Witches act scene banquo describes film starring macbeth

Text	How have the Witches been interpreted in Act 1 Scene 3? It is Banquo who first describes the Witches. His words in Act 1, Scene 3 depict the Witches as stereotypical hags – ‘withered’ and ‘wild’, unearthly beings (‘That look not like th' inhabitants o' th' Earth’) with ‘skinny lips’, chapped (‘choppy’) fingers and beards (1.3.40–46). However, directors and designers have shown that the Witches don’t have to be portrayed like this. In Rupert Goold’s 2010 film version of the play, starring Patrick Stewart as Macbeth, the Witches appear first as nurses in a nightmarish hospital, ripping out the heart of the wounded soldier. They later appear in the film in a number of other roles, including Lady Macbeth’s attendants and serving-women at the banquet. In Justin Kurzel’s 2015 production, starring Michael Fassbender as Macbeth, the witches are more conventional, looming through the mist at the edge of the battlefield and encircling Macbeth before greeting him in whispered voices. They are not physically grotesque, however, in the way that Banquo describes them. Interestingly, Kurzel gives us four witches: one is a child and two are young adults, while the eldest holds a baby. Other versions have drawn on the play’s historical context: the actors who played the Witches in the Globe Theatre’s 2010 production developed backstories for their characters that explained why they were isolated from society, leading to the vindictive behaviour they display in Act 1, Scene 3.

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How have the Witches been interpreted in Act 1 Scene 3?

It is Banquo who first describes the Witches. His words in Act 1, Scene 3 depict the Witches as stereotypical hags – ‘withered’ and ‘wild’, unearthly beings (‘That look not like th' inhabitants o' th' Earth’) with ‘skinny lips’, chapped (‘choppy’) fingers and beards (1.3.40–46). However, directors and designers have shown that the Witches don’t have to be portrayed like this.

In Rupert Goold’s 2010 film version of the play, starring Patrick Stewart as Macbeth, the Witches appear first as nurses in a nightmarish hospital, ripping out the heart of the wounded soldier. They later appear in the film in a number of other roles, including Lady Macbeth’s attendants and serving-women at the banquet.

In Justin Kurzel’s 2015 production, starring Michael Fassbender as Macbeth, the witches are more conventional, looming through the mist at the edge of the battlefield and encircling Macbeth before greeting him in whispered voices. They are not physically grotesque, however, in the way that Banquo describes them. Interestingly, Kurzel gives us four witches: one is a child and two are young adults, while the eldest holds a baby.

Other versions have drawn on the play’s historical context: the actors who played the Witches in the Globe Theatre’s 2010 production developed backstories for their characters that explained why they were isolated from society, leading to the vindictive behaviour they display in Act 1, Scene 3.

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