In Macbeth, the darkness in the hearts of the characters either disappear or the characters realize what the darkness had done to them. When the images of witches are brought up in any piece of literature, they are usually associated with darkness and/or evil. This is also the case in Macbeth. Shakespeare uses many techniques to enforce this stereotype of witches. He uses pathetic fallacy to convey the dark surroundings as they “Hover through the fog and filthy air” (1 .
that shalt be king hereafter.”(Shakespeare, Act 1, Scene 3, lines 49-51). Immediately after hearing these, ,2 Macbeth finds out he is thane of Cawdor. This makes him believe he has to Murder the King Duncan to fulfill the next section of the prophecy. Macbeth never thought about killing the king until the prophecy was delivered to him. The downward spiral would never had been started without the prophecies spoken by the Witches.
It could be that he has damaged himself so that he is unable to feel empathy for others - or that the evil is innate. Macbeth displays some very evil characteristics - selfishness, coldness, obsession and cold-blooded murder. Shakespeare explores the degree to which he alone is responsible, and how far others contribute to Macbeth is perhaps Shakespeare's greatest exploration of the problem of evil. Evil is positioned both within and without. The witches are objective figures but Macbeth's first utterance in act 1, scene 3 suggests that he shares a similar thought with the witches.
So they will "hover" in the fog, and in the dust and dirt of battle, waiting for the chance to do evil. Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair" is a paradox, a statement that appears to be contadictory but actually expresses the truth. The witches are foul, but they give fair advice. Macbeth seems like a hero, but he is a plotter and dastard. It is quite interesting to note that the words of the witches will have an echo in Macbeth’s “So foul and fair a day I have not seen”.
As such Macbeth is morally vulnerable to them. The ways in which Shakespeare’s language gives us the imagery that the witches are so evil is when it quotes the oxymoron: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” This quote is important because it introduces the idea of deception which will be picked up in the imagery further through the play. Macbeth from the beggining of Act 1, scene 2, is always associated with blood. At first this is a positive view of imagery as it quotes: “Bellona’s bridegroom.” We get the impression that Macbeth is a “Noble hero,” other quotes such as: “ For brave Macbeth, he deserves that name” or “ O, valiant cousin, worthy gentleman,” show us that Macbeth is presented as a man that is one in a million. Further through the play however the image of blood is used to soak “ Devilish Macbeth,” a quote such as: “Untitl’d tyrant, bloody-sceptr’d” show this.
Tragedy is marked by the choices which the main character makes. Throughout this story, Macbeth's decisions are greatly influenced by many elements of the unexplainable supernatural world, causing his actions to be somewhat unpredictable majority of the time. The first major scene involving the supernatural world begin with the introduction to the three witches, this appeared in Act 1 Scene 1. The witches meet on a moor and they discussed their plans of where to meet Macbeth.  Webster defines witches as, "1: one that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers; especially: a woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or familiar : sorceress — compare warlock 2: an ugly old woman : hag 3: a charming or alluring girl or woman 4: a practitioner of Wicca." The supernatural was mentioned in definition 1, therefore, the three witches were also part of the supernatural elements in the play Macbeth.
She would go as far as to ask evil to fill her soul with hate and take her remorse in order to gain power. Also, when Macbeth first contemplates murdering Duncan before his
This in turn makes the reader feel apprehensive and afraid of the supernatural beings corrupting Macbeth, as it gives a feeling that they are always watching, and also highlights the mystical powers they seem to have. In reference to them, Macbeth speaks about Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and the moon, and how ‘witchcraft celebrates’, to show that he is a pawn in their game and they have won. Witchcraft can also influence dreams, by which ‘wicked dreams abuse the curtain’d sleep’, to suggest that sleep is to be disturbed
Three Symbols in Macbeth In Macbeth, symbolism is widely use in illustrating the overall theme of murder and the evil of man. Various types of symbols that lead to the destruction of Macbeth are depicted. When Macbeth first hears that he's been named the Thane of Cawdor, he asks Angus why he is being dressed in "borrowed" robes (I.iii.7). Macbeth doesn't literally mean that he's going to wear the old thane's hand-me-down clothes. Here, "robes" symbolizes the title of Thane of Cawdor that Macbeth thinks doesn't belong to him.
The witches In the beginning scenes of Macbeth, the witches are seen as mysterious. This is shown when in act 1 scene 1 they plot to do something later on. Stage directions showed thunder and lightning which Shakespeare intended to make the atmosphere of the audience mysterious and dark, which gives the audience an impression that the witches are up to no good. The first witch says "when shall we three meet again" "In thunder, lightning or in rain?" Another mysterious scene is where they meet Macbeth and disappear into the air.