Witches, Supernatural, and Evil in Shakespeares Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

The Witches andEvil in Macbeth No discussion of evil in Shakespeares head for the hills Macbeth would be satisfactory without considering its most famous symbols of evil the coven of witches whose interactions with Macbeth play such a vital role in his thinking about his own life. Banquo and Macbeth recognize them as something supernatural, part of the landscape but not to the full human inhabitants of it. They have malicious intentions and prophetic powers. And yet they are not active agents in the sense that they do nothing other than talk and snap visions and potions. The witches have no power to compel. If we are to explore the significance of these witches we must do so by treating them as vital poetic symbols in the play, inborn manifestations of the moral atmosphere of Macbeths world. The most obvious interpretation of the witches is to see them as manifestations of evil in the world. They exist to tempt and torment people, to challenge their faith in themselves and t heir society. They work on Macbeth by equivocation, that is, by ambiguous promises of some future state. These promises come true, but not in the way that the victim originally believed. The witches so make their appeal to Macbeths and Banquos desire to control their own future, to direct it towards some desirable ends. They have no power to compel belief, but they can simply appeal strongly to an already existing inclination to force ones will onto events in order to shape the future to fit one deepest desires. Banquos importance in the play stems, in large part, from his different response to these witches. Like Macbeth, he is strongly tempted, but he does not let his desires outweigh his moral heed But tis strange, And oftentimes to win us to our harm The instruments of darkness ordinate us truths, Win us with honest trifles to betrays In deepest consequence. (1.3.120-124) Macbeth cannot act on this cognisance because his desires (kept alive by his active imagination an d his wifes urging) constantly intrude upon his moral sensibilities. Hence, he seizes upon the news that he has just been made Thane of Cawdor, using that information to tell him what he most wants to believe, that the witches tell the truth. This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success