The Supernatural in William Shakespeare's Macbeth Essay

In the modern 21sr century, the roles and behaviors expected of individuals remains analogous despite gender. This ideology stems from the preceding movement in equality, which preaches that differences of sex appear insignificant. Despite this notion, there remains distinct differences in the physical and psychological makeups of both men and women. In most cultures, certain duties remain associated with specific genders. With this in mind, Shakespeare’s Macbeth heightens the supernatural evil possessing Lady Macbeth as she condones murder for her own selfish ambition, while in Shakespeare’s time women were regarded as peaceful and full of feminine sympathies. This anachronism with the reality of Shakespeare’s day, illustrates the immense sense of wickedness and abnormality emphasizing her character’s influence on her husband and the plot of the play. In contrast, Macbeth appears to some extent a more acceptable evil due to a greater compliance with the gender standards and moral transition during the Shakespearean era. Shakespeare utilizes numerous literary intentions in order to express these diverse levels of evil to provide an element of depth behind the mental reactions and deteriorations of the characters until their final decease into the complete darkness of death.

Automatically the audience views Macbeth’s association with the witches to be an association with the devil. During the time of when this play was written witches were viewed in a totally different light than they are today. Back then witches were viewed as the devils spawn, or a piece of hell on earth. These characters interested the audience in a certain way that they had an evil effect on the play. The people were intrigued by the supernatural beings, they were curious to comprehend these characters. By including witches into the play it could have

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

When Shakespeare wrote his play, Macbeth in 1606 a large majority of people were interested in witchcraft. This is why Shakespeare made the witches and the witches’ prophecies play a major part in the storyline of the play. In the time of Macbeth witches were not thought to be supernatural beings themselves, but supposedly gained their powers by selling their souls to Satan. There can be little doubt that most of Shakespeare’s audience would have believed in witches, and for the purpose of the play, at least, Shakespeare also accepted their reality.

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.

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.

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

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 life, there are two types of people: those who do the right thing and those who don’t. In the play Macbeth, by Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth is given a prophecy by three witches that says he will become king; however, there is no descending line of kings of his own blood. With the knowledge of the Witches’ prophecy, Macbeth’s ambition, and manipulation from his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is quickly dragged into a never-ending, bloody murder rampage to obtain the crown and get rid of those who stand in the way of obtaining it as well. Macbeth constantly battles with his moral dilemmas; however, he easily falls victim to influences that go against his morals. Influences on major characters emphasize how easily one’s decision making can be negatively affected, resulting in one going against his or her morals/integrity.

Laurence Sterne once wrote, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” This passage embodies one of the over arching themes of Macbeth. The character Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, could easily identify with this passage due to the fact that he is pulled in opposite directions by both his desire to do what is right and his desire for power.

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner dictionary, `supernatural' refers to things that cannot be explained by natural or physical laws. The presence of supernatural forces in "Macbeth," provides for much of the play's dramatic tension and the mounting suspense. In this paper we shall look at some of supernatural elements in the play.