who is confronted with these confusions. The question of whether or not the witches are real must be examined in relation to them. The three sisters are also capable of leading people into danger, often resulting in death as we see in the sailor who was never able to sleep (Act 1, Scene 3). The Witches first appear in the very first scene. They play very prophetic roles, where they predict the past and what the future holds for Macbeth.
,1 ENG 3U104 December 3, 2013 Macbeth Essay: Macbeth By William Shakespeare Shakespeare’s Three Witches, or Weird Sisters, are very important characters within his timeless tale of Macbeth. The Witches answer to the “fates of mythology” (Dover Wilson) by showing people prophecies and apparitions. These Witches are more important within the play than people understand. They have a calamitous affect on the protagonist within Macbeth, and all the characters associated with him. 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.
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.
First, their early predictions stating that he will be king, and then the predictions of the apparitions saying that he only could be murdered by someone that was not born of a woman. After hearing these predictions of power and invincibility, Macbeth cannot get them out of his mind. The witches also predict that Macbeth’s friend Banquo’s sons will be kings. Banquo does not care much on the fact that his sons are going to be kings, unlike Macbeth who becomes obsessed upon hearing such predictions. Banquo states, “That, trusted home, might yet enkindle you unto the crown, besides the Thane of Cawdor.
The Importance of the Supernatural in Macbeth Macbeth is deeply influenced by the supernatural occurrences in this playwright. One of the first signs of the supernatural is the three witches that serve as foretellers for Macbeth’s future. Following the witches, there is the ghost of Banquo who completely took Macbeth away from reality and made other people think Macbeth was not well and that he was having hallucinations. The hallucinations or supernatural occurrences such as the ghost may have been caused by the guilt of killing his best friend. The following supernatural occurrence that plays an important role in Macbeth is the floating dagger that leads Macbeth into killing Duncan.
. .] 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.
They were the driving force behind Banquo and King Duncan's killing. The witches prophesised that his life would completely change, by becoming thane of Cawdor, then king of Scotland. At first, Macbeth dismissed their prophecies, but after he was promoted to Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth wondered if he will be King, too. "If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me without my stir." Another prophecy made by the witches was that Banquo's son will be king.