What Does Hecate Want The Witches To Do

What is the role of Hecate in Macbeth?

Hecate is the Goddess of the three witches. She directs supernatural happenings and appearances of mystical spirits. Eventually, it is known that Hecate is the one directing the three witches to bring Macbeth to his downfall.

What does Hecate want the witches to do?

Hecate wants the witches to involve her more in the ruining of Macbeth. Being the Goddess of the three witches, Hecate wishes to be responsible for their actions and asks that she is aware of what the other witches have done and will do, in order to ruin Macbeth.

Why does Hecate scold the three witches?

Hecate scolds the three witches as they had played tricks on Macbeth without her being aware, let alone involved. Hecate wants to be involved in the ruining of Macbeth thus being frustrated that the witches did not involve her. Being the Goddess of the witches meant that she holds a higher authority and this was disobeyed as the three witches did not follow commands.

Why doesn't Hecate appear in the play until Act III?

Hecate does not appear in the play until Act III as up until this scene her presence was represented by the three witches. Hecate is the Goddess of the witches and she was working behind closed doors until Act III Scene V. The only reason as to why Hecate is seen in Act III is because she is furious with the three witches as they were making and carrying out plans regarding Macbeth without consulting her first.

Why would Hecate want to bring Macbeth to his downfall?

Hecate wishes to bring Macbeth to his demise as it is pleasing and brings satisfaction knowing that she has ruined someone. She is the Goddess of the witches and therefore wants to make as many people miserable as possible. Hecate even criticizes the three witches for allowing Macbeth to hold information that would make him happy.

Why is Hecate not pleased with the witches torturing Macbeth?

It is not that Hecate is not pleased with the witches torturing Macbeth but she is dissatisfied that she was not involved in the torturing herself. Hecate wishes to be involved and witness the pain that Macbeth is put through both physically and mentally.

Is Hecate empowered by greed?

Hecate is empowered by greed as she cannot not help but continue to plan Macbeth's downfall which in itself is greedy. She does not want the witches to have full responsibility for ruining Macbeth but instead herself. By wanting to ruin a human being through torture, Hecate is considered greedy and evil.

What does Hecate predict for Macbeth in Scene V of Act III?

Hecate predicts that Macbeth will spurn fate, scorn death and bare his hopes above wisdom, grace and fear. Ultimately his overconfidence will bring him down.

Hecate casted a spell on a droplet from the moon. What was the consequence of this spell being cast?

The consequence of this spell being cast did not affect Hecate so to speak but in fact Macbeth. The purpose of Hecate working the droplet with magical spells was to produce magical spirits. These spirits would then be used to trick Macbeth with illusions; consequently he would be fooled into thinking that he is greater than fate, he would mock death and think that he was above wisdom, grace and fear.

Why does Hecate want the witches to meet Macbeth?

Hecate wants the witches to meet Macbeth as she is planning for them to cast the spell on Macbeth that she has prepared. This spell would give Macbeth illusions and make him feel invincible thus being over-confident and leading to his downfall.

In Macbeth it is evident that the witches speak in rhyming couplets. Why do you think that the witches do this as opposed to speaking in iambic pentameter along with the other characters?

Shakespeare has chosen for the witches to speak in rhyming couplets to distinguish that they are different from the rest of the characters and to highlight that they are unnatural. In Macbeth the characters that speak in rhyming couplets tend to be different from the rest of the characters.

Shakespeare has used descriptive language in order to describe the appearance of the witches. What adjectives are used to describe the appearance of the witches and what is the language technique called?

The adjectives used by Shakespeare to describe the witches include beldams, saucy and overbold. Shakespeare has used imagery to depict the appearance of the witches.

In the first line of Act III Scene V Hecate asks a rhetorical question. Can you find another example of a rhetorical question in this scene and what is the meaning of it?

Another example of a rhetorical question in this scene is, "Was never called to bear my part, or show the glory of our art?"—Act III Scene V [Hecate]. The purpose of this rhetorical device is to impend that Hecate is furious with the witches for not including her in any of their plans to torture Macbeth. Also it explains that Hecate was not called upon hence not being able to show off her magical skills.

What does the following line mean and who does it apply to? "...the close contriver of all harms..."—Act III Scene V [Hecate].

This line is aimed at Hecate as she is the leader of the witches. This line suggests that Hecate is secretly the cause of all harm, hence making the audience aware of her powers and abilities.

Hecate's monologue foreshadows the fate of Macbeth, which means that it predicts his future. What does Hecate predict that will happen to Macbeth's attitude towards life?

Hecate predicts that Macbeth will reject fate, mock death and as a result of over confidence think that he is above all. Hecate believes that by building Macbeth's ambitions, with the help of the witches she can take him down.

In Scene V of Act III, Shakespeare readily uses rhyme at the end of each line. Find an instance when Shakespeare has used a rhyming couplet at the end of two lines and explain what effect it has.

An example of rhyming couplets in Scene V of Act III is lines three and four. At the end of the both lines Shakespeare has rhymed Macbeth with death. By rhyming Macbeth with death it suggests that something unfortunate could be leading up to his death. In these two lines Hecate refers to the witches as having played riddles with Macbeth; this suggests that Macbeth may be coming up to his demise. The use of rhyming couplets creates a clue to the character or situation.

Rhyming couplets appear at the end of almost of every line in Act III Scene V. Why do you think Shakespeare has taken an occasional pause from rhyme?

Shakespeare uses a pause in order for the audience to be able to reflect upon from what information was just given. It is used to suggest what could possibly come next and to distinguish a special character being Hecate [being one of the witches].

The main themes of this scene are fate, nature and the unnatural. What other underlying themes exist in Hecate's monologue and why?

Other underlying themes include greed and ambition. Hecate whilst portrayed as being evil still has an extravagant amount of greed that consumes her. This greed empowers her to ruin people in order to gain more power but also defines her ambitions to being suited that of an evil nature hence Hecate being a witch.

Act III Scene V is a monologue. Can you find any evidence that suggests that this scene is a one person dialogue and whether it is spoken in first, second or third person?

Evidence that suggests that this scene is a one person dialogue is the use of personal pronouns such as me and I. This dialogue is predominantly spoken in first person as Hecate is expressing her feelings hence being a personal opinion being spoken at characters rather than spoken to.