The portrayal of the witches in Macbeth: a comparative analysis of The Weird Sisters in three film adaptations

Abstract

The present study has the purpose of developing a comparative analysis of the characters of the witches in the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, and in three cinematic adaptations: Roman Polanski’s Macbeth (1971), Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth (2015) and Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021). Acknowledging the concepts related to the figure of the witch and the importance and influence of Literature to society, a significant example of the portrayal of witches can be found in Macbeth. The analysis focuses on the representation of the witches in society and in the play, and afterwards, in the comparison with each cinematic adaptation, examining the differences and similarities of the elements involved in the portrayal of these characters. Based on the analyses, one can see notable variations of the witches’ depictions in the three films when compared to the play and to each other. All the three adaptations find new and successful alternatives to portray the Weird Sisters.