What role do the witches play in macbeth?
They prophesize that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and later, King. Immediately after he encounters them, he does indeed become Thane of Cawdor, which leads Macbeth to believe that he will soon also become King. The only way that he thinks this could happen is if he murders the present King, Duncan, and he assumes that this is what the witches were implying he should do. However, they never said anything about killing anyone- it was Macbeth who thought of this himself. When he meets them a second time, they prophesize his downfall with the 3 apparitions. Macbeth believes that he is safe, as he thinks that the 3 apparitions could never occur as they are all impossible. Yet he is very wrong…
