In the year of 1603, William Shakespeare created a play that was mainly written for the current king of that time period, King James I ("Macbeth- What"). Because of the king's interest in witchcraft, Shakespeare ensured that witchcraft was a main contributor within the play in order to satisfy and thoroughly entertain the king. Quite interestingly, the topic was not a very popular one of that time since witchcraft was seen to be a crime, and punishment could be fatal to those who participated or those who were thought to practice witchcraft ("Macbeth- What"). Even though such a topic was believed to be a major problem of the time, the play that was written by Shakespeare would not exist without the witches and their position that plays such a major role in the plot of the play, the prophecies that decided the ultimate fate of Macbeth, as well as what the witches symbolize.
             Throughout the play, the witches appear within only four of the twenty nine scenes, which emphasizes how strong the influence is that the witches have over the tone of this play even though they are only seen in such a short amount of time. When the witches make their very first appearance, three witches enter with the sounds of thunder and flashes of lightning. This provides the impression that the play is within a supernatural atmosphere (Safar). Moreover, it can later be seen that the thunder and lightning actually represent the wickedness and destruction that the witches cause ("Macbeth- What").
             When the witches meet Macbeth in act one scene three, they speak in a manner that has rhythm and is like a chant, which somewhat makes Macbeth believe that he is receiving good news, but in reality the news turns the opposite direction (Chou). Within this scene and their first meeting with Macbeth, the witches call Macbeth by a name that he is familiar with, the Thane of Glamis. However, another witch refers to him as the Thane ...