Witches Flashcards
“Beards” (said by Banquo in act 1) Gender
Witches (Act 1)
Masculinity is synonymous with power: Masculinity is presented as synonymous with power throughout the play, thus this description imbues them with a threat of dominance. They therefore appear androgynous (partly male, partly female), alike to Lady Macbeth, and their lack of gender conformity exacerbates them as duplicitous and powerful beings.
In patriarchal (male-dominated) society where power is associated with a clear gender identity, the Witches’ ambiguity becomes a potent symbol of their threat. They represent a chaotic force that can unravel the carefully constructed social order.
“eye of a newt”, “fireburn, and cauldron bubble” “hell-broth”
The Witches (Act 4)
The selection of words such as “fire burn,” “hell-broth” and “bubble” crafts a semantic field of hell.
This strengthens the idea that the Witches’ supernatural abilities are intrinsically linked malevolence and they are agents of the devil.
Moreover, the elements contained in their potion adhere to the archetypal (perfect type) portrayal of witches outlined in King James I’s “Daemonologie”.
This conformity taps into the audience’s pre-existing apprehensions and anticipations related to witchcraft prevalent during the historical era.
“Fair is foul and foul is fair” Appearance vs Reality
The Witches (Act 1)
The witches communicate through paradoxes, as seen in their use of “foul” and “fair”. This introduces a moral ambiguity (not clear), whilst heightening the potent sense of contradiction and disorientation that is established from the offset.
This also foreshadows the impending chaos in the play, suggesting that the Witches’ deceitful nature and captivating prophecies will ultimately leave Macbeth bewildered and disorientated.
They speak in trochaic tetrameter, which is distinct from the iambic pentameter that noble characters speak in throughout the play, this gives their speech an eerie songlike quality.
This unnatural manner of speech compounds their duplicitousness as even their speech transcends the earthly realm. Consequently, this makes it easier for them to tap into the supernatural realm to successfully employ their oral deceptions.
Banquo’s later characterisation of them as “instruments of darkness” underscores their sinister musicality, implying that their conflicting words posses a hypnotic allure, particularly for Macbeth.
