The Use of the Supernatural in Macbeth by William Shakespeare
In this essay I am going to explore the use of the supernatural in the
play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare. This is going to be done
by showing how much power the supernatural elements had and how it
influenced peoples' mind. The supernatural elements are the use of the
witches, the dagger, Banquo's ghost and the apparitions in the play.
Firstly, the use of the witches in the play is a key element in the
supernatural. When the play was written in 1600, people in those days
believed in things like the witches and they also believed thought
that the power and knowledge of the future came from the devil. All
this shows why the witches influence Macbeth throughout the play and
why are part of Macbeth's struggle between good and evil.
The witches start of by giving the audience a clue to what the future
holds for Macbeth. "When the battles lost and won," (Act 1, Scene 1)
is said by the second witch. This says that every battle is lost by
one side and won by another and so Macbeth's fate is that he will win
the battle, but will lose his time of victory for the battle of his
soul. This proves that the witches knew about what was going to happen
as what the witch says occurs later in the play.
The prophecies that are revealed by the witches bring a broad
temptation to Macbeth, "My thought, whose murder yet is but
fantastical" (Act 1 Scene 3). This shows that Macbeth ambition is
present before the prophecies. He would never have thought seriously
about killing Duncan without the witches. This shows that Macbeth is
hugely influenced by the supernatural.
The ...
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...From all above, the use of the supernatural provides a suspenseful
Macbeth play. The first prophecies have led Macbeth to murder Duncan
and Banquo in order to gain the power of the throne. Lady Macbeth also
relied on supernatural by her soliloquy to change her into a creature
without human compassion, which at the end shows that spirits might
possess her. The vision of the dagger also shows the interference of
spirit that leads Macbeth's way to Duncan's chamber. After his
encounter with the ghost of Banquo, Macbeth proceeds to visit the
witches one last time to insure his security. After this last visit,
Macbeth becomes over confident which cause his tragic death. Without
the witches, Lady Macbeth, strange nature, vision of dagger, ghost,
and the apparitions, the play "Macbeth" would have been a dull and
tiresome play.
The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late
Throughout the story Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth seemed to just be a victim of “fate”. But, in the end it was clear that his character gained power over that “fate”, at least he gained power over
and be great, but they didn't tell him the price he would have to pay.
Macbeth thinks he is unstoppable now because of this revelation and continues with his conspiracy to kill people even though at times he regrets it.
In the play of Macbeth we notice the works of how the supernatural can control or change
Throughout William Shakespeare's Macbeth, many characters evolve and many disappear into the background. The main character, Macbeth, travels through utter chaos when he proclaims himself monarch. When he first meets the witches of the supernatural, they tell him of the future. One of the themes amplified throughout the play is the circle of life, from the beginning to the end. The visions provided by the three witches begin Macbeth's quest for dominance. The three main effects of this theme are: the death of Macbeth's friends and family. Second, the deaths of his mortal enemies. The last point is the death of himself. The supernatural amplifies the theme of death.
The Importance of the Supernatural in Macbeth by William Shakespeare The supernatural is to play an essential part in the play 'Macbeth'; this is made clear from the first paragraph of the play, when the three witches are introduced. It is represented in many different forms, mainly: the witches, the dagger and the ghost of Banquo. Shakespeare's use of imagery and creative language in the play creates tension, fear and clearly displays the importance of the supernatural theme. At the start of the play, the supernatural is disguised in the form of nature, in this case a storm. Shakespeare uses pathetic fallacy to describe the strong force of nature- "Thunder and lightning - Enter three Witches.
The supernatural element also takes place when Lady Macbeth calls upon spirits to give her power to plot the murder of Duncan without any remorse or conscience. She says, "Come, you spirits/ that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,/ and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full/ of direst cruelty!" (1.5). Her soliloquy shows that she relied on the supernatural by asking for something unnatural to get rid of her natural feelings of compassion and make her cruel.
In the play of 'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare the witches have an important effect on Macbeth, the characters, the plot, the theme and the audience. They help construct the play and without them it would have been a totally different story line. The three weird sisters influence Macbeth in his acts, they effect characters lives, orientate the plot, they are related to most of the themes and appeal the audience's attention.
Everyone has a slightly different interpretation of the supernatural but the interpretation which we can start with is Shakespeare’s. Everyone of Shakespeare’s time found the supernatural fascinating. Shakespeare interpreted the supernatural as witches, magic, unnatural and evil and he expressed his beliefs in the play, “Macbeth” very clearly, as he portrayed the three deformed women with control over the weather and the ability to predict the future. These three evil witches with magical powers were the creation of Shakespeare’s interpretation of the supernatural. Shakespeare’s contemporaries believed in the supernatural very strongly and a majority of them were frightened of it, including the king of that time, King James I of England.
Myths and religions often include divine or devilish beings with incredible powers. William Shakespeare incorporated witches with bizarre powers in his play, Macbeth. These witches possessed devilish powers to set the course of events in the plot and added to the flavor of the story. The witches' powers included omnientness, vision and apparition creation, and the ability to set the conditions for disaster, and the utilization of these abilities sets the movement of the play.
The last person you would expect to encourage you to commit a crime would be your wife. Macbeth is motivated by his wife and by three Witches and gradually becomes more ruthless, evil, and murderous as the play progresses.
In the English Renaissance, there was a strong belief in the existence of the supernatural. Thus, the supernatural is a recurring aspect in William Shakespeare 's Macbeth and is an integral and important part of the plot. The role of the supernatural in Macbeth is to bring out emotional reactions within Macbeth that cloud his judgement, affecting his actions which ultimately leads to his downfall. This is demonstrated through the ambiguous prophecies of the witches, the supernatural phenomenon that Macbeth sees, and the apparitions that foreshadow how he will meet his end.
In the Shakespearean era, there was an eruption of superstition and alleged witchcraft. The people of that time had strong hatred for the ‘devil worshiping’ witches and had various trials and tests to determine their fate. Shakespeare used this as inspiration for his play ‘Macbeth’
The supernatural was a popular element in many of the plays written in Shakespeare's time (including Hamlet) and everyone of Shakespeare's time found the supernatural fascinating. Even King James I took a special interest in supernatural and written a book, Daemonologie, on witchcraft. It must be remembered that, in Shakespeare's day, supernatural referred to things that were "above Nature"; things which existed, but not part of the normal human life and unexplainable. The play Macbeth involves many supernatural actions that act as a catalyst for suspense and thrill, insight into character, foreshadowing of future events as well as making connections with the theme.