Supernatural Powers In Macbeth

William Shakespeare is one of the most famous writers in all of history, and his play Macbeth is one of his most famous plays. The reason why Macbeth is so famous is because it entertains so many who read it. Shakespeare uses the three witches to create excitement and a thrilling aspect to his play. Shakespeare’s 1606 audience was both fascinated and terrified of the witches and their evil powers. The source of the witches’ powers, the limitations of the powers, and the actual powers, reveal themselves throughout Act I and Act II of Macbeth. From the content in Act I and II, it can be deduced that the witches’ supernatural powers are satantic. The witches connect with Satan through their familiar, which is a toad and a frog, and they gain more power through their victims who grant it to them. The witches use their power for evil and mischief which leads to the confirmation that they get their power from the devil. Further proof for their satanic powers is their killing …show more content…
At the heath when the First Witch is speaking of drying out the sailor at sea, she talks of shape shifting into a rat, but her powers limit her to transform into, “a rat without a tail” (1.3.9). Along with their imperfections of shapeshifting, the witches cannot take away the free will of others. For example, she cannot kill the sailor, however, she can control the winds to keep his ship at sea until he dies of thirst. The sailor can only die when he allows himself to die. Another example of the witches unable to confiscate the free will of others is Macbeth’s choice to kill Duncan, the king of Scotland. The witches reveal to Macbeth that he will become king, however they do not tell Macbeth when and how Duncan will die. Macbeth takes matters into his own hands, and without the control of the witches, he kills Duncan himself. Despite the witches’ terrifying powers, they have limits to what they can and cannot