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The Witches, The oxymoronic language used by Shakespeare reflects…
The Witches
Key quotes
"Imperfect speakers"
- Despite being called imperfect, Macbeth license anyway, showing his separate ambition
- They also speak in riddles that are clearly meant to be misunderstood, but again Macbeth ignores this fact and hangs on their every word, highlighting his relentless ambition
"Lost and won", "Lesser than Macbeth and greater"
- Establishes witches as a source of chaos and disorder as their prophecies have messages of flipping the natural order of things and things that should be impossible come to fruition, like the forest moving toward Macbeth
"Valour of my tongue"
- Use of their language to tempt and control links to satanic imagery and the snake in the Garden of Eden
- This link further establishes them as untrustworthy as they use temptation like the Devil
"Fair and foul"
- The oxymoronic language used by Shakespeare reflects Macbeth’s confusion in the audience, who would be similarly be confused by the actual meaning of the prophecies, as they too cannot understand the oxymorons.
"Look not like the inhabitants of the Earth, and yet are on it"
- Contrast again creates confusion about the nature of the Witches and the supernatural in general, hinting at their chaotic behaviour
- Links to Banquo’s later comment: “you should be women, / And yet your beards forbid me to interpret / That you are so.” - The Witches clearly work beyond the natural laws of physics and biology.
Characters in context
- The witches were made by Shakespeare to appeal to the views of James I and promote his views on witches. James I believed witches were agents of the devil who were hellbent on causing chaos on behalf of Satan. This idea is reflected strongly throughout the play as the witches trick Macbeth into carrying out unholy acts like regicide
- James had previously written books on witches like Daemonologie and prosecuted at witch trials in Scotland
- the Witches satanic elements may also have been used to champion being a good christian and avoiding temptation
Symbolism
The supernatural: The inclusion of magical beings is significant as the contemporary 17th century audience believed in and feared witches. The monarch in the early 1600s was James I, who wrote on witches and how much of a threat they were. These witches would have been seen as very real threat to the audience of the time as they believed creatures like these actually existed
The oxymoronic language used by Shakespeare reflects Macbeth’s confusion in the audience, who would be similarly ambivalent towards the actual meaning of the prophecies, as they too cannot understand the oxymorons.