ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -They foreshadow events. Explanation: The three witches in the play Macbeth are considered the embodiment of various abstract elements, such as evil, fate and temptation. Their most important role is to foreshadow the events that will occur in the play.

Detailed explanation-2: -The witches gather on the moor and cast a spell as Macbeth and Banquo arrive. The witches hail Macbeth first by his title Thane of Glamis, then as Thane of Cawdor and finally as king. They then prophesy that Banquo’s children will become kings. Macbeth demands to know more but the witches vanish.

Detailed explanation-3: -The witches’ prophecies to Banquo and Macbeth When they first encounter Banquo and Macbeth, the witches predict that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland, and that Banquo will become the ancestor to a line of kings without actually ruling himself.

Detailed explanation-4: -The witches represent the supernatural in the play and it could be suggested that they control some of the events in the play. Another technique employed by Shakespeare is the reservation of rhyme for supernatural/evil characters “Fair is foul and foul is fair, hover through fog and filthy air” (I.i line 11).

Detailed explanation-5: -The Witches are important figures in the play, as their function is both to predict Macbeth’s fate and to signal what is to come. The Witches help focus on important parts of the play where darkness and sinister aspects play a role more than they usual would throughout the play.