Three Witches who Foretold that he would Become King of Cavdor

The witches acted as agents of Satan because they manipulate Macbeth into killing the king so he can become king fast, they prophesies the future of how Macbeth was going to become king, but the witches’ temptation caused Macbeth to do all the bad things.

Some people think the witches act more as guides than as evil people because they told the future which throughout the play, start to come true. They told Macbeth that he “shalt be king hereafter!” (Shakespeare 1.3.50). People don’t think it matters about how Macbeth became King as long as the witches’ prophecy came true because he becomes King by the beginning of act 3. Some might think that the witches have full control over the events because they are agents of fate.

The prophecy of the witches seems to make everything turn bad and makes everyone start hating and turning their backs on each other. The witches told Macbeth that he “shalt be king hereafter”! (Shakespeare 1.3.50) The bad decisions Macbeth made were because he was trying too hard to fulfill the prophecy and become king. He probably wouldn't have made the bad decisions if the witches’ prophecy didn’t tempt him to do evil. The consequences that he suffers are the result of his actions. The witches also prophesied Banquo's future:

The prophecy said that Macbeth will become king, but they tell Banquo that he won’t be king himself but others down the line in his family will. Macbeth sees Banquo as a threat, so he hires people to kill him but Banquo’s son, Fleance, escape. Banquo lets us know that evil will sometimes tell the truth to provoke harmful consequences, meaning, the witches will tell things that are true or things that will come true to make a person or to trick a person into doing evil.

Macbeth falls prey to the power of the witches’ words by choosing to murder Duncan. But, Banquo shows the ability to spring back and recover quickly from the witches’ temptation. Banquo doubts the witch's promises but Macbeth appears eager to be named Thane of Cawdor. Banquo later tells him that he will support his claim of the crown if it was going to happen, but as long as he could “keep/ My bosom franchised, and allegiance clear,” (Shakespeare 2.1.28). After, discovering Duncan's murder Banquo says “In the great hand of God I stand” (Shakespeare 2.3.124). Because of his faith in God, Banquo never fails to resist any evil acts for his gain.

The witches act like a lot like agents of Satan because of the way they try to manipulate people and cause them to do bad things. The strength of the witches seems to be more powerful with Macbeth because he has grown away from God and has little faith in him. Banquo refers to the witches as “instruments of darkness” (Shakespeare 1.3.124). The witches lurk people in with weaknesses like Satan and tries to mess up their lives. “Against the churches; though the yesty waves/ Confound and swallow navigation up..” (Shakespeare 4.1.53-54).

Macbeth decided to let the witches control him by letting them tempt him into doing bad things and he let the prophecies tell him how he was going to live his life instead of doing it himself and dying as a result. Because the witches were agents of Satan, they manipulated Macbeth into killing the king and messing up his whole life. 

Cite this page