a very good question

[nathalia252]

hi everybody,

i am new here and i just have one question, i recently had exams and i am writing over my paper because i was not as please with my mark on one question.
in Macbeth why does shakespeare have the witches introduced into the play?[/U][/B]

-i dont have the main idea
- what i understand form the play is that they create a sense of supernatural and what is to come in the play also they create confusion

but i need the main point and i just seem cannot seem to get it.

thank you alot
God bless[/B]

[Redzeppelin]

The witches act as catalysts to move Macbeth's latent desire for kingship into action. They ostensibly are present as "agents of fate" but they may simply represent our darker desires.

[nathalia252]

the question is not that the question is
why does he have them introduce the play...

at the beginning in act 1 scene 1 they open the play with plans to meet macbeth i am soo sorry could u please help me again

[Redzeppelin]

the question is not that the question is
why does he have them introduce the play...

at the beginning in act 1 scene 1 they open the play with plans to meet macbeth i am soo sorry could u please help me again

I believe the witches open the play because they set up the "rules" of the world of Macbeth; namely, that "fair is foul and foul is fair." What that means is this: the witches warn us ahead of time that the world of Macbeth is a world where moral values (foul=bad, fair=good) have not only been reversed, but will be of equal value: good=bad and bad=good. In other words, both terms will be the same, and as such, have no real meaning. It is a direct warning of the theme of appearance vs. reality. In Macbeth, characters will largely misinterpret what is good and bad; what "seems" good may actually be bad and vice versa (cf. Lady Macduff's comments in 4.2). Banquo hints at this when he cautions Macbeth after he gets the first prophecy fulfilled:

But 'tis strange:
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray's
In deepest consequence.

Banquo recognizes the truth of "fair is foul and foul is fair." Macbeth does at the end; Duncan misses it; Lady Macbeth is quite clear on it (5.1).


Hope that's helpful.

Oh - and the witches also serve to set the mood of the supernatural.

[ale]

And, to all the great answers above, we may add that the witches allowed Shakespeare to please the king's (James I) deep interest in witchcraft.

Finally, the play offers one of the most gripping beginnings I've ever seen / read, since we are thrown into an atmosphere of magic, darkness and horror. The special effects, the spells, the witches' clothes, all contribute to set the mood that will pervade throughout the play. We are trapped from the very beginning, and our tension is never relieved (well, just briefly, during the porter's scene)

[hurlyburlygeek]

In choosing to use the Witches as the focus of the first scene of the play, I believe that Shakespeare is creating a 'dramatic tension' , we hear of Macbeth on several occasions before he has entered. This creates a heightened sense of impending doom and we as readers / audience members are eagerly anticipating his appearance on the stage.

As a side thought, the opening scene of the play could perhaps be viewed as a conjuring spell , summoning up the evil spirits that will manifest within the protagonists.