The Supernatural in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

In order to gain control over Macbeth, Lady Macbeth questions his masculinity in Act 5 Scene 1. Within it, she expresses her worry that Macbeth’s kindness will hold him back, and so she calls upon ‘spirits that tend on mortal thoughts’ to unsex her and fill her with the ‘direst cruelty’. The supernatural which Lady Macbeth is calling upon will aid the hardening of her heart which then makes it possible for her to carry out her wicked plan. This rejection of femininity refers back to when Banquo and Macbeth first met the witches and commented on their ‘beards’ and their unfeminine appearance. This all revolves around the idea of the unnatural influencing Macbeth and causes much of the tragedy within the play to occur.

From the very beginning of the play, supernatural and unnatural forces have inspired and encouraged Macbeth. They interfere with natural events and completely change the character of Macbeth and his wife. Witches, apparitions, ghosts, and other unnatural images are used to demonstrate the evil effects and consequences those forces can have. Shakespeare is successful in telling his audience that only evil will come when Macbeth or any other person tampers with natural forces for personal gain.

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.

They meet in foul weather and talk of "thunder, lightning" and "the fog and filthy air", giving the audience a first impression that Macbeth is a dark, dangerous play in which the theme of evil is central. Only once in the play are the three weird sisters called 'witches', instead they are called "old hags" and "elemental forces". Shakespeare describes the witches in this way to make them sound more evil so that the audience would dislike them more. Shakespeare used the witches and supernatural influences to present evil scenes and events. As witches were hated at the time that Shakespeare wrote the play, he used the witc... ... middle of paper ... ...h after Guy Fawks' attempt to kill King James I in 1605.

James I was personally terrified yet fascinated by witches after an attempt on his life by Agnes Sampson, a convicted witch. This led to the practice of witchcraft becoming punishable by death. A theme of such forbidden ideas, shrouded in the mystery of the supernatural would surely have horrified those watching the play yet left them intrigued. The witches embody a malign and demonic intelligence. They utilise this to guide the main themes and characters within the play, notably by their reversal of nature when chanting 'Fair is foul and foul is fair'.

the burden of the atrocious crime is laid upon Richard III, the killer of his own ... ... middle of paper ... ...o occur. Altering the ?facts? of Richard III?s history, supernatural elements inconspicuously blend into the play and create a strong backbone for the plot. Clarence and Stanley?s dreams bridge the abyss between dream and reality, while the ghosts? appearance lends horror to the play and reminds all that the higher powers will triumph over mortal evils.

Moreover, they say “Fair is foul and Foul is Fair” (1.1.12). This quote is regarding their plans with Macbeth, as their foul or evil plans will appear fair to Macbeth, who like all humans, carry evil in their blood. Throughout the play, the witches feed ... ... middle of paper ... ...xists or not, but simply says man is capable of any evil. The supernatural is the one thing which decides the fate of Macbeth and his wife, Duncan, and the others who were affected by this evil. The three witches and the queen witch heavily influence Macbeth to a point where he relies on their prophecies, as he has gone insane.

The apparitions are also prophecies, but they show how Macbeth will die even though he is unaware of this. The hallucinations are the result of being guilty because of the crimes Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have committed. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth were greedy and wanted to reign. Their hopes of becoming king and queen did come to life, but it ultimately destroyed them. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth allow supernatural events turn them into evil human beings, and the life they believed they would have because of these events resulted in two people losing their minds.

The witches do with relish, to ‘grieve his [Macbeth’s] heart’ This makes Macbeth determined to alter fate. When the witches went, Lenox tells Macbeth that Macduff has fled to England. As the witches have tricked him, Macbeth does not fear from Macduff and so he damns himself further by plots the murder of Macduff’s family. These tricks by the witches move the plot on and show how important the witches are in the play. As the witches said before Macbeth entered, ‘The charm is firm and good.’ and Macbeth’s fate is sealed.

As part of my English GCSE I have been asked to evaluate the 1st and 2nd acts of Macbeth and show how Shakespeare makes us aware that Duncan’s murder is evil and against the natural order. An atmosphere of evil is created right from the very start of the play. “Thunder and lightening. Enter three witches.” They plan to meet Macbeth “When the hurly-burly’s done. When the battle’s lost, and won.” Every word they speak seems to link them with evil and foulness.