The Role of the Supernatural in the Play Macbeth Essay

     In Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of Macbeth the main character Macbeth is driven from his status as a well respected warrior and lord of not one, but two Scottish regions to a dishonest, unloyal murderer. Macbeth gets caught in a web of lies and vile acts of murder in which he brings about his own demise. His criminal actions lead up to his tragic ending of life. ‘ They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, But bearlike I must fight the course.’ His great ambition and gullibility of the witches predictions are two of the biggest factors of his downfall;however, Lady Macbeth was probably the biggest influence in the whole tragedy.

Macbeth, a tragedy, a well-known work of Shakespeare filled with physiological challenges, supernatural events, and even death, is a part of many superstitions. There is a theatrical superstition, called the Scottish Curse that says it is considered bad luck to say the name Macbeth inside a theater because it will cause the performance to end in disaster. Some people say that the supernatural events in the play Macbeth can only truly be seen as supernatural; others say the events are just a product of insanity. Many supernatural events in Macbeth such as his encounter with the witches, are a product of the insanity of the one and only Macbeth, himself. The results of Macbeth’s insanity originate from the true supernatural events, the actions of his wife, Lady Macbeth, and all of the murder he commits.

The Play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare is shaped by supernatural forces with the use of the weird witches, the apparition of the ghost, and the floating dagger. These forces lead Macbeth to act in the way he did and add suspense to the play. The play opens with the three witches, and later on Macbeth and Banquo encounter them. They prophesized that Macbeth will be promoted to Thane of Cawdor, and then become King of Scotland. In addition to that, Banquo was told that his sons shall be kings, but never himself. Macbeth was skeptical about the prophesies, but until some of King Duncan’s men came to inform Macbeth that that he was to be named Thane of Cawdor due to the betrayal of the previous and condemned to death. Then Lady Macbeth

The supernatural has always fascinated and continues to intrigue mankind. In many of Shakespeare’s plays, he uses the supernatural to strengthen a particular scene or to influence the impression the audience has about someone or something. This was not strange or uncommon in Shakespeare’s time. In fact, during the 1500s, many people still believed in witches and witchcraft. Even in today’s society, with such advanced science and technology, many people are still influenced, if not dictated by the supernatural. For example, religious people have the belief that their saviour, Jesus Christ was a man of many miracles; one of which was he turned water into wine. Despite the fact that it

    The aura of darkness, deception, and horror present in William Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, envelopes the entire play and is created mainly by the sense of violence and foreboding that is evoked by the imagery.  The dominant images of nature and the supernatural contribute to the atmosphere of this tragedy.  The predictions of the weird sisters, along with natural forces and supernatural images, have lead to chaos in Scotland due to their impact on the characters of the play, which brings about many delusions and deaths.

Throughout his play, Shakespeare uses a wide variety of themes in order to convey the sense of evil. These themes are omnipresent, and well implemented into the text, as they allow the reader to visually imagine the different occurrences, and how they might lead to a sense of evil throughout. The themes included consist of appearance and reality, guilt, ambition, violence and tyranny and order and disorder. Several quotes are weaved into the text in order to express more clearly the theme Shakespeare is attempting to convey. The themes all come together to enhance the dark symbolism of evil, and how it is actually conveyed.

In this essay I am going to explore the use of the supernatural in the

The overall dramatic meaning of this play has been successfully shown by the elements of drama. The

Thunder and lightning is used once again to open Act I Scene 3. As the

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.

In the play the audience is also told in so many words that there has

want to turn to murder as Duncan is such a good and loyal man. Lady

Undeniably, the supernatural is interweaved throughout Macbeth. The quote “As by the strength of their illusion shall draw him on to his confusion.” exemplifies the witches’ plans to disillusion Macbeth (Shakespeare 3.5). All people have experienced the influence of ideas, media, and other people. The basis of everyone’s ideas, ranging from political to personal views, are carved through influence.

When Shakespeare sets the characters in both plays in front of a place he has them as the audience of what they have experienced.

  A notable point within Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is the use of the three witches in the opening scene.  The number of witches for a contemporary audience can go unnoticed.  However in the time that Shakespeare the symbolic meaning of the number three was important, as it symbolized unluckiness and when remembering the fear of the unnatural and being unlucky (epitomized by such historical events as the rage of witch trials within Britain).  This is not the only symbolism within the play, the use of the disparity between light and dark is an important concept.  We can perhaps see the parallel between the horror movies of today, and the images of witchcraft, murder and ghosts of the past.