The role of the supernatural in Macbeth
analytical Essay
567 words
Many plays by William Shakespeare have a reoccurring aspect of the supernatural; presenting itself never in an evil demeanor, though it does wreak havoc on the lives amongst it.
It provides an insight into the character of Macbeth, showing its audience how weak-minded Macbeth really is and what influenced him to think for himself. The actions of Macbeth are greatly influenced by his belief in the supernatural and Lady Macbeth’s dominant control over him. The role of the supernatural in Macbeth appears in the form of a floating dagger, witches, and the ghost of Banquo. All of which helped Macbeth gain confidence, not only in himself but also his own decisions.
The witches are perhaps the most important supernatural characters in all of Macbeth. They represent Macbeth’s evil ambitions of evil, greed, and devilish scheming. They first appear in scene one, foreshadowing Macbeth’s future superiority of Scotland and his ultimate fate, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, the future king!” (Act 1, Sc. 2, 3). A...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how shakespeare's plays have a reoccurring aspect of the supernatural. it provides an insight into the character of macbeth, showing his weak-mindedness and what influenced him to think for himself.
- Analyzes how the witches represent macbeth's evil ambitions of evil, greed, and devilish scheming. they first appear in scene one, foreshadowing his future superiority of scotland.
- Analyzes how the ghost of banquo displays macbeth's weak minded and guilty feelings after he had him murdered.
- Analyzes how macbeth believes that the floating dagger is a sign for him to finally commit his crime he had schemed without the assistance of lady
- Narrates how lady macbeth entrusted the witches prophesies to her husband to commit crimes and do dirty work for her. they wanted to become king and queen of scotland, taking out anyone in their way.
- Analyzes how supernatural reoccurring events triggered macbeth's evil thoughts and led to his tragic downfall. the witches only harm those whose instincts lead them to believe in witchcraft and superstition.
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- Supernatural Action In Macbeth Essayanalytical essayIn the play of Macbeth we notice the works of how the supernatural can control or change
In this essay, the author
- Narrates how macbeth enters soon after the second witch has the feeling of wickedness and he asks.
- Opines that resolute people should laugh to scorn the power of man, for no woman born shall harm.
- Opines that apparition was saying be brave like the lion and proud. don’t even worry about who.
- Analyzes how shakespeare uses supernatural actions to keep the reader engaged in the play of macbeth.
- Explains that in scene one, act four of macbeth, we notice that the three witches have returned once again but also involved this time is hecate which is the leader of the
- Analyzes how hecate the head witch notices the job the three witches have done and is proud of the deed that has been done.
- Analyzes how macbeth becomes paranoid and afraid of what could possibly happen due to the fact that the witches told him that he would be king further in life.
- Analyzes how macduff tells macbeth that he needs to be strong and have faith in himself.
- Explains that the third apparition is a child crowned, with tree in his hand. it is different from the other due to the directive to be strong and have courage.
- Analyzes how macbeth continues to question the witches about what is going on, and they tell him to not worry about it. the ghost of banquo is his fear of losing the throne.
- Narrates how macbeth sees the seven kings before him and each one has a feature that disgusts him.
- Analyzes how macbeth's tragic hero ways are what has him so messed up in the head when it comes to certain things.
- Analyzes how macbeth and the people who surround him see what is capable of happening to the scotland and how the powers are going down except for one. he knows that sooner or later someone will come for him killing him.
- Explains that the witches are a main part of the play and that everything that happens that they have something to do with that makes the reader question what will happen if they are removed in any way?
1167 wordsRead More - The Supernatural in William Shakespeare's Macbethanalytical essayThe supernatural plays a huge role in the play of Macbeth. There are many different types of supernatural occurrences that take place in this play such as with witches, apparitions, and hallucinations. The supernatural affect all of the characters in the play in different ways, their different personalities often lead to different outcomes then were possibly intended.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how macbeth's apparitions could be figments of his imagination or conjured up by the witches.
