The Role of the Witches in Macbeth Essay Sample

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the witches play an extremely important role. The witches brought a supernatural element to the play. This is very important, because the people of the Elizabethan age were extremely superstitious. The witches also presented the play with its arguably most important saying, “fair is foul, and foul is fair.” This saying is constantly being brought up throughout the play and ties many significant events together. The witches are important in the play because they are the instruments of fate, and full of prophecies. While the witches told Macbeth his fate, they are not responsible for his actions, and therefore should not be blamed for the wrongdoing in the play.

The witches' prophecies are the beginning of the end. The witches' roles are so important because of their quote, “fair is foul, and foul is fair,” and the vital information they share with Macbeth and Banquo. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” is used to describe how the whole play turns upside down, and how the balance of things is completely thrown off. EVerything gets thrown off because of their prophecies. The witches say to Macbeth, “All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis! … All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! … All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” This is where all the madness begins, these prophecies are what made Macbeth go crazy and kill everyone he saw as a threat, starting with King Duncan. The witches also said that banquo would give birth to a long line of kings. Later on in the play, Macbeth remembers this and gets even more paranoid, and leads him to killing his best friend, banquo. The witches' prophecies are the beginning to the end because they lead to so many deaths, ending with Macbeth’s.

The witches are not to blame for all the bad things that happened in the play. While the witches could be blamed for all of Macbeth’s actions, it is not realistic. The witches were simply his motive. They told him his fate, he blew everything out of proportion. The witch did not say to kill King Duncan and then he will be king, they said he will be king. Fate is determined beforehand. It cannot be changed. So, no matter what, Macbeth would have been a king. If anyone is to blame for the start of Macbeth’s madness, it is his wife, Lady Macbeth. Macbeth never intended on killing anyone until his wife forced him to. She manipulated him, she deceived him, and she orchestrated the killing of Duncan. She made her bed and then had to sleep in it too by killing herself. The witches did not cause all the trouble in the play, they simply enlivened the ambitious passions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. 

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, The witches introduced the play with it's most important saying, “fair is foul, and foul is fair,” which is constantly being brought up throughout the play and ties many significant events together. The witches are important in the play because they are the instruments of fate, and full of prophecies. They tell Macbeth his fate which leads to his instability and insanity. However, even though the witches told Macbeth his fate, they are not responsible for his actions, and should not be blamed for the wrongdoing in the play.