asses the supernatural in macbeth

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Assess the Supernatural in Macbeth

Shakespeare wrote his plays during the Elizabethan time, a time of change and discovery, which was called the Renaissance. Changes in religion, politics, science, language, and the arts made the population excited and think about and believe in things differently. One subject many people had different beliefs about was the belief of the supernatural. Many women were accused of witchcraft; they would be burnt at the stake or thrown into a river to drown. Shakespeare uses witches in Macbeth to scare the audience. This is shown in the first scene, Act 1 Scene 1.

         In the first scene, without anyone saying a word, Shakespeare manages to scare the audience. He does this by having thunder and lightning coming from behind the stage. Not only does this scare the audience, which they wanted to happen, they came to get scared, but it sets the mood. The come across as grey, gloomy and dark which again frightens the audience. When the first witch speaks she asks the others:

 

When shall we three meet again,

In thunder, lightning or in rain?

This tells us two things: 1. They have met before and

                                       2. They seem to be able to control the weather.

Controlling the weather is important because this means whenever there is thunder lightning or rain the witches will most likely be there. This also means that they can set the mood for the audience. The withes then go on to predict the future saying:

Where the Place?

Upon the heath.

There to meet with Macbeth.

This shows us that the witches know that Macbeth will win because he must be alive to meet with them, plus they know where and when the battle finishes. In the last line all of the witches say:

Fair is foul, and foul is fair:

Join now!

Hover through the fog and filthy air.

All this means is that the witches plan to create chaos amongst Macbeth, to make him confused weary and doubtful. The next time the witches appear is in Act 1 Scene 3.

         In this scene the second witch has been travelling “killing swine” as she puts it and she describes her travels as:

A sailor’s wife had chestnuts in her lap …

…Look what I have.

This tells us that the witches hold grudges against other people causing their evil to become worse if you ...

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