In Shakespeare's play Macbeth the witches have few lines, but are one of the mainly noteworthy figures of the play. Explain what is their thematic importance? Similar to how Macbeth is representing the present ideas of masculinity and masculine gender roles of the time the play was written, is there historical importance of the witches' character and existence in the play? Also, is there any importance to the fact they do not really speak very much in the play?