tural powers could have known that Macbeth would only be defeated when Birnam Wood moved to Dunsinane? The witches have other supernatural powers. They can cause storms, and they appear and disappear at will. But their powers are limited. Look at Act I, Scene iii. The First Witch has been insulted by a sailor's wife. When the witch asked the woman for a chestnut, the woman says, "Aroint thee, witch!" In other words, "Get lost!" The witch doesn't seem to be able to harm the woman directly. Instead, she sends a storm to disturb the sailor's ship. Even at that, her powers are limited: "...his bark cannot be lost...", the witch says. These hags lead Macbeth on to destroy himself. Their predictions are temptations. They never lie, they never tell Macbeth he has to do anything, they just give the trick answers. In that sense they are agents of the devil, out for his soul; they trick him into damning himself. But it is clear that the responsibility for the crimes is Macbeth's. Nothing the witches did forced him to commit them. He was wrong to hear their words as an invitation to murder the King. Still, you wonder if Macbeth would have murdered anybody if he had not met the witches. And you can argue that either way. MALCOLM Malcolm represents the rightful order that Macbeth disturbs. Duncan, who is a good and wise king, names his son the Prince of Cumberland and heir to the throne. Will Malcolm make a good king? Clearly, Shakespeare wants us to believe he will. Though Malcolm is young, he is already wise. He and his brother Donalbain are smart enough to get away from Macbeth's castle as soon as possible after their father's murder. After safely reaching England, Malcolm does not rashly try to reclaim the throne. Instead, he waits until the time is right. In his scene with Macduff, Malcolm displays cleverness and verbal skill. He manipulates Macduff, testing his loyalty, but he does it only for the good of his people and his country. In the fin...
