The Three Weird Sisters and their Influence on Macbeth (Essay Sample)

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The Three Weird Sisters and their Influence on Macbeth
Macbeth, Shakespeare’s acclaimed tragic play, revisits the then incessant discourse about the role of the supernatural in influencing the natural. Essentially, the play reinforces the famed playwright penchant for showing the role of free will in shaping human destiny weighed against the influence of gods. In Macbeth, the three weird sisters symbolize the supernatural while the protagonist represents freewill. Critics and literal scholars have examined the role the three witches played in shaping Macbeth’s destiny. Principally, there is consensus that while the three sisters sowed the seed of greed in the protagonist’s mind, Macbeth was responsible for his own destiny as he gullibly believed in their prophecies. This paper will analyze the role of the three weird sisters and their influence on Macbeth and demonstrate that the witches not only corrupted the protagonist but also facilitated his ruinous intentions.
The reader is introduced to the witches as early as in the first scene where they meet to plan how to corrupt Macbeth through their prophecies. They succeed as during their first encounter with the protagonist they manage to plant seeds of greed of power by informing him that he is poised to become the king (Shakespeare 24). This prophecy turns Macbeth’s head as it makes him obsessed with power. From an honorable and brave man keen on protecting his people, he becomes a power-thirsty individual capable of doing anything to attain his objectives. First, he realized that killing king Duncan was the sure way of ascending to power. With the help of his wife he plotted the murder of the king with the view to inherit his throne. Having got the king out the way, he remembered the prophecy that Banquo’s descendant would become kings. To eliminate the possibility he killed his loyal friend.
Having tasted blood and power, Macbeth becomes even thirsty for more and the three sisters aid him on the way. He meets them for the second prophecy that made him an even greater monster. First, his ambitions for power multiplies as the prospect of reigning over even greater land became possible (Wray 350). Second, the witches gave him a false sense of invincibility and set him on an even higher ruinous path. Believing that the security charm would make it impossible for him to be killed, he sets out to attack Scotland where he faces his defeat and death in the hands of King Edward and him army.
Primarily, the three sisters influence Macbeth in two main ways. First they make him greedy for power and elevate his ambitions beyond what he had imagined. This greed converted Macbeth from a loyal man of honor to an ambitious despot that killed anyone who got into his ways (Wray 350). For instance he killed Banquo, a loyal friend who had been in the battle field with him. Second, the witches mak...