Witches Manipulation Of Macbeth example essay topic

How do the witches create an atmosphere of nightmare And evil in 'Macbeth'? The play 'Macbeth' was written in the early seventeenth century, in a time when the English people believed very strongly in the existence of witches. A range of powers were certified to these evil beings, including the ability to see into the future, control the weather, fly and become invisible at will and communicate with the devil. The witches were believed to enjoy making human beings suffer, by causing livestock to get ill and die, for example. From the outset of this play, when three witches appear on stage, the contemporary audiences would have anticipated a plot that demonstrated just how evil such creatures could be. In Act 1 Scene 1 Shakespeare introduces the witches immediately and this sets the tone for the rest of the play, it sets a mood of evil and supernatural influences.

In this scene the witches meet close to the battlefield, this associates them with destruction and death. The first impressions we get from this scene is that there is aggressive weather which reflects their tendencies and their presence causes chaos in nature, also darkness links the witches with evil, two thirds of the play is set in the darkness. An absence of light suggests an absence of God and he is associated with light and goodness. The witches speak in rhyming couplets "When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightening or in rain?" Speaking in rhyming couplets gives the impression of chanting or a spell being cast. Their control over the weather is alluded to as they discuss what it should be like the next time they meet.

The witches refer to the current battle as a 'hurry-burly'. But really this was a battle of horrific proportions that was to decide the fate of an entire country, resulting in many deaths. The witches' description of this as a 'hurry-burly's suggests that they are dismissive of it, comparing it more to a childish scuffle in a playground. This shows how contemptuous they are to the affairs if man and their lack of concern at such human carnage and suffering.

The witches know when the battle will be over suggesting that they may have some influence on this and reinforcing the idea that they can see into the future. They discuss their plan to meet with Macbeth, an intention that convinces the audience they mean to cause him harm. The witches' familiars summon them, a reminder of the forces of evil they serve. The familiars were believed to be evil spirits in the form of earthly animals. The witches speak in paradoxes; 'Fair is foul and foul is fair', this suggests that things are not always as they seem. We like Macbeth, shouldn't take what they say at face value.

The witches are ambiguous, deliberately setting out to confuse men. In Act 1 Scene 3 the witches next appear. In the scene before the audience learnt a bit more about Macbeth, he had fought bravely in the battle and King Duncan is to reward his loyalty with the title Thane of Cawdor. This is an irony as Macbeth later betrays the king himself. This sets the scene because the next Thane of Cawdor will also be a traitor. In this scene the witches meet on the heath as they had arranged earlier, it is violent weather and sonic effect of thunder claps reinforce the nightmarish atmosphere.

The witches boast about the evil deeds they have been committing e.g. killing swine and they wish to make humans suffer but killing livestock. The first witch plans revenge on a sailor whose wife refused to give her chestnuts: "in a sieve I'll thither sail and like a rat without a tail, I'll do, I'll do and I'll do. ' A sieve full of holes is so that the witches can clearly defy nature, showing how unnatural they are. The simile 'like a rat' would remind the Elizabethan audience of the plague, also reinforcing the impression of the witches themselves causing death and destruction. The number three was believed to have magical connotations. There are three witches; the repetition of 'I'll do, I'll do and I'll do's tresses the witches's supernatural powers.

The witches' control over the weather is again alluded to as the other two witches volunteer their power over the winds to assist the first witch in seeking revenge. The witches' excitement in torturing an innocent man highlights their evil natures, the frequent references to three and multiples of three in lines 30 to 35 reinforce the idea that the witches are casting a spell. They dance three times in different directions alluding to a spell being cast just as Macbeth arrives: 'Peace, the charm's wound up'. His arrival brings together the two worlds of men and the supernatural. We see the conflict between the natural world of men and the unnatural world of the witches. As Banquo and Macbeth arrive, they symbolism the gathering of two complementary worlds: 'So foul and fair a day I have not seen'.

These words of Macbeth remind us of those of the witches in Act 1 Scene 1. This suggests that their power seems to be pervading the natural world. Macbeth's first words link him to the witches this suggests that he thinks in the same way that they do this is an indication that he may not be as noble as King Duncan thinks. Banquo's description of the witches stresses how unnatural their appearance is: 'so wither'd and so wild': 'look not like the " inhabitants o'th " earth'. Their unnatural appearance reflects their evil and unnatural appearance and their abilities. Their language is also very unnatural; they speak in rhyming couplets and use paradoxes.

