What is the Role of the 3 Witches in Macbeth?
The witches are used for foreshadowing and also to instigate the tragedy of MacBeth itself. They tell MacBeth that he will become the King, putting the idea into his (and Lady MacBeth’s) head. They also tell him that once he becomes King, he’ll only be killed by a man who’s not born of a woman (MacDuff), and that he’ll lose when the forest stands up and walks. Of course, MacBeth doesn’t believe that these things are possible, so he interprets them to be telling him that he will not lose the throne as a result of his treachery, and he should therefore kill the King. However, since the witches were speaking in metaphor, and since we know MacBeth will ultimately be a tragedy, the witches predictions foreshadow the rise of MacDuff, and MacBeth’s own death.
