The witches and Macbeth The belief in the existence and power of witches was widespread in Shakespeare's time, as demonstrated by the witch craze in Europe, during the where an estimated nine million women were killed. put to death because they were perceived as witches (The Burning Times). The practice of witchcraft was believed to subvert the established order of religion and society, and was therefore not tolerated. Witch hunting was a respectable, moral and highly intellectual activity for much of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries (Best ). Majority belief during the 17th century suggests that witches are powerful figures capable of exercising great power over Macbeth; however, at the same time there were strong arguments against it. The intensity of the tragedy depends on whether the witches are perceived as being able to control Macbeth's otherwise innocent actions, or whether he is entirely responsible for his own death. Although not a "secret, black, midnight hag" (4.1. 48), as an evil woman, Lady Macbeth could be considered a witch by the standards of Shakespeare's time. In the same way that witches subvert the natural order of religion and society, Lady Macbeth subverts the order of the sexes and the family by trying to have more power than the head of the family, her husband. Not only does she act messy, but many of her actions imply that she is actually a witch. First, for centuries it was widely believed in Europe that witchcraft could cause impotence (Cotton 320). In the preface to Daemonologie, King James I asserts the power of witches to weaken "the natures of some men, to render them unavailable to women" (qtd. in Best). An important textbook for... middle of paper... and successful if the popular mentality of the seventeenth century is adopted and thus the witches and Lady Macbeth are partly responsible for its downfall. Works Cited Best, Michael. The Life and Times of Shakespeare. CD-ROM. Santa Barbara, CA: Intellimation, 1994. Version 3.0.The Burning Times. Direct Cinema, 1990.Cooper, T. The Mystery of Witchcraft. London: Nicholas Okes, 1617.Cotton, N. “Castrating (W)itches: Impotence and Magic in The Merry Wives of Windsor.” Shakespeare Quarterly. 38, 1987: 320-326. Estes, L. "Reginald Scot and his discovery of witchcraft: religion and science in opposition to the European witch craze." History of the Church. 52, 1983: 444-56. Shakespeare, W. Macbeth. Ed. W. Wright. New York: Pocket Books, 1957. Truax, E. “Macbeth and Hercules: The Bewitched Hero.” Comparative drama 23. 1990:359-76.