Summary Of The Supernatural In Macbeth

Hecate accurately predicts and sets in motion future events to her liking. After the battle in Act I, the witches chant “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!...” (Doc A), using their prophecies to awaken Macbeth’s bloodthirsty and greedy nature. Throughout the play, Hecate uses her witches to cultivate Macbeth’s ambition, inciting him to “Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth” (Doc D). A literary analysis aptly states that “The witches bring dark thoughts into being and give flesh to the forbidden and unacknowledged demons of the unconscious from which no one is free” (Cohen 7). Guiding the plot without consequence, Hecate is granted the ultimate

However, as the witches plant the vision in Macbeth’s mind and suggest he would be successful in his pursuit of the throne, he is manipulated to follow a path for which he was not previously destined to go down. Hecate, the higher power the witches answer to, further demonstrates that the witches were deliberately manipulating Macbeth in order to cause his downfall. “As, by the strength of their illusion, shall draw him on to his confusion: /He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear /His hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace, and fear:” (III.v.28-31) In this quotation, Hecate is instructing the witches to confuse Macbeth and give him a false sense of confidence by using three apparitions or illusions to trick him. This illustrates that the witches, who are able to see into the future, are in fact abusing the trust Macbeth has in them to further lead to his downfall. Instead of allowing the future to unfold as foreseen, they are directly interfering and collectively planning how best to achieve Macbeth’s tragic end. When Macbeth encounters the witches for the final time seeking answers, they choose to show him visions set to mislead and give false confidence in his future.

This time due to a cowardly action committed out of selfish fear. It is no surprise to me that Banquo’s ghost haunts Macbeth at this table since Macbeth called for two murders to kill him and his son. Banquo’s ghost appearing shows that Macbeth felt guilt and that he was not the completely heartless monster that he appeared to become. When Banquo's bloody ghost sits at the table with the lords, Macbeth tries to believe that he did not kill banquo. “ Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake Thy gory locks at me.” (III,iv,53-54). Macbeth’s episode with Banquo’s ghost reveals how the quest for power had driven his mind into pure insanity. This powerful hallucination driven from the little heart left in Macbeth proved to all the lords that Macbeth’s mind was gone, and that he was not fit to

Lady Macbeth also directly spoke to the evil spirits and said ‘unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty’. She asked for the limited goodness to be taken from her and in return replaced with pure evil so that she can take part in the murder of King Duncan and not feel guilt. She tells her plans to Macbeth. Her words to Macbeth ‘Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it’. She told him to look innocent while hiding his evil intentions.

     The play begins with the characters King Duncan and Malcolm talking about a “good and hardy soldier” (Act I: ii: 4). This man they are talking about is the stories protagonist, Macbeth. Macbeth is a good soldier who is devoted to his king. Then, Macbeth and his friend come across three witches who prophecy

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there are many fascinating sections which could be focused on due to the suspense and the connection of the supernatural. The supernatural is what causes conflict in the play and the prophecies from the witches in act one scene three is the inciting action in the piece. The supernatural causes the forthcoming conflict by inspiring Macbeth to execute Duncan so he could become king of Scotland. Through temptation, the supernatural stimulates Macbeth to contemplate arrogantly and for his own advantage. The supernatural in Macbeth presents prophecies which tempt Macbeth with the idea of power. This leads Macbeth to contradict his faithful and courageous nature by planning an assassination on King Duncan with the egotistical intention of becoming king and later annihilating other characters in the play with the determination of retaining his own powers. Macbeth was tempted by the original prophecies and showed clear motivation to act upon them.

Macbeth fears Banquo’s descendents will take his kingship. He thinks that Banquo should be murdered to stop it from happening, “And though I could / With barefaced power sweep him from my sight / And bid my will avouch it” (3.1.134-136). In the quote, Macbeth is says that he would kill Banquo and offer his desire for Banquo’s death as sufficient justification for killing him (Shakespeare 88). Macbeth does not murder Banquo but cons murderers into committing the violence. Macbeth is not thinking clearly though because he would know that violence only breeds more violence. The murderers kill Banquo and further continue the

In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, the supernatural and the role it plays in motivating characters is present throughout the duration of the play. The supernatural causes conflict in the play and the prophecies from the witches in act one is the inciting action. The apparition, Banquos ghost, and the dagger are examples of how the presence of the supernatural causes conflict. The theme of the supernatural causing conflict in Macbeth plays an important role in the plot of the play.

