Monday, September 17, 2012

What is the role of the witches in Macbeth's downfall other than the fact that they give Macbeth overconfidence and fool him with double meaning?I...

You could point out that the witches symbolize the dark side of human nature.  They are absolutely evil...we know that from the beginning when they meet and choose Macbeth to be their plaything.  They live to torture and harass.  While they do not physically create the downfall of any human, they do lead the humans to fall by their own demise by way of misleading illusions. 

The witches represent the evil that is in Macbeth which does not manifest itself until the prophecy is made--Macbeth will be King.  The witches plant the seed, Lady Macbeth waters it with encouragement, and from there it grows wildly on its own within Macbeth's heart as he plans the murders of Banquo, Fleance, and the MacDuff family to secure his throne.

No comments:

Post a Comment

In Act III, scene 2, why may the establishment of Claudius's guilt be considered the crisis of the revenge plot?

The crisis of a drama usually proceeds and leads to the climax.  In Shakespeare's Hamlet , the proof that Claudius is guilty...