The Role of the Supernatural in the Play Macbeth
‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’ such a well-known line from the play
Macbeth, with such power behind the words. I have reason to believe
that the role of the supernatural plays a very important part in
Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, we can say that the supernatural occurs 4
times throughout the play that we can call supernatural because they
are physically unnatural things to be seen, e.g. the appearance of
Banquo’s ghost, the prophecies and the air-drawn dagger etc. But I
have gone further into depth to find that the supernatural isn’t just
physically noticeable but also mentally through hallucination etc. I
have many reasons to believe this because the supernatural is involved
throughout the play and also progresses. The supernatural raises all
sorts of questions concerning reality and appearance, it is seen
physically through the witches but also unrealistically through the
power of the mind. With this kept in mind, this causes an argument to
say that some of the hallucinations and power that is not seen
physically as supernatural, but from my point of view I feel that this
is not the case. From the very start of the play does the supernatural
begin, and this is seen in the form of the witches. This is the most
important and known form of the supernatural to be seen in the play
Macbeth.
This first scene shows the first glimpse of the witches and this
appeals to the audience straight away. By having the witches speak in
rhyme it seemed more real for the audience as they believe that when
the witches made potions and spells, they spoke in rhyme. The rhyme
also made them seem more ev...
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... supernatural is the evil in
the world through different forms, in Macbeth’s case, through his own
mind. Because witches were hated so much at the time the play was
written, Shakespeare composed the play; it was a perfect opportunity
to use witches, so that the audience would be more interested and
entertained in the play. The witches were the most well known form of
supernatural occurring in the play because of their history. The
supernatural is the plot of the play, without it, it would be dull and
boring. I feel that the supernatural was a very entertaining part of
the play and that as it increased I also became more entertained, the
role of the supernatural is the role of the evil in our lives. The
Evil in our thoughts, the unnatural beings that occur rather than the
natural and good things that occurs in out life.
Some pieces of literature are said to rely on the use of supernatural events to allow the plot to advance or to provide foreshadowing. An example of this would be one of Shakespeare’s plays, The Tragedy of Macbeth. Shakespeare applies many magical events, because it gives the play some more depth and to extract out the reader’s emotions. However, in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, a play also written by Shakespeare, while it does have a few moments, its uses are only intended for indicating how the amount of tragedy sums up and how affecting it is. Shakespeare is not only known for adding in unnatural events, but he also uses his own unique style of writing to express the story through his own views. Throughout the play, The Tragedy of Julius
and be great, but they didn't tell him the price he would have to pay.
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 very beginning of the play the three witches are talking and the first witch
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 play begins with a supernatural scene, where the three witches meet and give many clues as to who they are or what they have control over,
shows the witches are ones who believe in evil spirits, as most witches are portrayed as.
The witches are the first characters we see in the play in Act one Scene one- A prologue of evil. They plan to meet Macbeth when the fighting has finished.
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.
Thunder and lightning. Enter three witches. " This is the opening scene description just before the introduction to the witches. This shows their evil nature as the are followed by rough storms in dark conditions. Another quote is " Fair is fowl and fowl is fair:
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.