role of witches in macbeth
Origins, Interpretation, and Roles of the Weird Sisters in MacbethOften the role of the Weird Sisters in Shakespeare's Macbeth is overlooked by Shakespearean scholars. Macbeth is obviously a violent play about the downfall of man. However, its connections to the world of the supernatural are often disregarded. It is the only Shakespearean drama, in which witchcraft, black magic, and the supernatural do not merely play an important part, but provide the vital pivot on which the entire play depends. Furthermore, the complicity of the Weird Sisters is intriguing as many diverse interpretations exist concerning the origins and the role of these essential characters in Macbeth. The belief in the existence and power of witches was widely accepted in Shakespeare's day, as demonstrated by the European witch craze during which an estimated nine million women were put to death for being perceived to be witches (Ellwood NP). The credence in such an illogical belief was due to society's inability to explain tragedies (i.e. illness, death, natural disasters) because of a lack of technology and knowledge that existed. It was much easier and comforting for people to blame something on a person who seemed a little ou
As with most literary studies, it is hard to simply characterize elements of novels or dramas into three neat categories as done (in this case) with the Weird Sisters. Her name is a contraction of that of the Greek goddess of the witches of the classical writers, Hecate. (Shakespeare, Act I Sc3 lines 40-49)In the popular tradition, this serves to link them to the most marginalized members of the peasant society (the old and the deformed). The appearance of the popular and elite traditions can be seen in the following passage: FIRST WITCH Where hast thou been, sister?SECOND WITCH Killing swine. "Give me," quoth I "Aroint thee, witch," the rump?fed runnion cries. Boaz echoes this observation, "What plunges Macbeth into his reverie is the discovery that his own guilty aspiration find an echo in the voice of these mysterious creatures"(Lawless NP). The use of the supernatural was a common theatrical trick of the period. t of the ordinary than to try to understand a deep scientific explanation. They set the scene of the play, immediately giving the impression that it is full of darkness, chaos and confusion, where things are not always as they seem.
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