The Power of the Witches in Shakespeares Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth e

The Power of the Witches in Shakespeares Macbeth The tragedy of Macbeth comes nearly because of a champion event in his life. If that one moment, the meeting with the witches on the heath, had non drawed wherefore Macbeth would no doubt have gone on to be a loyal and respected subject of King Duncan and, later, King Malcolm. However, the meeting did happen and the powerful force of ambition was unleashed within Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It is the combination of these both factors, the meeting with the witches and Macbeths own inner demons, that lead to tragedy, and make the play terrifying in the Aristotelian sense. The three witches are certainly responsible for initiating the events that lead to Macbeths tragedy. Their greet to him All hail, Macbeth Hail to thee thane of Glamis All hail, Macbeth Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor All hail Macbeth That shalt be king hereafter feed straight into his desire for advancement. At this take down in the play he is the newly appointed thane of Glamis but assumes that the thane of Cawdor sedate lives. When news arrives that he is to be the new thane of Cawdor, Macbeth sees the second address as a prediction and cannot help but wonder whether the third greeting will also prove accurate. Banquo says that the forces of darkness use the truth to net income us to harm but Macbeth is unsure. This supernatural soliciting cannot be good, Cannot be ill. For the reference there is even more to think about. They know from the conversation about the sailor whose wife had offended one of them that the witches power is circumscribed. They can berate him but not change his fate. Though his bark cannot be illogical Yet it shall ... ...with witches, partly to flatter the witch-hating James I and partly to store an exciting flavour of the supernatural into the play. But, exciting as the scenes with the witches and Hecate are, they are not at the heart of the tragedy. The witches powers are limited, Lady Macbeth is only a partner it is Macbeths own weaknesses that bring him down. Works Cited and Consulted Greenblatt, Stephen. Introduction to Macbeth. The Norton Shakespeare. New York Norton, 1997. 2555-63. Hawkins, Michael. The Witches and Macbeth. Focus on Macbeth. Ed. John Russell Brown. London Routledge, 1982. 155-88. Kermode, Frank. Introduction to Macbeth. The Riverside Shakespeare. Boston Houghton, 1974. 1307-11. Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and capital of Minnesota Warstine. New York Washington Press, 1992.