If the video doesn’t load please try refreshing the page. If the problem persists make sure you have the latest version of the Flash player or watch the videos on our RecAPP iPhone and iPod application.

Half the fun of Shakespeare’s Macbeth has got to be the witches. Half the fun, and at least a small percentage of the meaning. That’s because in Macbeth, the witches’ prophecies are a motif.

Video Transcription:

The witches in Macbeth aren’t just another fun Shakespearean plot device. Their prophecies are one of Macbeth’s major motifs.

Macbeth revolves around prophecy. Prophecy is what sets the play in motion and what predicts the character Macbeth’s gruesome end.

But here’s the most important point about prophecy. Ready? The prophecies in Macbeth may predict the outcome, but they never explain how to get there. In other words, the prophecies are like having the solution to an equation without knowing the equation.

This is important because of the way it makes the characters responsible for their actions. For example, of course Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are influenced by the prophecy in Act I that says Macbeth will one day become king. But they don’t have to do anything with that information. Still, Lady Macbeth does. Here’s her equation for the prophecy’s outcome: Macbeth + Murder = Duncan’s death and Macbeth’s coronation.

Prophecy is significant in Macbeth because of the way it ties in with the play’s theme of consequences. Are the prophecies merely suggestions, or are they self-fulfilling—do they literally impel the characters to carry them out? Either way, there’s a price to be paid when blood is shed as a result.