Macbeth Essay

1893 Words8 Pages
Shakespeare wrote many plays that have proven themselves to have themes that have held true over the ages since they were first penned. The play Macbeth is no exception to this legacy. Macbeth has various elements that are memorable, including the elements of supernatural beings and events, but the lasting theme of the effect that relationships with others has on the course of a person’s life is woven throughout the play, with the supernatural themes also tying into these relationships. Elizabethan England was a fitting ground for the seeds of Macbeth to grow into a work by Shakespeare. The people of the time had a belief in the mystical and supernatural forces, and this belief was part of their everyday lives. Due to this, the supernatural elements of Macbeth would have been very believable to the people of the time. Macbeth is the story of a man by the same name who comes across three witches. He is told by the witches that he will become the King of Scotland, but that future kings will be descended from his friend Banquo and not himself. Upon returning home after learning that he is not named the heir to the throne, the Lady Macbeth, his wife, convinces him that the prophecy by the witches should be heeded and that he should take action in order to ensure that it comes to pass (Foster). The Lady Macbeth is ambitious, and she drives Macbeth to follow her plan to kill the King of Scotland while he is visiting their castle and pin the murder on the grooms of the