- Describes shakespeare, william, and john crowther's "act 4." macbeth. new york, ny: spark pub., 2003.
- Explains that the supernatural plays a huge role in the play of macbeth.
- Analyzes how macbeth's hallucinations are brought upon by a guilty conscience, as all the people who have had them have taken part in some dastardly dead to make them guilty.
672 wordsRead More - The Supernatural’s Role in Macbethanalytical essayThe supernatural is arguably one of the most prominent things that fuels Macbeth’s unchecked ambition throughout the play. In fact, the very thing that began his journey into insanity was his conversation with the three witches and Banquo in Act 1, scene 3. The witches said “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”, and if he hadn’t of met or listened to the witches then his fate could’ve possibly been avoided altogether. Banquo in contrast didn’t listen to the witches, and if Macbeth had done the same then neither of them would have died. Of course Macbeth’s downfall can’t be entirely blamed on the witches or the supernatural in general. The supernatural wouldn’t have affected him in the first place if he hadn’t been too prideful and gullible to begin with.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the supernatural fuels macbeth's unchecked ambition throughout the play. his conversation with the three witches and banquo in act 1, scene 3 began his journey into insanity.
- Analyzes how macbeth hunts out the witches to confront them about their apparitions, and this only further leads to his demise.
- Opines that if macbeth had taken more time to question their validity then a great deal of misfortune could have been avoided.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth's words about having illusions while asleep are disturbing to say the least, and could resemble her wanting to remove her guilt.
- Analyzes how illusions came into play earlier than lady macbeth's descent into insanity.
- Opines that the presence of the supernatural in macbeth led to all the deaths that occurred in the play.
599 wordsRead More - Natural Vs. Supernatural In Shakespeare's Macbethanalytical essayNo fear Shakespeare: Macbeth remains relevant as it deals with themes that span time and the fact that it can be presented in different ways to meet the interest of any audience, this is because it shows Ambition, Power and Natural vs. Supernatural. These three images can be relevant today as well.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that shakespeare: macbeth remains relevant as it deals with themes that span time and the fact that it can be presented in different ways to meet the interest of any audience.
- Analyzes how ambition can be a positive motivating force, but it also has negative effects in the play. lady macbeth's motivation to kill the king encourages him to overcome his guilt and act on the predictions of the witches.
- Analyzes how shakespeare describes the terrible consequences of macbeth's hunger for power. he kills his king and friends in order to be ruler.
- Analyzes how shakespeare explains the supernatural as witches, magic, unnatural and evil. banquo's ghost represents the down fall of macbeth.
- Analyzes how different images representing different appropriations of macbeth reinforce its relevance across culture and time.
- Concludes that macbeth is relevant today because people are still motivated by ambition, power, and the depths to which people will sink to get what they want.
897 wordsRead More - Macbeth: Faultanalytical essayFollowing the witches, their apparitions also influence Macbeth’s mentality and drive him to perform his actions. The first apparition makes Macbeth fearful and wary of Macduff. During Ma...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how macbeth performs a plethora of cruel tasks throughout the play, but his actions are not his own. the witches, the apparitions and lady
- Analyzes how the witches' prophecies provide the foundation for macbeth's actions. they convince him they are indeed magical and their words hold meaning.
- Analyzes how the witches' apparitions influence macbeth's mentality and drive him to perform his actions.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth is the mastermind behind the murder of king duncan. she uses masculinity, guilt, and suggestion to manipulate him into committing the crime.
746 wordsRead More - Influence of the Witches and Lady Macbeth 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. Lady Macbeth is first introduced in Act1 Scene 5: reading a letter receives from Macbeth describing the encounter with the Witches, and the prophecies which they given him. Lady Macbeth is very ambitious; believes that Macbeth is too kind and loyal to take the steps needed to become king. "
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how lady macbeth becomes more ruthless, evil, and murderous as the play progresses.
