Although a large part of Greenblatt’s argument has merit, he exaggerates the extent of witchcraft and the role that it plays in the play. One of the main points of his argument was that Shakespeare incorporated witchcraft into the play through a “nebulous infection”, or a bleeding of the secular into the demonic and vice versa. However, the power of the witches was not as pervasive as he describes. In other words, the witches’ power is very limited, which is reflected in their powers. Greenblatt himself contends that the “witches in Macbeth... account for northing” (Greenblatt 123). This statement contradicts his previous claim that witchcraft in the story is a “nebulous infection”; if the witches were truly like an infection, then they would
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He claims that Shakespeare implicates the witches “in a monstrous threat to the fabric of civilized life” (Greenblatt 127). Again, there is another contradiction in Greenblatt’s argument: if the witches are unaccounted for, and if their power is limited, then they cannot be a valid threat. In this play, the witches could only change the weather and cause some apparitions to appear in front of Macbeth during Act 4 Scene 1. Their powers were very subtle, and they did not cause any direct change in the course of events of the play. Furthermore, the influence of the witches is so weak that we cannot pinpoint the exact effects of their actions. For example, we do not know whether Macbeth’s demise was a product of the witches’ doings or fate. This remains ambiguous in the play. Although the witches did give Macbeth a prophecy during Act 1 Scene 3 and show him apparitions of his fate during Act 4 Scene 1, it is unclear if Macbeth died because of the witches’ power or because it was meant to happen. Towards the end of the play, Macduff mobilizes his own army to take down Macbeth, but Macduff was never aware of the witches and what they had shown to Macbeth. Therefore, he was never under the influence of supernatural powers and so we cannot say that the witches directly caused Macbeth’s own death. Regardless, Macbeth’s spiral out of control was intertwined with the witches’ influence, so it is still difficult to say if they directly caused his death. Because their influence is ambiguous, they do not appear to be a “monstrous threat”. A more effective way of portraying the witches as a menace would be to make them a larger part of the play. The witches only appeared in a few of the scenes, and when they did, we could not easily account for the effects of their actions. This also contradicts Greenblatt’s claim that Shakespeare intended to “present witchcraft as a visible, credible practice” because witchcraft itself
He claims that Shakespeare implicates the witches “in a monstrous threat to the fabric of civilized life” (Greenblatt 127). Again, there is another contradiction in Greenblatt’s argument: if the witches are unaccounted for, and if their power is limited, then they cannot be a valid threat. In this play, the witches could only change the weather and cause some apparitions to appear in front of Macbeth during Act 4 Scene 1. Their powers were very subtle, and they did not cause any direct change in the course of events of the play. Furthermore, the influence of the witches is so weak that we cannot pinpoint the exact effects of their actions. For example, we do not know whether Macbeth’s demise was a product of the witches’ doings or fate. This remains ambiguous in the play. Although the witches did give Macbeth a prophecy during Act 1 Scene 3 and show him apparitions of his fate during Act 4 Scene 1, it is unclear if Macbeth died because of the witches’ power or because it was meant to happen. Towards the end of the play, Macduff mobilizes his own army to take down Macbeth, but Macduff was never aware of the witches and what they had shown to Macbeth. Therefore, he was never under the influence of supernatural powers and so we cannot say that the witches directly caused Macbeth’s own death. Regardless, Macbeth’s spiral out of control was intertwined with the witches’ influence, so it is still difficult to say if they directly caused his death. Because their influence is ambiguous, they do not appear to be a “monstrous threat”. A more effective way of portraying the witches as a menace would be to make them a larger part of the play. The witches only appeared in a few of the scenes, and when they did, we could not easily account for the effects of their actions. This also contradicts Greenblatt’s claim that Shakespeare intended to “present witchcraft as a visible, credible practice” because witchcraft itself