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Shakespeare portrays the witches in what seems to a 21st century audience a stereotypical way. There are many things that come to mind when we hear the word witches: Halloween
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Audiences today enjoy both horror movies and books, content that such experiences belong to the realm of entertainment. Macbeth's contemporary audience, however, watched the play against a context of Renaissance beliefs about the paranormal and the divine. No wonder then that these audiences' reactions to the witches are so contrasting. Shakespeare portrays the witches in what seems to a 21st century audience a stereotypical way. There are many things that come to mind when we hear the word witches: Halloween, the Devil, magic, potions, death, broomsticks and the clothes they wear which includes cloaks and pointed hats. However, witches originate from long before Renaissance times. At that time there were very few old people as life expectancy was low. Country women tended to live longer and know more about herbal medicines than townsfolk. This information was passed through to their daughters. The women were old and therefore had wrinkled...
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