The Role of the Witches in Macbeth

It is dark and dreary, there is a storm rolling in. From a distance one can hear three strange voices plotting to meet someone of great courage and strength. This is the opening scene to the famous play, Macbeth written by Shakespeare. The readers, or audience in those times, first get introduced to three characters that will be essential throughout the whole story, the witches. The witches take on many roles and functions. They are there to foreshadow events that will occur at a later point in time, manipulate Macbeth, set a theme of disorder and a supernatural element, and keep the readers guessing till the very end.
As stated before, scene one opens with the witches talking of their plans to meet with Macbeth. Whenever the witches are present the weather is stormy and the landscape is unwelcoming. “When shall we three meet again In thunder, lightning, or in rain?”(1, 1, 1-2) In modern English times witches and demons seemed to be more active in stormy weather. T...