Supernatural beings are used to create dramatic emphasis in all forms of literature. Shakespeare uses witches, ghosts, and apparitions in his play, Macbeth, to generate this effect. Supernatural beings are effective in provoking a reaction in audiences today, so it is easy to imagine how these specters would have alarmed the people of the Elizabethan era. The population of the Elizabethan era had certain ideas about witches, which the three witches in Macbeth were based upon. The witches added an element of the supernatural to Macbeth, as did the appearance of Banquo’s ghost and the apparitions that emerged at Macbeth’s final rendezvous with the three witches. All of these occurrences created a more dramatic atmosphere of suspense.
The theatrical production, Macbeth, is filled with references to the supernatural, as well as the actual appearance of them. The witches in the story are like prophets, foretelling Macbeth’s future, or perhaps they can be considered harbingers of doom. They seem to enjoy playing with Macbeth's mind. The witches chant together in an alarming fashion: "The weïrd sisters, hand in hand,/ Posers of the sea and land,/ Thus do go about ,about:/ Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine,/ and thrice again, to make up nine./ Peace! The charm’s wound up." (I, iii, 83-87) They seem to belong to a genre of an evil cult, and cults are not well known for producing positive actions and reactions in society.
Banquo’s ghost appeared at Macbeth’s banquet, but Macbeth was the only one who was able to see him. This disturbed the guests who thought he was having guilt-induced hallucinations after murdering his best friend. Macbeth was quite unnerved by this experience, and when the ghost was present, he seemed to completely lose touch with reality. When his wife tried to calm him down, he did not even acknowledge her presence.
The images that appeared to Macbeth when he returned to the witches for reassurance before the battle against Malcolm and the English forces, were conjured by the witches. For example, the crowned child represented Malcolm, the son of Duncan who defeated Macbeth in order to become king. These were images foretelling the future, which the witches had explained to Macbeth, but the witches disguised the truth in order to give Macbeth a false sense of security.
The supernatural occurrences in Macbeth were effective, especially in Elizabethan times when belief in the supernatural was more widespread than today. Using supernatural beings created a dramatic air in this, Shakespeare’s final tragedy.
