Macbeth :: essays research papers

In Shakespeargons Macbeth, supernatural powers are used by the three witches. Thesepowers are called familiars. A familiar is a spirit oft embodied in an animal and isthere to serve and guard a person. Each of the witches possesses a familiar except for thethird witch. Her familiar is neer laid on the table for us to see. In my paper I will showhow the honker is the familiar of the third witch.First you essential understand what a familiar is. In Websters dictionary the wordfamiliar is defined as a closely acquainted an intimate think or companion, a spiritembodied in an animal and held to assist and serve or guard a person. The clich of afamiliar is associated to witches and mephistophelian characters. But, this is a very untruestatement. A pet can alike be a familiar to a regular person. There are four references offamiliars. The first is a physical creature who lives with and has an emotional join witha human. The second type of familiar is a creature which attaches its elf to a human forthe purpose of aiding him or her. The third type of familiar is an portion spirit. Somewitches call upon a spirit to overcome an obstacle. The fourth type of familiar is the spritof someone who has died. They come back for some reason or purpose usually to setstraight an event. These are all divergent types of familiars, but the one of my focal pointwould be attachment. In Macbeth, the schnozzle aides the witch and also offers protection andacts as an overseer.The owl is a familiar which is associated with both good and evil. In ancientGreece, the mythological Athena, the goddess of wisdom, held the owl as her bird. Theowl served a s a protector to her and attended armies to war. The owl was also aninspiration in everyday life for the parkland man. Some village healers also usedfamiliars to help diagnose complaint and to find lost objects and treasures. But, mostcommonly, the owl is said to be the informant of all evil.In Roman mythology, a superstition was tha t witches transformed into owls andsucked the melodic line from innocent children. Another superstition which surfaced during themiddle ages in Europe, was about an owls fashion at night. It is said that whenpeople are helpless and blind, the owl is tie in to the unknown, and if an owl called atnight, the air would be filled with apprehension a death was imminent with some evil