The Witches Influence on Macbeth

The Witches Influence on Macbeth Allison Schweinert M every(prenominal)ing Hour 2 1/15/12 Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeares witches, or the triplet weird sisters (1. 3. 32) serve several purposes. With their persuasive techniques and ability to either unwrap or influence the future, their most important role seems to be their effect to influence decision-making and cause the initial deterioration of Macbeth. By providing five prophecies, the witches deliver the goods Macbeths call to action and drive his thirst for power, (Jamieson).However, by not telling Macbeth the full truth, they give him false hope, and expectations that ultimately lend to his demise. The witches influence him so greatly, that without their presence, it is possible that Macbeth would never fool even perpetrate the murder of queen Duncan. The three weird sisters make their first show in Act 1 Scene 1. In Act 1 Scene 3, the witches make their first predictions. The first is that Macbeth go away be King of Cawdor and Thane of Glamis. The second is that Banquos sons will also be kings.Macbeths is oblige to question the prophecies and says to the witches, By Sinels death I know I am thane of Glamis. But how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives, A prosperous gentleman, and to be king, stands not inwardly the prospect of belief, (1. 3. 71-74). Due to his inevitable inheritance of the title Thane of Glamis, Macbeth is convinced that the witches are, in fact, of a supernatural nature. Despite his lingering doubts, these predictions were enough to convince Macbeth and noblewoman Macbeth to pursue their ambitions and kill Duncan.This shows the witches first influence in that, even though Macbeth questions their credibility, he allows them to have substantial oblige in his future. Secondly, it is thought by many, that to know what component part may have in store for them, and to have knowledge of the future is wrong. It seems this is true, because after Macbeth demands the witches second appearance, he is told to beware of Macduff, and that he cannot be harmed by anyone born of a woman or foiled until the Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane shall derive, (4. 1. 93-94).After receiving these final prophecies, it seems that Macbeths esprit de corps begins to deteriorate along with his confidence. Based on his paranoia and extreme reliance on the witchs initial prediction he sends out hands to murder Banquo and his son. He also attempts to kill Macduff, and when that fails he tells the murderers to kill his family disrespect their innocence. In this, he reaches a point of true evil. However, throughout all this, Macbeth continues to have his doubts. He hears his invincibility and constantly reminds himself and others that, he bares a attract life, which must not yield To one of woman born, (5. . 12-13). I cerebrate he does this because he needs to convince himself that the witches are, in fact, unequivocal. However, he fails to consider that perhaps the witches respectable arent telling him the full truth. This becomes evident in Macbeths final scenes as the Birnam Woods make their way towards him, in Malcolms attempt to hide his numbers. Macbeth also realizes that he should have had high speculations moments before his death, when Macduff tells him Despair thy charm, And let the angel whom thou still hast served discern thee, Macduff was from his mothers womb Untimely ripped, (5. . 13-16). At this point, Macbeth was forced to come to terms with his undoing and realize that the witches werent as reliable as hed hoped. But how much of the blame do the witches sincerely deserve? We now must ask ourselves, Are the witches prophecies preordained? Or do they simply encourage Macbeth to become active in constructing his own fate? (Jamieson). My answer to both of these is yes. The second that the witches told Macbeth that he would be king, his future became merely as theyd foretold.Once he obtained knowledge of his divine will and allowed t he witches prophecies to overtake him, Macbeth began to slowly deteriorate. It wasnt until Macbeth heard the witches prophecies, that thoughts of killing Duncan came to him, and even when the did, he was reluctant. The initial thought of committing such a crime was, but wondrous (1. 3. 139), despite Macbeths ruthless nature in combat. Even further, introductory to the murder during his discussion with Lady Macbeth, he attempted to withdraw himself from the conspiracy.He tells Lady Macbeth, that we but teach Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return to encrust th inventor this even handed justice Commends th ingredients of our poisoned goblet To our own lips, (1. 7. 8-12). Macbeth says this as if he knows, to trust the prophecies, is to seal his fate. Unfortunately, it is too later(a) for Lady Macbeth. She has already had a taste for power in her control over Macbeth now she is addicted to it and has already traded her morals to the devil. Lady Macbeths early decisions are what, I believe, led to her extreme loss of sanity.Macbeth doesnt entirely come to terms with his ambitions until later. He evokes full trust inwardly the prophecies near the end of the play, while he boasts of his invincibility. Their dependence and reliance on the prophecies is what ultimately led to their demise. Without the prophecies, there would have been nothing to rely on and simply their desires to push them. Because of this, the witches influence on Macbeth is clear. They did far more than just provide him with a glimpse of his future they released his innermost desires and set his means by doing so.They opened doors and guided him on a journey that at one time he had embarked on, could never return. References Crowther, John, ed. No Fear Macbeth. SparkNotes. com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 16 Jan. 2012 Jamieson, Lee Macbeth Witches. About. com Shakespeare. N. p. , October 2005. Web. 10 Jan 2012. . Riedel, Jennifer. The Witches Influence on Macbeth . Diss. Universit y of Victoria, 1995. Web. . Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Elements of Literature Sixth Course. Ed. Kathleen Daniel, et al. Austin Holt, Reinhart and Winston, 2003. 300-385.