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Within this mystery of Shakespearean literature there is an enigma, wrapped within this enigma there is a riddle, and encased in the riddle there is a puzzle. This is Shakespeare's Macbeth. To those who deeply analyze this tragedy three major questions remain. Are the three witches (Wyrd sisters) really witches? Did Lady Macbeth really faint or was it all an act? And who was the Mysterious 3 rd murderer?
The Three Witches also referred to, as the Wyrd Sisters are the 1 st characters introduced in the play. They are the only characters that speak in rhyme during the play. It is a widely accepted theory that he witches are indeed real witches serving under Hecate the Greek one of the major deities concerning all types of enchantment, sorcery and witchcraft. The witches bear a striking and obviously intentional resemblance to the Fates, female characters in both Norse and Greek mythology that weave the fabric of human lives and then cut the threads to end them. The 3 witches predictions are uncannily accurate during the play. There is no way that it is just luck that all these predictions came true, it is because the 3 women are truly witches.
It seems that the way Shakespeare wrote these women, they have the ability to disappear into thin air, and it seems they have some control over the weather. No mortal can just disappear at will, or control the weather. These are obviously powers of witches. Lady Macbeth is easily one of the most ruthless, ambitious, frightening, determined characters in all of Shakespeare's works.
The first time we see her in the play she is already plotting the murder of the King so that Macbeth may kill him and become King. She goes so far as wishing she were a man just so that she could kill Duncan with her famous un-sex me now speech in the opening of act Act I, scene v. Macbeth says that she has a masculine personality trapped in a womans body. Not only is she power-hungry and ambitious she is also very manipulative. She forced her husband into murdering the king simply by questioning his manhood. If to describe this woman in one word it is Strong.
These characteristics do not seem to be that of a frail wife who faints at the sign of blood or death. It is quite obvious that Lady Macbeth fainted just to take away attention from the fact that Macbeth had killed Duncan and the grooms. Such a strong woman who was capable of committing the murder herself would not faint, unless it is part of a much greater plan. It is quite obvious that Macbeth is the 3 rd mystery murderer because at the time he was so paranoid and anxious to make sure that Banquo was killed that despite the fact he had hired two murderers he had to go see the job done himself. Also Macbeth doubted that the common folk mercenaries would have been able to kill Banquo who was a skilled general (an equal to Macbeth).
One of Banquo's final words was O Slave, why did he choose these words? It is because he spotted Macbeth and called him a slave to his ambitions and to the Three Witches prediction. Also when Lady Macbeth goes to the door she tells Macbeth she has 2 or 3 people who want to speak to him. How can there be 2 or 3 people?
There is no such thing as half a person, there can only be one whole person. This clearly means that the 3 rd murdered is not a hired mercenary. To the untrained mind it may seem that Shakespeare left out a few parts of this masterpiece, but to the educated mind Shakespeare requires us to dig a little deeper into our minds to complete this puzzle of literature. Shakespeare, William, The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.
London: Oxford University Press: 1914 Zimmerman, J. E, Dictionary of Classical Myth Harper & Row Publishers, New York: 1964 P. 118 Comprised Authors. Bullfinches Mythology, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York: 1965 p. 131, 134 - 145, 911
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Research essay sample on Lady Macbeth Three Witches
