The play ‘Macbeth’ was written in 1606 by William Shakespeare. The play was written for King James I in the Jacobean era. The supernatural theme is used in this play as a catalyst for action as well as an insight into the characters. The supernatural was a very real worry in the Jacobean era, and the majority of Shakespeare's contemporaries would have feared it. It was an especial worry for King James I as he was paranoid of supernatural powers trying to drown him at sea, as referenced in the play by a witch saying she would "drain him dry as hay" (referring to a sailor).
The Miriam-Webster Dictionary defines supernatural as “something unable to be explained by science or the laws of nature: of, relating to, or seeming to come from magic, a god, etc.” In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the supernatural is represented by Hecate and the Weïrd Sisters, Macbeth’s hallucinations, and the apparitions. Through the influence of these supernatural occurrences, Macbeth’s final self is created. Macbeth’s journey through the supernatural began in Act 1 Scene 3 when Macbeth and Banquo stumbled upon the Weïrd Sisters during their ride home from battle.
Before the main character has any part in the play the witches start it off in ominous mutterings about wicked acts and the future. The fear among the audience is set before Macbeth even thinks about killing anybody. Macbeth is then told by the witches about things that are supposed to happen in his future, and assuming they are telling the truth he believes them. Not only does he believe them but he himself commits acts that make them come true. This is another representation of how people believed they could be affected by witches.
I chose to focus on the three witches because they are the driving force of Macbeth's actions throughout the play. The first act when the witches and Macbeth have their first encounter consists of the witches stating the prophecy in which Macbeth is the Thane of Glamis as well as the Thane of Cawdor. The first witch says, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!”(1.3.49) and the second witch, proceeds with “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!”(1.3.50).
Shakespeare illustrates how the supernatural are partly to blame for Macbeth’s downfall. At a strange greeting with the witches and Macbeth, the witches “all hail Macbeth” after telling him that he “shall never be vanquished”. Shakespeare uses dialogue between the characters to depict their influence on Macbeth. Macbeth was a noble and loyal character at the beginning of the play, but with the influence of the supernatural, this shifts Macbeth character into being someone who must protect his position as king. Macbeth knows that King Duncan has “honoured [him] of late” but once he had “done the deed”, his moral conscience changes into wanting to kill more people.
Everyone wants to see the supernatural in effect, one way or another. Many argue that the supernatural events are real, dating from the dawn of time, to even now.. Shakespeare used these ideas in his plays to symbolize that the future stays unchanged (Macbeth). However, what Macbeth experienced was nothing but his subconscious, his greed, and the need to see the supernatural; which is in all of us.
Rough draft Today Shakespeare is known as the large factor of most literary readings in mainstream culture. While all things that seem to be paranormal are usually eliminated by the realities of other know beings many aspiring authors that want their books to be looked at and studied just as any other writer, would tell you staying clear of ghost and, goblins ,witches and demons, for the being that these topics are known to be a sure sign of a low blow fiction novel. But the plays of Shakespeare are anything but low and even with the knowing the factors of the novel even being pact with all the fiction characteristics possible. Although Scientist and skeptics are especially concerned that the documentary style shows believe that supernatural phenomenon's can contribute to a dangerous level of scientific illiteracy among Americans, Ghost and demons are real and
All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! Thou shalt be king hereafter!
Macbeth Essay: Influence of the Supernatural Throughout the Shakespearean play, Macbeth, the supernatural plays a part in all the events in the play. The witches, the floating dagger, and the prophetic apparitions are all examples of the supernatural intertwining with the play. From the murder of King Duncan to Macbeth’s eventual death, the supernatural played a part in most of Macbeth’s actions.
The supernatural motivates Macbeth comprehensively, to the extent that he murders King Duncan, Banquo and Macduff 's family. It galvanises him to do things that otherwise he would have thought were ludicrous. Firstly, the witches prophecies stimulated Macbeth to kill the ones he loves, as a consequence losing friends that were loyal to him. Additionally, Banquo 's ghost caused Macbeth to feel guilt and fear, causing him to rely on the witches’ predictions and having a false feeling of security. Finally, the vision of a bloody dagger that appeared right before the murder encouraged Macbeth to kill King Duncan.
The scene starts off with the witches talking about the mean things they do to people that offend them. When Macbeth enters the scene, the Witches begin to hail saying “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor.
In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, as edited by Sandra Clark and Pamela Mason, we are presented with a convoluted universe revolving around the main character Macbeth, a man who seemed to be at first a man of honor, but slowly slipped into a chasm of cruelty. While he was pushed by outer forces, such as Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters, to attain power and sink further into darkness, it can be argued that everything actually stemmed from him. While he may have appeared to others in one way as an honorable noble who was worthy of leading the country, his inner thoughts hidden away from the rest of the world drove him down a dark path in a quest for power. With such dual and conflicting natures, this ultimately breaks Macbeth until the
Often, it is the responsibility of oneself to determine the outcome of your life, however there will always be influential people who either directly or indirectly affect the decisions made. Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play believed to be written in 1605, focusing on the downwards spiral of Macbeth after he murders King Duncan in order to become King of Scotland, consequently developing feelings of guilt and paranoia. Through the establishment of atmosphere, comments on the actions of major characters, and foreshadowing events, Shakespeare develops the minor characters which include the Three Witches, Macduff, and the Murderers, to support and further prompt the development of the major characters, as well as to communicate essential moral truths and trite platitudes.
In the time of William Shakespeare, there was a strong belief in the existence of the supernatural. And so, it was a repeating aspect in many of Shakespeare’s plays. In Macbeth, the supernatural is a necessary aspect of the structure of the plot. It’s a catalyst for action, which means the audience at that time would have taken these ideas seriously. This made the play more intense and stimulating for the audience.
