What Role Do The Three Witches Play In Macbeth
Throughout William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth acquires a growing desire for power. Although this desire is but a simple part of human nature, Macbeth is led on by the three witches. These three witches play a key role throughout the story, foreseeing the future and giving both Macbeth and Banquo their prophecies. By doing so, the three witches corrupt Macbeth, giving him an unquenchable thirst for power that only grows as the story progresses. In Act 1, Macbeth starts out as a loyal and true man to his king, friends, and wife. However, after he hears the witches’ prophecies for both his and Banquo’s futures, his dark desires begin to overtake him. Macbeth desires a position of power, and this is the beginning of the witches affecting
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The witches summon apparitions of an armored head, a bloody child, and a crowned child. These apparitions warn Macbeth of Macduff, that nobody of woman born shall harm him, and that he is safe until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane Hill. These new prophecies that the witches provide Macbeth
In Act 5, Macbeth witnesses Birnam Wood approaching Dunsinane Hill. Understanding that the witches have predicted his future correctly in the past, he accepts his fate. That does not mean, however, that Macbeth will die without a fight. Later in the act, Macbeth engages in combat with Macduff, of whom he believes he is invincible to due to the witches’ prophecies. It is now that Macduff reveals that he is not of woman born , but was removed from her womb. It is in this fight that Macbeth faces his tragic demise. While ambition can be a powerful tool for aspiring leaders to accomplish their goals, their ambition can overtake them, clouding their vision of right from wrong. Macbeth was such a case. Throughout the story we see Macbeth develop into a man of desire, with little moral restraint to acquire said desires. His burning ambition is fueled by the deceitful witches, which lead Macbeth onto a road of self destruction. The prophecies and their double meanings set the stage for Macbeth’s vicious climb to the
The witches summon apparitions of an armored head, a bloody child, and a crowned child. These apparitions warn Macbeth of Macduff, that nobody of woman born shall harm him, and that he is safe until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane Hill. These new prophecies that the witches provide Macbeth
In Act 5, Macbeth witnesses Birnam Wood approaching Dunsinane Hill. Understanding that the witches have predicted his future correctly in the past, he accepts his fate. That does not mean, however, that Macbeth will die without a fight. Later in the act, Macbeth engages in combat with Macduff, of whom he believes he is invincible to due to the witches’ prophecies. It is now that Macduff reveals that he is not of woman born , but was removed from her womb. It is in this fight that Macbeth faces his tragic demise. While ambition can be a powerful tool for aspiring leaders to accomplish their goals, their ambition can overtake them, clouding their vision of right from wrong. Macbeth was such a case. Throughout the story we see Macbeth develop into a man of desire, with little moral restraint to acquire said desires. His burning ambition is fueled by the deceitful witches, which lead Macbeth onto a road of self destruction. The prophecies and their double meanings set the stage for Macbeth’s vicious climb to the