The Role of the Supernatural in Macbeth and It's Effect on the Audience Shakespeare knew that history provided fantastic material for plays. War, conflict, ambition and the downfall of great rulers just being some. Shakespeare, earlier in his career, had written a lot of his historical based plays around Raphael Holinshed's "Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland". It was through reading these that Shakespeare found the story of Macbeth. Shakespeare was immediately touched by the story and he knew that it was brilliant material for a play. Shakespeare used the basic storyline but he developed it a lot further and adapted it so that it could be acted on stage. He added, altered and removed parts to achieve maximum dramatic effect. Macbeth was written for and intended for King James I's viewing. We know this because the play has many echoes of James' interests. Banquo Holinshed had included an elaborate family tree in his "Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland" series. This showed King James' decent from Banquo. Unlike Holinshed, Shakespeare did not make Banquo an accomplice to Duncan's murder. This would, have no doubt, pleased the King who hated Regicide's (King killers). It actually turned out that Banquo had never even existed. He had just been invented by Holinshed as the source of the Stuart monarchy. Witchcraft King James' interest in witches and witchcraft was very well known. In 1509 he was the alleged subject of a witch attack. The witches who had supposedly carried out this attack were found out and taken to trial. One of the witches' stories was unbelievable. Her name was Agnes ... ... middle of paper ... ...nto evil, he doesn't, not for one single moment, rise from it. Once starting his descent, he carries on falling and falling until the point at which he is so evil that it seems like the devil himself is next to him. I think that as the play develops, the influence of the supernatural on Macbeth decreases. Although this decreases, Macbeth still becomes more evil. I think that after the killing of the King, Macbeth starts to rely less and less on the supernatural. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the play of Macbeth. I think that Shakespeare develops the theme of the supernatural very well and very cleverly as the play develops. The atmosphere and certain points in the play have a massive affect on the audience, not so much now as they would have when this play was first written, but they do still have a great effect.
and be great, but they didn't tell him the price he would have to pay.
The Supernatural in William Shakespeare's Macbeth In Macbeth the supernatural is used to entertain and terrify the audience. Supernatural things are those that do not belong in the natural world. In Elizabethan times, people were so terrified of the supernatural because they believed that there was a natural order which effectively governed the universe, and when this order was misaligned things would start to go very wrong. For instance, were a Thane to kill a king and then become king, he would have changed the natural order and thus strange things would happen, and in Macbeth they did – horses started eating each other and weather became very irregular. Today we are not terrified in the same way by the supernatural.
down spiral induced by his ambition which in the end, was the cause of his
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.
this evil was occurring. If He was all-powerful, He would have the power to stop
and even though the great friends he's given, he slowly but surely becomes more malevolence. Early in
In the Shakespearean play, the tragedy of Macbeth. The Supernatural also known as the witches or Weird sisters, played an important role in the plot and story of the play. They controlled Macbeth by making him overconfident with his ambitious thoughts, which later on affected his state of mind and encouraged him to embark on his actions to kill anyone that was in his way including his friends and foes. All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! / All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! / All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter! (I. iii. 50-52). This incantation was said during the witches first encounter with Macbeth. This incantation was the start of rising action for the play because it foreshadowed what will happen
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.
and wishing to be of higher power, but it is the very thing that steals away his existence
...nto thinking that there is no turning back and he must continue to murder and deceit.
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’
...ings that he does are so not human-like which makes him evil. Another instance that
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.