Examine the roles of the witches in ‘Macbeth’ Essay

In the Elizabethan times, the people believed in witches and witchcraft. They were described as ugly and evil. Nowadays the people would not believe in them. The people in the Elizabethan times would be very scared of witches. This was equivalent to the people of nowadays being frightened about terrorists. The people thought that they were powerful beings. They thought that they would cast spells on them; they thought that the witches were the ones that influenced the weather and also someone’s personality. They were most likely to be old women with moles on their body. If the people wanted to find out if someone was a witch or not, they would tie the woman onto a ducking stool and then place them under the water for along time. If the people saw that the woman was dead they would definitely be relieved, as the woman would not be a witch. If the woman survived for a long time in the water then the people would take the woman out and then burn them or they would hang them. For people to be terrified by witches was very common. This was very good for William Shakespeare because then he could make the play much more frightening. This would be equivalent to a horror film nowadays. There are three or four scenes in the book, which include the witches. In the beginning the witches are just making plans about where to meet again. They say that they are going to meet Macbeth on top of the Heath. This scene is important because this is where the witches are telling the audience about where they are going to make the predictions. Another scene that involves the witches is when they are explaining the predictions to Macbeth and Banquo. The three predictions are: Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor: â€Å"All hail Macbeth, hail to thee Thane of Cawdor† He will be king: â€Å"All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king here after† Banquo’s children will be king after: (to Banquo) â€Å"Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none† Macbeth is very surprised at this point because he says to himself, â€Å"The Thane of Cawdor lives† These predictions are very important because they set the scene for the rest of the play. Further into the book, Macbeth kills King Duncan and Banquo. This happens because the predictions that witches made are coming true. Macbeth wants to know more information about the predictions, † Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more† The witches are very important and play a very vital role in the story. They are the ones that made the predictions and they are also the ones that Macbeth needs guidance from. The witches would not be very realistic for a modern audience because the people nowadays don’t believe in witches. In the Elizabethan times the scenes with the witches would be very terrifying and horrific for the audience because the people of that time would believe in witches and thought that they were evil and possessed special powers. Nowadays, the audience because of good acting would appreciate the people who would act as witches, and they would also think that the story was well written. The audience would be as horrified with the apparitions as they would be with the scenes with the witches. A modern audience will find the scene very interesting. The two characters that meet the witches are Macbeth and Banquo. When they met the witches, both of them had different views about them. When Macbeth sees the witches he says, â€Å"Speak if you can: what are you?† Macbeth believed in the predictions that the witches made and he took it very seriously. On the other hand Banquo takes it more lightly as it would not affect him, it would affect his children. The audience in the Elizabethan times would favour Macbeth more than Banquo as Macbeth takes the witches much more seriously. Nowadays, not many people would believe in witches and witchcraft and so would not believe in the spells and predictions. The people nowadays would favour Banquo. Banquo and the people of nowadays would agree that the predictions are not true. He has a dream and he starts to believe in the witches, â€Å"To you they have show’d some truth† This shows that Banquo’s views seem to change. Macbeth starts to take the witches much more seriously when he finds out that their predictions are coming true. There is a lot of dramatic impact in the play. The drama includes the battles in the beginning when the Norwegians try to take over Scotland; the murders of king Duncan and Banquo; the hallucination that Macbeth sees with the dagger, which is full of blood and it, is taking him towards killing king Duncan; and the witches with their spells and the predictions. The witches are some of the most important characters in the play because they are the ones who cast the spells and also make the important predictions. The witches would make a dramatic impact on the stage. When the witches cast the spells then the audience would react in a terrified manner. They would believe in what they see because they believed that it was possible that witches existed and it reflected reality. During the Elizabethan times there would have been a lot of limitations. For the battles they were missing sound effects and also the music had to played live instead of a recording; the costumes were not very good; when the witches needed to vanish there was no smoke effect which would make it much more realistic, but they did have a trap door; the problem that there was while performing the part of the witches was that females were not allowed to play, so they had to be played by men; the scenery was unsatisfactory; and they did not have lights which meant that they had to perform during the day. An Elizabethan director would portray the witches as being ugly and terrifying. The witches would probably wear masks that would have a mole on the face. They would try to make them look like old women because these are the kinds of people that the public thought were witches. The director would try to make it realistic just to add dramatic impact. An Elizabethan audience would react in a different way compared to a modern audience. An Elizabethan audience would be terrified as this would be equivalent to a horror film nowadays. They would have thought of the witches as being symbols of evil. A modern director would have a bigger advantage when setting up the play. There would be a lot of facilities that the director could use. He could use the sound effects for the battles; thunder and lightening for when witches were casting a spell; projection; women would allowed to play which would make it much more realistic; there would be better scenery; they could use curtains at the end of the scene just to explain to the audience that the scene was over; and also a modern director could use recorded music instead of having a live band. A modern director might portray the witches the same way that the directors in the Elizabethan times would have except that the part of the witches would be played by real characters. They might use special effects to show witches disappear. A modern audience would react differently after watching the play. They would not believe in witches because they know that it has been proven that witches don’t exist. A modern audience would not react to the play as if it was a horror film but they would think of the play as being very good and interesting. They would watch it for entertainment and the special effects would have dramatic impact on the audience. The impact on the audience would change over the years. The people would not believe in it because they will know that it is proven that witches don’t exist which is why the reaction of the audience would change over time. There were a lot of differences between Elizabethan and modern interpretations of the witches. The director in the Elizabethan times would make the witches wear costumes, and they would try to make them scary for the audience. The audience in the Elizabethan time would be scared as they thought witches were real, whereas a modern audience would not think of it as a horror film but as an interesting story.