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„The Weird Sisters and Hecate – The Puppet Masters in Macbeth”

One of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays is “Macbeth”. It is a tragedy woven

through with magical elements, figures from the supernatural, witches, magic and prophecies.
For me, it gave a good reason to write my essay about this drama, as I have always been
fascinated by witches and mythological creatures, ever since I was a little girl, and I just could
not miss an opportunity to write about them.

The witches are very important characters in the story, as they make a prophecy about
Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawdor and later, King of Scotland. They also say that Banquo
will have descendants become Scottish Kings, but he, himself will never be king. Macbeth
and Banquo are sceptical about these predictions, but soon, Macbeth indeed becomes Thane
of Cawdor. He becomes hopeful, that the witches after all might have been right, and he will
be King of Scotland as well, and so this prophecy affects the whole story. Macbeth commits
murder because of it, in order to become king, and does anything to fulfill the prophecy,
which in the end, becomes his downfall. Hecate is also a crucial character, since she is like
“The Mother of Evil”, she controls the witches, and also plans evil things against Macbeth.
Although, she does not appear much in the play, she pulls the strings from the background,
and even Macbeth and Banquo acknowledge her as the master of the witches.

Witchcraft celebrates

Pale Hecate’s off’rings, and withered murder,

Alarumed by his sentinel, the wolf (Line 615-617)

The play starts with the three witches talking to each other about when and where they
should meet next. There is thunder and lighting, which adds a more dramatic effect to the
supernatural and wicked nature of witches, and is associated with them throughout the play.
They discuss they will meet when the battle is over, and they will also meet Macbeth there
(Act 1, Scene 1). It is only a quick conversation between them, and as quickly as they
appeared, they disappear. The part where the second witch says they should meet when the
“battle’s lost and won” (Line 4), indicates, that they already know something that the
audience does not, which further adds to their supernatural, magic aesthetics.
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When the hurly-burly’s done,

When the battle’s lost and won. (Line 3-4)

As they had previously discussed, they appear when the battle is over and meet
Macbeth and Banquo (Act 1, Scene 3). While they are waiting for Macbeth and Banquo to
arrive, they talk about what they had been doing before they met, and make plans on how to
trick a sailor. One of them was killing pigs, while the other was tricking a sailor’s wife, they
had been up to no good, they are evil and wicked. After they hear a drum, they start dancing
in a circle and chant to create a charm, which they will trick Macbeth with. It is almost like a
nursery rhyme that little children would sing, however, in this case, the charm works, and they
will be able to mischief Macbeth and Banquo with it. They seem a little bit mad, dancing
around, chanting a nursery rhyme, it makes the audience feel as if something wicked and
unforeseen is about to happen.

The Weïrd Sisters, hand in hand,

Posters of the sea and land,

Thus do go about, about,

Thrice to thine and thrice to mine

And thrice again, to make up nine.

Peace, the charm’s wound up. (Line 33).

When Macbeth and Banquo arrive, The Sisters tell them the prophecy about Macbeth
becoming first Thane of Cawdor, then King of Scotland, and Banquo having children become
King of Scotland, but he, himself will never be king. Macbeth and Banquo are quite sceptical,
they do not know if they can believe these weird creatures, they are not even sure they are
alive or dead, however the prophecy eventually becomes true. They start believing in it, when
Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor, and from then on, Macbeth becomes obsessed with
fulfilling this revelation.
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What are these,

So withered, and so wild in their attire,

That look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ Earth

And yet are on ’t?—Live you? Or are you aught

That man may question? You seem to understand

me (Line 131-136)

We do not know their true identity, they are only referred to as “The Three Witches”
or “The Weird Sisters”. What we do know, is that they are servants of Hecate, who is a Greek
goddess, associated with witchcraft, magic and evil. She is also accompanied by the sound of
thunder (Bernes, pp. 86-87), which we hear ever time the witches appear. She first appears in
Act 3, Scene 5, where she meets the Weird Sisters. She is angry with them for not involving
her in their mischief:

Saucy and overbold, how did you dare

To trade and traffic with Macbeth

In riddles and affairs of death,

And I, the mistress of your charms,

The close contriver of all harms,

Was never called to bear my part

Or show the glory of our art? (Line 1389-1395)

She tells the witches to meet her in the morning by the river in hell, while she would work out
something horrible for Macbeth, and they could discuss what they should do to him. They
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decide to make him believe he is greater than Fate, death or wisdom, he will be overconfident
and that will be his downfall. Hecate is determined to be involved in these wicked plans, after
all, she is the master of the witches.