- Analyzes how the witches are evil, conniving, and cruel in macbeth. they give mac and bonquo three prophecies to convince him to kill duncan.
- Analyzes how macbeth becomes more ruthless, evil, and murderous after killing duncan. while planning to kill banquo, he has no remorse or guilt.
- Opines that macbeth was faced with a hard choice: to kill his loyal king or break his wife's promise. the most important thing is to learn from your mistakes.
570 wordsRead More - The Supernatural in Macbethanalytical essayThe Supernatural in Macbeth More than a few elements of the supernatural can be discovered within the action and dialogue of Shakespeare's plays. However, the extent and nature of those elements differs to a large degree. There are traces of it to be found in Henry V, "Pardon, gentles all,/The flat unraised spirit that hath dar'd...to bring forth/So great and object" (Lucy 1). There are also elements of it apparent in Winter's Tale, "What I did not well I meant well" (Lucy 1).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the supernatural can be found in shakespeare's plays, but the extent and nature of those elements differs to a large degree. the supernatural is used most fearsomely in hamlet.
- Analyzes how shakespeare uses supernatural elements to enhance the mood and tone of a midsummer's night dream.
- Analyzes how the supernatural elements in the tempest are more threatening and frightful than the jovial ones of a midsummer night's dream, but they are whimsical because they represent nature and seem to play capriciously with men
- Analyzes how the supernatural is instrumental in macbeth's fall because it represents the dark or evil side of man.
- Compares shakespeare's inspiration for many if not all of his plays, including macbeth, to other sources about the infamous thane of cawdor.
- Explains the use of the supernatural in drama. it is used to create audience excitement as special affects are used in the cinema and add suspense to the story.
- Analyzes how the witches and supernatural elements in macbeth use foreshadowing to evoke fear and thoughts of evil in the audience.
- Analyzes how macbeth is personally affected by the witches more than banquo because they appear to be not of this realm. their appearance adds to the evil mood of the play from the beginning and throughout its action.
- Analyzes how the witches are capable of wreaking havoc on men's lives. macbeth sees them as a means of confidence and affirmation.
- Analyzes how the supernatural and weird sisters symbolize the tragedy of the play and macbeth's weakness.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth's evil influence has as much effect on him as the evil witches.
- Analyzes how macbeth's character isn't strong enough to fight off his o'erleaping ambition or the evil forces around him.
- Opines that macbeth is too reckless in his ambition and too murderous for any such second-guessing to matter. the witches have been successful in taking advantage of his weak nature and his soul is close to fading
- Analyzes how shakespeare uses the supernatural as a symbol of truth and nature in all of his plays.
- Explains that in macbeth the educated man would trace the workings of the mind, follow the tortured soul in all its windings, and shadow the chain of vents which must follow, given certain conditions.
- Opines that the emotionally-strung or emotional would fully enter into the psychological struggle before which when the heavens see, they tremble and are still.
- Analyzes how the ignorant, whose perceptions are all underdeveloped, would observe in the weird sisters, the impersonation of those vices with which the morality plays had made him familiar.
- Analyzes how even the indifferent subject could not fail to be impressed, though, to his mental vacuity, the finer meaning would be greek.
- Analyzes how shakespeare's use of the supernatural is relevant not only to the action within the play, but also the audience outside of it.
3367 wordsRead More - The Supernatural in William Shakespeare's Macbethopinion essayThe 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.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the witnesses, saying in act 2 scene 3 "that i did kill them" and "who can."
- Opines that had they but died an hour before this chance, they had lived a blessèd time.
- Opines that renown and grace is dead – the wine of life is drawn.
- Opines that macbeth's opponent is a threat to their life.
- Analyzes how it wakes it now to look so green and pale at what it did so.
- Opines that if you durst do it, then you were a man!
- Opines that if you really loved me and were a true man, you would love me.