Frequent references to three and the multiples of three also make their language sound different to that of other characters. The witches greet Macbeth with three titles. The witches' prophecies suggest they have some knowledge of the future. Those they make to Banquo are again full of paradoxes: 'lesser than Macbeth and greater'. Macbeth demands to know more, showing the impact the witches' words have had on him. The witches show their disregard for Macbeth by refusing to be commanded; instead they vanish.

In this scene Ross and Angus bring the news that King Duncan plans to give Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor and Banquo's reaction to this reminds the audience of the evil inherent in the witches: 'What, can the devil speak true?' Macbeth's ambition is evident as he acknowledges, 'Glam is, and Thane of Cawdor: the greatest is behind'. The witches seem to have unleashed the ambition within Macbeth. The impact of the witches is evident in lines 126 to 143, because this is where Macbeth clearly contemplates murdering King Duncan in order to further his own position: '... why do I yield to that suggestion, Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs Against the use of nature?' Macbeth's final assertion that 'chance will crown me without my stir's hows that for the time being at least he has resolved to take no further action himself, but to let fate take its cause. In Act 4 Scene 1 this is the witches' final appearance.

In the interim, Macbeth's ambition has made him eager to become King, and he has murdered King Duncan. Insecurity about his position on the throne led him to hire murderers to kill Banquo and his son Flea nce, but unfortunately for Macbeth the latter escaped. The witches' influence on Macbeth's state of mind is gradually more apparent as he is tormented by visions of Banquo's ghost at the banquet. The witches were also believed to possess the power to cause people to hallucinate. Once again, the witches appear in a remote setting, away from the world of men, the weather was very violent and was thundering. The introduction of a prop, a cauldron intensifies the idea that the witches are casting a spell.

In lines 1 to 3 the witches' familiars each cry three times: this is a signal that the time to perform a spell has come. The vile ingredients that are put into the pot reinforce the atmosphere of evil. Many of the ingredients are parts of animals that would " ve led to them being mutilated, and body parts of non-Christians. These ingredients added to the atmosphere of evil. The frequent references to night and the absence of light are reminders that evil is present and in darkness, God was unable to see evil deed being committed and could offer no protection.

Several lines and phrases are repeated three times by the witches to intensify the mood of evil and to reinforce the number three. The alliteration of harsh 'b's ou nds stresses the callous nature of the witches: 'Double, double toil and trouble, Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. ' The second witch announces Macbeth's arrival: 'Something wicked this way comes'. This shows that the witches can recognise the existence of evil in Macbeth. Macbeth addresses the witches in a much more familiar way: 'How now, you secret black and midnight hags'. There no longer seems to be a distinction between Macbeth and the witches because they are both evil.

In this scene when Macbeth asks what the witches are doing, the response is worrying 'a deed without a name'. Earlier on in the play the witches described their evil activities in detail; this anonymity now makes this crime seem completely unspeakable. In Act 4 Scene 1 Macbeth's evil nature is evident as he demands an answer to his questions, whatever the consequences: 'Even till destruction sicken'. He is under covered what evils may be unleashed on the world provided he himself is satisfied. The witches' manipulation of Macbeth is evident as they summon apparitions to advise him. Many of these are visually abhorrent in themselves: a bodiless head that hovers in the air before speaking and warns Macbeth to beware of Macduff.

This apparition is later recognised by the audience as Macbeth's own head, which is warning him of his executioner; a bloody child that asserts that no-one of woman born can harm Macbeth, it is later revealed that Macduff was delivered by caesarean section as his mother died before giving birth which was an extremely rare condition in Elizabethan times; a crowned child that carries a tree and states that Macbeth will never be vanquished until Great Bir nam Wood move to high Dunsinane Hill against him, the advancing soldiers actually hew down branches of the trees to hide behind so that they may approach Macbeth's castle unnoticed. When Macbeth demanded to know whether Banquo's children will ever reign, a line of eight kings appeared, the last king holding a glass in his hand followed by Banquo's ghost. Macbeth saw that his throne would never be secure, but he desperately clung to the advise he had been given, not comprehending until it was too late just how the witches had tricked him. The play Macbeth portrays the descent of Macbeth, from being described as a 'valiant gentleman' at the start of the play to a 'dead butcher' at the end of the play. The witches have unleashed his ambition and brought about his downfall in the play. The impact of the evil witches and their manipulation led Macbeth to commit a host of evil acts himself, and finally led to his own destruction and the force and power of the witches is evident through the play, culminating in Macbeth's own death.