The Weird Sisters next appear in Act 4, Scene 1, where they are chanting and adding
bizarre ingredients to their strange stew, such as a tooth from a wolf or a finger of a baby and
they create a potion that will cause trouble.

Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,

Witch’s mummy, maw and gulf

Of the ravined salt-sea shark,

Root of hemlock digged i’ th’ dark,

Liver of blaspheming Jew,

Gall of goat and slips of yew

Slivered in the moon’s eclipse,

Nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips,

Finger of birth-strangled babe

Ditch-delivered by a drab,

Make the gruel thick and slab.

Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron

For th’ ingredience of our cauldron. (Line 1500-1512)

Once again, they are chanting a rhyme, similar to a nursery rhyme. While they are chanting,
Hecate appears and praises them for their efforts, and says they will get their rewards. Then
enters Macbeth.
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MACBETH How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags?

What is ’t you do?

ALL A deed without a name. (Line 1526-1528)

He calls them “midnight hags” (Line 1526), which again adds an air of mystery to the Sisters,
and their true identity is still not revealed. Macbeth demands answers about the prophecy, he
wants to know more about it. The witches then summon their dark powers, and first, an
Armed Head appears, that warns him about Macduff, who kills him at the end of the drama.
Another apparition appears, a Bloody Child, which tells him to be bold and fearless, because
no man born from a woman could harm him. This prediction is also true, as Macduff was not
born in a usual way, but he had to be cut out of his mother, which today we could call a C-
Section. The third apparition emerges: a child crowned, with a tree in his hand. The child tells
Macbeth that he will not be defeated until Birnam Wood marches to fight him at Dunsinane
Hill (Act 4, Scene 1). The Three Witches make Macbeth see the ghost of Banquo. Macbeth
demands to know the full meaning of the vision, but the witches refuse, and just play music
and dance a mad dance around him, and vanish without an explanation. They again, show
Macbeth riddles, fragments of the prophecy, but they do not reveal it’s true meaning.

This vision drives Macbeth further into wanting to gain and consolidate power as a
king. Since the crowned child told him, he could not be killed, he gets more and more
overconfident, thinking he will not die, but of course he gets killed in battle. He had killed his
friend Banquo, because he was afraid that Banquo’s children would claim the throne from
him, he has Macduff’s family executed, which is why he finally gets killed by Macduff. If it
were not for the trickery and deception of the witches, Macbeth would not have been so
overconfident, he would not be so sure about himself, and of becoming king. He would not
have killed his friend of fear of losing his throne, and maybe, he would not have died in the
end. Hecate and her minions made him commit murder and do horrible things, they controlled
the list of events in the drama.

Undoubtedly, the puppet masters of the story are The Weird Sisters and Hecate. If the
witches hadn’t made their prophecy to Macbeth and Banquo, Macbeth would not have been
so sure about becoming king, and maybe he would not have been killed in the end, as
according to the prophecy, he could not be killed by anyone who was born from a woman.
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However, he became Thane of Cawdor, King of Scotland and was killed in the end.
Therefore, the prophecy was fulfilled, the charms of Hecate and the witches worked, Macbeth
and Banquo both died. What is worse, the witches made Macbeth kill his friend, and anyone
who was in his way, so that he could become king, therefore, they made him do horrible
things for power and to fulfill the prophecy. It was a sort of evil game to them, a way to trick
Macbeth and make him do whatever they wanted and to turn him against everyone.
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Works cited:

Primary source:

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth, edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul
Werstine, Folger Shakespeare Library, p. 97.

Secondary sources:

Bernes, E. M. The Myths & Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome. 2009. p. 295.