How Did The Witches Influence Macbeth

The Witches Influence on Macbeth
Allison Schweinert
Malling Hour 2
1/15/12

Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare’s witches, or the “three weird sisters” (1.3.32) serve several purposes. With their persuasive techniques and ability to either see or influence the future, their most important role seems to be their power to influence decision-making and cause the initial deterioration of Macbeth. By providing five prophecies, the witches “provide Macbeth’s ‘call to action’ and drive his thirst for power”, (Jamieson). However, by not telling Macbeth the full truth, they give him false hope, and expectations that ultimately lead to his demise. The witches influence him so greatly, that without their presence, it is possible that Macbeth would never have even committed the murder of King Duncan.
The three weird sisters make their first appearance in Act 1 Scene 1.
In Act 1 Scene 3, the witches make their first predictions. The first is that Macbeth will be King of Cawdor and Thane of Glamis. The second is that Banquo’s sons will also be kings. Macbeth’s is forced to question the prophecies and says to the witches, “By Sinel’s death I know I am thane of Glamis. But how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives, A prosperous gentleman, and to be king, stands not within the prospect of belief,” (1.3.71-74). Due to his inevitable inheritance of the title Thane of Glamis, Macbeth is convinced that the witches are, in fact, of a supernatural nature. Despite his lingering doubts, these predictions were enough to convince Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to pursue their ambitions and kill Duncan. This shows the witches first influence in that, even though Macbeth questions their credibility, he allows them to have substantial control in his
future. Secondly, it is thought by many, that to know what fate may have in store for them, and to have knowledge of the future is wrong. It seems this is true, because after Macbeth demands the witches second appearance, he is told to beware of Macduff, and that he cannot be harmed by anyone born of a woman or defeated until the “Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane shall come,” (4.1.93-94). After receiving these final prophecies, it seems that Macbeth’s morale begins to deteriorate along with his confidence. Based on his paranoia and extreme reliance on the witch’s initial prediction he sends out men to murder Banquo and his son. He also attempts to kill Macduff, and when that fails he tells the murderers to kill his family despite their innocence. In this, he reaches a point of true evil. However, throughout all this, Macbeth continues to have his doubts. He considers his invincibility and constantly reminds himself and others that, he “bares a charmed life, which must not yield To one of woman born,” (5.8.12-13). I believe he does this because he needs to convince himself that the witches are, in fact, unequivocal. However, he fails to consider that perhaps the witches just aren’t telling him the full truth. This becomes evident in Macbeth’s final scenes as the Birnam Woods make their way towards him, in Malcolm’s attempt to hide his numbers. Macbeth also realizes that he should have had higher speculations moments before his death, when Macduff tells him “Despair thy charm, And let the angel whom thou still hast served Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb Untimely ripped”, (5.8.13-16). At this point, Macbeth was forced to come to terms with his undoing and realize that the witches weren’t as reliable as he’d hoped. But how much of the blame do the witches truly deserve? We now must ask ourselves, “Are the witches prophecies preordained? Or do they simply encourage Macbeth to become active in constructing his own fate?” (Jamieson). My answer to both of these is yes. The second that the witches told Macbeth that he would be king, his future became exactly as they’d foretold. Once he obtained knowledge of his divine will and allowed the witches prophecies to overtake him, Macbeth began to slowly deteriorate. It wasn’t until Macbeth heard the witches prophecies, that thoughts of killing Duncan came to him, and even when the did, he was reluctant. The initial thought of committing such a crime was, “but fantastical” (1.3.139), despite Macbeth’s ruthless nature in combat. Even further, prior to the murder during his discussion with Lady Macbeth, he attempted to withdraw himself from the conspiracy. He tells Lady Macbeth, “that we but teach Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return to plague th’ inventor: this even handed justice Commends th’ ingredients of our poisoned chalice To our own lips,” (1.7.8-12). Macbeth says this as if he knows, to trust the prophecies, is to seal his fate. Unfortunately, it is too late for Lady Macbeth. She has already had a taste for power in her control over Macbeth; now she is addicted to it and has already traded her morals to the devil. Lady Macbeth’s early decisions are what, I believe, led to her extreme loss of sanity. Macbeth doesn’t entirely come to terms with his ambitions until later. He evokes full trust within the prophecies near the end of the play, while he boasts of his invincibility. Their dependence and reliance on the prophecies is what ultimately led to their demise. Without the prophecies, there would have been nothing to rely on and simply their desires to push them. Because of this, the witches’ influence on Macbeth is clear. They did far more than just provide him with a glimpse of his future; they released his innermost desires and set his path by doing so. They opened doors and guided him on a journey that once he had embarked on, could never return.

References

Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear Macbeth.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web.16 Jan. 2012

Jamieson, Lee "'Macbeth' Witches." About.com Shakespeare. N.p., October 2005. Web. 10 Jan 2012. .

Riedel, Jennifer. "The Witches' Influence on Macbeth ." Diss. University of Victoria, 1995. Web. .

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Elements of Literature: Sixth Course. Ed. Kathleen
Daniel, et al. Austin: Holt, Reinhart and Winston, 2003. 300-385.