Macbeth’s paranoia is seemingly caused by the guilt of having committed treasonous acts and multiple murders, in tandem with the terror of believing that he is suspected while not yet being accused. Macbeth’s paranoia drives him to insanity, and manifests into multiple hallucinations and fits of panic. After Macbeth has Banquo killed, he invites Ross, Lennox, and other Lords over for a celebratory banquet. Macbeth hallucinates the ghost of banquo and it causes him to panic and immediately attempt to assign blame asking “Which of you have done this?”

In Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare uses an underlying motif of the supernatural to control the characters and add a new dimension to the play.

Macbeth is feeling paranoid after the witches tell a prophecy that Banquo’s son will inherit the throne, after he has passed away. Macbeth wants his descendants to inherit the throne not Banquo’s. So, Macbeth then hires three murderers to kill Banquo. At his dinner, after he is crowned the king, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost because of his guilty conscience. Macbeth starts to yell at the ghost saying he can not prove it is him who did it, “Thou canst not say I did it./ Never shake/ Thy gory locks at me” (3.4.61-62) When Macbeth freaks out and has a panic attack at the table, Lady Macbeth covers for him and tells the guests that he acts like this at times. Even though Macbeth hires men to kill Banquo, the blood is still on his hands. It is his idea to kill Banquo, and now he can feel even guiltier about what he has done. Macbeth is going insane feeling all this guilt and it is making him see ghosts. Macbeth is thinking that Banquo would become suspicious of Duncan’s murder. He did not want Banquo getting in his

After killing King Duncan , Macbeth is starting to realize what it is that he has done, and becomes suspicious and paranoid of everyone around him by puting spy's in every castle and killing those who are any treat to him what so ever. Banquo is the only other person who knows of the meeting with the witches and he would assume that it was Macbeth who killed the King. The witches also said that Banquo would beget kings but he himself would never be king after Macbeth, and so Macbeth decides that Banquo is a threat to him. To get rid of the treat with banquo he decides to kill him and his son Fleance.

The scene shows the three witches lack of consideration of the outcome of their prophecy as they did not consult with their higher power, Hecate over whether they should tell Macbeth of his prophecy. Their thoughtless actions caused for many deaths and much corruption amongst themselves and the entire country of Scotland. The witches’ gain of power furthermore corrupted them as they did not tell Macbeth his full prophecy. When the witches first tell Macbeth of his fate the first witch states, “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis!” (1.3. 48-50) This is then followed by the second witch claiming “all hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!” and finally the third witch states, “All hail Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter!” the prophecy given can be seen as false as they suggest that Macbeth is to be king for a long time when they state “hereafter”

First off, Macbeth’s ambition leads him to fall into paranoia. It drives him mad, and makes him hallucinate. Macbeth kills so many men seamlessly but after the murder of Banquo he begins to go crazy. “Macbeth does murder sleep…Macbeth shall sleep no more.”(II.II). When he sleeps he sees Banquo and he cannot deal with the guilt. He even began to have visions of Banquo’s ghost “If thou canst nod, speak too. /if charnel-houses and our graves must send/those that we bury back, our monuments/shall be the maws of kites.”(III.IV) Not only does he ask the murderers twice if Banquo is dead but he also becomes paranoid because Fleance got away. In Act 3 scene 4, Macbeth as king holds a feast with all his friends. During this feast he begins to hallucinate, he sees Banquo’s ghost. Lady

In Shakespeare’s era, the pure belief in the supernatural was much more widely expressed but not accepted. Macbeth shows that Shakespeare wrote not only for entertaining audiences but also for playing on the widespread fear of the supernatural. I think that this play being so heavily doused in supernatural elements suggests that he wanted to use these beliefs, whether or not he personally believed in them. I think that while he is playing with these ideas, they hold at least some truth for us now because of the way we interpret what Shakespeare was interpreting. For Macbeth, the witches and the role of their prophecy was hugely instrumental because of the stakes for him. When we transport ourselves into Macbeth’s shoes, maybe not his time, we can see how anybody would be less likely to take the prophecy with a grain of salt. Maybe we would not exactly go to the lengths