Supernatural in Shakespeares Macbeth - The Three Witches :: Macbeth essays

Macbeth The Three Witches          William Shakespeare has been by far the worlds most popularplaywright for more than 350 years.  His ingenious ability as a playwrighthas captivated sense of hearings and will captivate audiences for years to come.William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in 1564.  Thespecific date of his birth is not known but is noteworthy on the feast ofSt. George, April 23. Little is known about his boyhood, but throughexamination it is thought that he collected a lot of his information frombooks and from workaday observation of the world around him.         During his life Shakespeare wrote many brilliant tragedies. He diedon April 23, 1616, at the age of 52.  One of these brilliant tragedies wasMacbeth. It is thought to have been compose between 1603 and 1606.  Macbethis considered the shortest of Shakespeares tragedies, but not lesspowerful in its depic tion of evil, greed, jealousy, and the madness theseemotions bring to a person. (Shakespeare, pg. v)         In any work of literature or drama there is usually foreshadowing.Foreshadow burn down be defined to be, a sign of something to come indicate orsuggest beforehand signal presage. (Comptons InteractiveEncyclopedia) Playwrights use this technique to give the audience a senseof what is to come or what exactly is going to happen to a character.Foreshadowing can be easily detected or it cannot be noticed at all untilthe end of the play or story. In Shakespeares Macbeth, Shakespeare usesthe prophecies of the witches and thoughts of Macbeth himself to foreshadowwithin the play. And Macbeth himself detects them approximately as does theaudience.         In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the three witches as main sourcesforeshadowing.  In the play they are conveyed as prophecies.  The audienceexperiences a little of these prophecies almost immediately in the openingscene and act of the play.  When they talk about meeting Macbeth they saythey will greet him, when the battles lost and won. (Shakespeare, pg.1)And then they yell together, fair is foul, and foul is fair.(Shakespeare,pg.1) These ii examples foreshadow that some sort of evil will be comingand that there will also be a victory of sorts, but the audience doesntknow specifically what yet.  These also suggest a great battle is to befought against good and evil and the events that follow will unfold at arapid pace. This foreshadowing can be detected by the audience because theycan feel the emotion of doom and evil rising.         The actual prophecies given by the witches occur in the third scene