- Narrates how they both drove their lords mad in act 3 scene 2.
1275 wordsRead More - The Supernatural in Shakespeare's Macbethanalytical essayThe Supernatural in Macbeth 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how banquo suggests that macbeth has played foully to achieve his kingship. the witches also predicted baquo's future.
- Analyzes how shakespeare shows macbeth's fear and guilt after committing the murder of a king and having his closest companion murdered.
- Analyzes how shakespeare uses the supernatural apparition to show the audience that evil is present.
- Analyzes how shakespeare expresses his view that the supernatural is evil and can trick even the strongest of people. the apparitions contradict themselves by saying, "beware of macduff" and "none of women born shall harm macbeth."
- Analyzes how shakespeare interpreted the supernatural as witches, magic, unnatural and evil in "macbeth". the supernatural theme was the 17th century's equivalent to the modern day horror movie.
- Analyzes how shakespeare uses the supernatural to guide the audience to show what evil is. macbeth is now the king of scotland since both of duncan's sons fled the country in fear of their lives.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth's remorse and confusion show how even the most desperate people regret relying on the supernatural.
1823 wordsRead More - Influence of Supernatural on William Shakespeare's Macbethanalytical essayInfluence of Supernatural on William Shakespeare's Macbeth During Shakespeare's time people were frightened of witches as they were associated with evil. Many people were accuse of being witches and automatically burnt at the stake. Some of these people were old, deformed in some or people who were living alone, therefore considered as abnormal and a threat to society. Witchcraft was taken very seriously which probably made this play extremely interesting for people in Shakespeare times as it also settled peoples views of witches at the time. Shakespeare has chosen to open the play with the witches on a moor in thunder and lightening.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the influence of supernatural on william shakespeare's macbeth. people were frightened of witches as they were associated with evil.
- Analyzes how shakespeare chose to open the play with the witches on a moor in thunder and lightening to grip his audience from the beginning.
- Analyzes how the witches used the powers of the future, such as flying, creating storms, fog and mist, shortening the hours of day, appearing and disappearing, posses people or cause them to be possessed by the devil.
- Explains the importance of duncan's murder being started by the supernatural in macbeth.
- Explains why shakespeare chose to begin the play with the witches because without them regicide would not have been justified by the shakespearean audience.
- Analyzes how the witches chant "fair is foul and foul is fair" and macbeth is the only other character mentioned in the opening scene.
- Analyzes how macbeth's first words in the play associate him with witches and evil, suggesting that they have influenced him already.
- Analyzes how macbeth's past, present, and future grips him and the audience, while banquo doesn't seem as influenced but instinctively realises that the witches have completely enthralled him with what they have said.
- Analyzes how macbeth, once given the title thane of cawdor, continues believing in the witches prophecies and forgets that they are evil, while banquo asks them "can the devil speak truth?"
- Analyzes how the opening lines of macbeth's soliloquy suggest that he is already confused about evil and good.
- Analyzes how macbeth is aware of the fact that evil is greatly involved in his plans which have disturbed his body so greatly.
- Analyzes how duncan represents natural things in the correct order with macbeth falsely representing the same thing.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth is influenced by the super natural, but her evil thoughts come from a letter he wrote to her, not directly from the witches.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth's soliloquy calls the spirits to "fill," her, "from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty!"
- Opines that lady macbeth's ambition of being queen and her husband to be king is linked to the influence of the witches, who provoked these ambitions in both characters.
- Analyzes how the language used by both characters shows the influence of the witches.
- Analyzes how macbeth's ambition to become king was more important to him, and was what caused him to murder duncan.
- Analyzes the imagery used in the soliloquy which shows that he has consciously chosen to reject goodness and embrace evil. the witches only appear three times, yet they are the basis of the entire play.
- Opines that the continuos murders that macbeth commits are not directly linked to the supernatural (or the witches) as he seems to have become "naturally" evil.
1091 wordsRead More