Character Analysis

 THE THREE WITCHES - In the beginning of the play, The descriptions of weather 'in thunder
lighting or in rain' establish the setting - they reflect the mood and atmosphere Shakespeare
intended the witches to be assosciated with - darkness, extreme conditions and torrential
rainfall all connote misery and foreboading, and help to build fear for the audience, the witches
presence triggering feelings of unease and discomfort. 
 'fair is foul and foul is fair'
The witches talk in rhymes, they are strange and supernatural and their language reflects that. It
builds fear in a contemporary audience who are extremely afraid of the supernatural at the time
and would often accuse women of being witches.
It sets up the theme of reality in the play, and by doing this, makes the witches appear
omniscient right from the get go. This idea of them being all knowing is further backed up by the
predictions that they make 'Macbeth shalt to be kind hereafter'. 
Due to their predictions, you could also say they are the driving force for Macbeth's actions
throughout the play. Of course, his ambition is an important factor in driving him to commit
regicide, but without the witches planting the ideas in his head about him becoming King, he
may never have worked so hard and gone to such evil lengths to achieve this goal. Equally, they
could've had complete control over him from the beginning and essentially made him commit
those crimes through some supernatural power (the dagger scene could be interpreted as
supernatural forces luring macbeth to duncan's bed)
 Another thing to think about with the Witches is other character's reactions to them.
Shakespeare uses the Witches for characterisation of Macbeth as well as for Banquo, giving
subtle hints towards the direction of the play. In the scene where they are given the prophecies,
Banquo's reaction seems the more rational and realistic of the two, with him being so shocked
and saying 'What can the devil speak true?' He uses reference to religion and assosciates the
Witches (and the supernatural) with the devil and is extremely suspicious of them.
Contrastingly, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as more intrigued and curious as to what they
said, with him saying 'Would they had stayed' wishing that they had remained longer and
wanting to know more. The distinct contrast between these two suggests how the play will
continue, with Banquo dismissing the unusual, and Macbeth being pulled towards it.

The 'Macbeth' Witches' Influence

 The witches in "Macbeth" are important because they provide Macbeth’s call to action. The
witches' prophesies also affect Lady Macbeth, albeit indirectly when Macbeth writes his wife
about seeing the "weird sisters," as he calls them. After reading his letter, she's ready right away
to plot to murder the king and worries her husband will be too "full o' th' milk of human
kindness" to commit such an act. Although he doesn't think he can do such a thing,
Lady Macbeth has no question in her mind that they would succeed. Her ambition steels him.
Thus, the witches' influence on Lady Macbeth only increases their effect on Macbeth himself—
and, by extension, the entire plot of the play. The Macbeth witches provide the dynamism that
has made "Macbeth" one of Shakespeare’s most popular and intense plays.

How Shakespeare Made the Witches Stand Out 

  Shakespeare used a number of devices to create a sense of otherness and malevolence for
the Macbeth witches. For example, the witches speak in rhyming couplets, which distinguishes
them from all other characters. This poetic device has made their lines among the play's most
memorable. Also, the Macbeth witches are said to have beards, making them difficult to identify
as either gender. Last, they are always accompanied by storms and bad weather. Collectively,
these traits give them an otherworldly cast.

LADY MACBETH –

TONE OF THE PLAY:

Unnatural

Some of the characters, like the Weird Sisters, Hecate and other apparitions, create the supernatural
element of the story and produce an eerie tone that amplifies the general sinister tone. Even nature
conspires to create a chilling, unnatural atmosphere during the night Macbeth killed the King -- at the
time, it was deemed unnatural to kill the king. The witches and the chilling form nature takes are
basically external manifestations of a dark, overambitious and cruel soul.

Guilt

Shakespeare’s tone softens occasionally to make his characters more likeable. The guilt that Macbeth, a
merciless despot, and Lady Macbeth, his co-conspirator, feel makes them seem more human, leading
the audience to sympathize with them and be drawn to understand their drama. Macbeth’s brutal
nature is softened by his hallucinations resulting from his guilt, and Lady Macbeth dies in the end,
tormented by their evil actions, whereas the three witches are aloof throughout the play.