Tuesday, March 4, 2014

The Witches and Their Meaning

It is interesting to see the different ways the witches predictions twist the mind of MacBeth.  In the first case, they light the prospect of power and MacBeth takes this as a sign that he is to kill the king. The next prophecies are warnings, "Beware of Banquo."  MacBeth again takes this to mean he must kill.  Finally, the witches predict Fleance to become the next king.  Instead of heading the words of the witches and taking them as truths, as he had done before, MacBeth seeks out to stop the prophecy and kill Fleance.  This contradiction shows how the witches have no true power over him, but simply influence his thoughts.  The witches put forth an idea, but it is MacBeth who chooses how this idea will influence the world around.  To me, this symbolizes how we perceive things in life.  We may see signs in life and choose to perceive them as a positive influence or a negative influence.  Likewise, we are provided opportunities, but it is our choice in what we choose to make of them.

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