Textual Analysis

Shakespeare has several themes, moral lessons, and situations that are applicable to our modern day. In my opinion, this is what makes his work classic-- the ability to permeate time and place, creating something everyone can relate to.

The broad nature of my topic may lend itself to support through one of Shakespeare's plays or several to reinforce the ideas. To give myself a starting place I am looking at the play Macbeth.


Macbeth is one of my favorite plays because of the deep psychological situations that are presented. To connect to this play to my topic I look at the influence of the 'three weird sisters' or witches.

They are depicted in various ways, but typically surrounded by darkness and crazy. These three sisters are the catalysts for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in the play. He believes they are a credible source because they called him "Thane of Glamis," "Thane of Cowder," then told him he would be "King hereafter." (Macbeth, Act I, scene iii). He is currently Thane of Glamis, and shortly after the sisters leaves he gets endowed with the title Thane of Cowder.

Macbeth becomes greedy, driven by his wife to take his fate into his own hands. In Act III, scene iv, Macbeth commits to go back to the visit the weird sisters to discover his fate. He wants to 'cheat' and have the weird sisters tell him what will happen to him and his future reign.

Ultimately, the weird sisters prophecies come true because of Macbeth and his actions. Therefore, trying to take a shortcut and 'cheat' like Macbeth tried to cheat death and demise through the weird sisters' prophecies is as unsuccessful as students trying to get around original texts by using Sparknotes.