Tag Archives: predestination

“Macbeth” is a very intriguing play that brings tension between predestination and free will, appearance and reality. The action starts with a storm what introduces dark, ominous atmosphere that will continue through the play. The first characters we meet are three witches – “the weird sisters.” Shakespeare uses these figures to open the play and lead us into this complicated, mysterious world.

The witches, as was observed in the class, replace the chorus, but instead of clarifying things for the audience, they add to the overall confusion and mystery in the play. The witches represent supernatural forces, they come and go and at times we are not sure if they are even real. They speak in riddles and rhymes. As they exit the scene the witches chant: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (1.1. 12). It is a paradox, one word contradicts another. These words reflect the perversion of values throughout the play. Things are not always
clear and easy, not always black and white, but sometimes complex and not immediately
visible. It is very interesting to note that the first words that Macbeth speaks in the play are: “So foul and fair a day I have not seen” (1.3. 37). We can interpret his words literally; he calls the day foul because of the bad weather and it is also fair for him because he won the battle. However, these simple words carry a lot of deeper meaning and reinforce the message that things are not always the way they seem. The fact that Macbeth and the witches use the same words suggests that they have some sort of spiritual connection. The witches awake Macbeth’s ambition and create the suspense in the play. Their prophecy leads to a series of tragic events and to Macbeth’s demise. Or maybe it isn’t what it seems and the witches are projections of Macbeth’s imagination; they are personification of
his inner thoughts and desires.