The Three Witches In Macbeth Essay

The Witches in Macbeth Shakespeare’s Macbeth introduces an element of fantasy within the tragedy through the characters of the witches. The witches exert a significant role in the play, functioning as fore-tellers of Macbeth’s fate. Far from serving as a distraction, the witches focus the darker and more sinister aspects of Macbeth’s character. Although Macbeth only encounters the witches twice, the play’s thematic design acknowledges the importance of the witches’ supernatural presence and suggests that they directly affect Macbeth’s behavior. In truth, the witches work as agents of darkness, lighting the spark of Macbeth 's ambition and leading him to his downfall by the end of the play. Introduced in the opening scene, the witches clearly establish an atmosphere of evil and supernatural influence, which sets the tone for the rest of the play. Shakespeare immediately presents the three witches who meet within the range of a battlefield. The presence of the witches alone suggests darkness within as they bring about chaos within nature. The first impression the witches emanate, their sinister references to weather,
“Only this time was different because Macbeth seeks them out, committing himself to the source of evil” (Bradley 345). Once more, the witches meet in seclusion from the natural world where the weather is violently thundering and a cauldron is set in preparation of Macbeth 's arrival. As the witches begin their chant, the repetition of three is brought back, along with alliterations that stress their darker nature, “Double, double toil and trouble, / Fire burn, and cauldron bubble” (IV.i.10). Executing their dark agencies, the witches are in the midst of churning their wicked desires. In doing so, the witches expect to strengthen the affect their temptations have on Macbeth 's embracing