English literature Witches

• The Witches


  Symbolise pure evil and darkness
• The Witches


  • Commonly referred to as the "weird sisters" or the "Wayward sisters"
  • Portrayed as supernatural beings by Shakespeare
  • Give Macbeth many cryptic prophecies
• Shakespeare introduces the Witches in the first scene of the play, thus giving special emphasis to their importance
• "Fair is foul, and foul is fair"


  A paradoxical phrase that foreshadows the rest of the play
• "Weird Sisters"


  Bears connotations of "wired" meaning fate in Old English, associating their speech with prophecy
• Appealing to James I

  Shakespeare uses the character of the Witches in order to appeal to the current monarch James I, who had a passion for the history of witchcraft
• Shakespeare portrays the Witches as inherently evil and agents of Satan to appeal to James I
• Shakespeare had the motive of wanting to make the play interesting to James so that he will financially support the theatre and ensure patronage
• Through presenting regicide as inspired or even controlled by the Witches, Shakespeare implies it is related to the devil and hence regicide will have severe religious consequences
• Macbeth is aligned with forces of supernatural evil within the play, and association with the supernatural will always result in suffering and severe consequences
• The Witches' direct influence upon the Macbeths is evidenced through the link between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's lack of sleep
• Supernatural

  • The rhythmic and chant-like nature of the Witches' rhetoric implies that their words have real extraordinary power
  • Macbeth and Lady Macbeth also speak in rhyming couplets at times when they are expressing evil or when they are controlled by the supernatural
• Trochaic Tetrameter


  The shift in meter between the characters places importance on what is being said, causing the witches to stand out as different and other-worldly
• Rhyming Couplets


  Gives the Witches' speech a spell-like sound, symbolic of spell casting and bringing things into existence through their utterances
• Witches were believed to be unable to directly kill man, so instead they had to control others to create disorder and chaos
• The Witches' prophecies


  Cause Macbeth to realise his own ambitions and inspire him to act upon them
• Macbeth


  May be a greater force of evil than the Witches as he physically carries out the act of regicide
• The Witches


  May be a catalyst for Macbeth's actions, but his desire for power provides the momentum
• Banquo

  Is also affected by the Witches, as he admits to dreaming of them
• Banquo's response shows the Witches can be resisted and they do not have complete control
• Lady Macbeth


  Can be interpreted as a fourth witch, of perhaps an even greater evil
• Lady Macbeth


  Uses linguistic mimicry of the Witches' form of speech, connecting her to their inherent evil
• The Witches are described as "imperfect speakers"


  They speak in riddles that are meant to be misunderstood, but Macbeth chooses to ignore this as his greed for power overcomes him