Macbeth

Macbeth goes crazy after seeing Banquo's ghost and cries;.
             "Avaunt and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee!.
             Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold;.
             Thou hast no speculation in those eyes.
             Which thou dost glare with.".
             Witches were thought to have allowed the Devil to suck their blood in exchange for an evil servant or a "familiar" such as: a bird, beast or reptile. This is displayed in the first scene, where the witches mention their "beasts";.
             "I come, Graymalkin.
             "Paddock calls.".
             It was supposed that witches could predict the future and this is again reflected in the play. The witches are meeting with Macbeth for the first time and are telling him what has and will happen to him. The third witch states;.
             "All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter." .
             Another peculiar power witches were thought to possess was the ability to fly. This belief is brought into the play in the very first scene when the witches stand together and all say;.
             "Hover through the filthy air.".
             .
             Witches were understood to be able to kill any animal they wanted. They were often accused of harming livestock such as pigs. In act 1 scene 3, the second witch has been out and the other two witches are questioning her about what she has done. She answers, "Killing swine.".
             The witches belong to a Sisterhood and speak in rhythm and rhyme throughout the play. This is there to show how close and similar the witches are as well as to make them seem more mysterious. This would have frightened and alarmed an Elizabethan audience. An example of this in act 1 scene 3 when the witches mysteriously chant;.
             "The weird sisters hand in hand,.
             Posters of the sea and land,.
             Thus do go, about, about,.
             Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine,.
             And thrice again to make up nine.".
             Shakespeare may also have included witches to please King James I. When returning from Denmark after his marriage, King James first came in contact with witchcraft.