How does the inclusion of the witches in Macbeth heighten the dramatic impact of the play? Essay

Macbeth is a play written by the renowned playwright William Shakespeare in the early 17th century. Originally produced for the King of Denmark, the play explores themes such as ambition and betrayal through the actions of the main protagonist Macbeth. The play’s other significant figures include three witches whose practice of sorcery attracted a lot of controversy towards the play. At the time, their inclusion heightened the dramatic impact on the audience; primarily because of the public’s view of witches. Also referred to as the ‘’weird sisters’’, they form a fundamental element of the play because it is their input that shapes the play into action. During this period of time, the mainstream population of Europe was Christian and superstitious, therefore belief in witchcraft was at its peak and so-called ‘’witches’’ were persecuted. Supposedly, witches (along with Satan) were part of a collective of evil and were blamed for a lot of wrongdoing in society. For instance, political dissidents who opposed the King were thought to be under the influence of black magic. This was because there was commonly held believe that the King had the divine right to rule; thus anyone challenging the King was basically challenging God (which was considered blasphemy and punishable by death). The inclusion of the witches and amount of media coverage they received along with the public’s superstition helped to heighten the dramatic impact of Macbeth on a Shakespearean audience. Today, however, due to the secularisation of society, religious morals are diminishing and witchcraft is seen as nothing more than simple entertainment; this is certainly not how Shakespeare intended it to be. Furthermore, television programmes such as W.I.T.C.H. and books such as the Harry Potter series are depicting witches in a much more positive light. On the other hand, a small number of possible offshoots of witchcraft such as Wicca and Freemasonry are still being practiced despite it being punishable by death in some extremely religious cultures. In this day and age, the general view about witches lessens the dramatic impact significantly because it is seen as a comedy routine therefore Macbeth doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of the audience like its original purpose. In Act 1 Scene 1, as shown in the stage directions; the witches are the first performers when they enter an ‘’open place’’ with ‘’thunder and lightning’’. By being the first performers on stage, they intensify the dramatic impact because the audience focuses their attention towards them. Also, Shakespeare specifically chose the weather in this scene to be threatening, to reflect the negative view of witches at the time and to elevate the dramatic impact by making them see more powerful (witches were associated with the ability to manipulate the weather). The technique of using elements of nature to express mood is known as pathetic fallacy. In this scene, the first impression that the audience are given of the witches is that they are unattractive. For instance, the quotes ‘’your beards’’ and ‘’skinny lips’’ suggests that the witches are ugly and depict them as being unnatural due to having masculine characteristics. Shakespeare has done this to add to the negative interpretation of witches, which in turn heightens the dramatic impact (because the realistic appearance of the witches would frighten the audience). He also uses other characters to highlight the appearance of the witches and therefore raise the dramatic impact on the audience. For instance, Banquo describe the witches as being creatures ‘’ that look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ earth’’. He is suggesting that they do not resemble other humans and that they are abnormal; perhaps beings from another world. Shakespeare uses dialogue between the witches to heighten the dramatic impact on the audience. For example, in Act 1 Scene 3, one of the witches says to the others ’‘I’ll drain him dry as hay, sleep shall neither night nor day’’. This line heightens the dramatic impact because it portrays witches as evil because of the reference to torturing someone by depriving him of water. Also the words ‘’hay’’ and ‘’day’’ rhyme, during the Shakespearean era this was related to the spells chanted by witches, therefore the audience would have instantaneously assumed that the lines were malicious; thus increasing the dramatic impact. The lines spoken by the witches also include a rhythm. For example in Act 1 Scene 3, the three witches start their lines with ‘’all hail†¦ all hail†¦ all hail’’, this promotes the idea that the witches have the same thoughts and gives the impression that they are insane because they speak in a different pattern to the other characters. The witches also speak in riddles to scare and confuse the audience, for example, the line ‘’when the battles lost and won’’ may be referring to Macbeth or it could be talking about the struggle for the throne of Scotland. This intensifies the dramatic impact because the audience are left unsure and given the impression that the three witches know something that they don’t. Once again, the witches are depicted as being unnatural because of their ability to prophesise the future. Imagery is used cleverly in many ways by Shakespeare to show the witches in a negative light and add to the dramatic impact. For example, in Act 4 Scene 1, the 1st witch says ‘’round and round the cauldron go, in the poisoned entrails throw’’. This quote emphasizes the popular belief (at the time) that witches chant around their cauldrons which consisted of nauseating ingredients such as rats (creates the image that witches are sick). Also, the witches simultaneously say ‘’double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble’’, this makes the spell resemble a song more and consequently it increases the dramatic impact. To conclude, the inclusion of the witches in the play undeniably helps to heighten the dramatic impact on a Shakespearean audience. This is mainly because of his successful methods, for example when using pathetic fallacy. Today, however, his masterpiece has not been as popular and effective at creating a negative image of witches because of the enormous change in the public’s view of witches.