The Role of the Three Witches in Macbeth as Generators of Imagery and Equivocators

In the following critical essay, one aspect of William Shakespeare's Macbeth will be explored and be explained. This aspect is that of the three Weird Sisters. These three 'secret, black, and midnight hags' (Mac. IV.i 47), hardly distinguishable as humans, serve a huge dramatic function in the play. Closely looking at Macbeth, one can distinguish the many functions that they serve in the play. The role of the three Weird Sisters in the play Macbeth …

…Kermode 1309) This equivocal representation of the foreseen future is shown to Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 3, when he is first confronted by the witches:         Second Witch. 'All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!'         Third Witch. 'All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!'                                                                        [Mac. I.iii 49-50]         When the persecution of the Thane of Cawdor takes place, and the title is given to Macbeth, then the first part of the witches' proph