Banquo’s ghost is symbolic of Macbeth’s guilt, which has come to haunt him- he cannot escape his past deeds, for they are now having unforeseen consequences. Ironically, the ghost appears at the Royal Banquet, when Macbeth is about to make a toast to Banquo. Macbeth fears Banquo’s ghost, because it has come to accuse him of its murder. It seems that he summons the ghost: each time he sees the vision, he has just mentioned Banquo and how he misses his presence, and it seems that the supernatural is trying to make Macbeth feel guilty for his hypocrisy. He has the affront to dare mention Banquo’s name, after the treachery and disloyalty that Macbeth has showed to Banquo. In Act 3 scene 1, Macbeth says to Banquo: “Fail not our feast.”
AQA (syllabus B)
GCSE English/Literature:
Pre-1900 Drama- ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare
Coursework assignment: Discuss the importance of the Supernatural in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
It is ironic that he should say this before the ghost of Banquo appears at his feast. In Act 3 scene 4, Macbeth is making a toast to Banquo, when his ghost ironically appears in the seat behind him. Macbeth is terrified with this and in shock drops his cup, which causes a stir in the room.
Shakespeare makes frequent references to blood and gore throughout Act 3, scene 4, and creates symbolic imagery in relation to the supernatural- “With twenty mortal murders on their crowns.” As with the dagger, the visions are tormenting Macbeth and relate back to the witches’ evil doings. The ghost can only be seen by Macbeth, which distresses him even more- “Prithee, see there! Behold! Look! Lo! How say you?” Macbeth cannot understand why no one else can see the ghost. When the ghost appears for the second time, Macbeth is even more startled. He pretends that he is a vicious animal, who can challenge anything that evil throws in his path- “Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, the armed rhinoceros, or th’ Hyrcan tiger.” He tries to act fierce, and the ghost vanishes. Macbeth then thinks that he is a man again, and he has scared the ghost away-“I am a man again. Pray you, sit still.” It seems that he does not understand the ways of the supernatural; he thinks that he can just make it go away by saying or doing something.
When Lady Macbeth is trying to encourage herself to commit the murder, she calls upon the evil spirits to, “Fill me from the crown to the toe, full of direst cruelty.” This shows how she doesn’t think that she could commit the murder if she was herself, and wants the spirits to fill her with single-minded cruelty so that she can go forward with her wicked plan. She asks the witches to “Unsex” her and that she wants them to stop her feeling pity or guilt. She calls the spirits “Murd’ring Ministers,” which means she recognises that they can influence people towards murder. Lady Macbeth however, influences Macbeth to commit the murder. Even from the beginning, when she received his letter saying that he was to become king in the future, she immediately started to call the spirits and plot against King Duncan- “It is too full o’th’ the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it…” She says that Macbeth is too pure and good, and she wants to call upon the spirits to relieve him of this goodness and fill him with evil. It is obvious from this to realise how easily the supernatural has affected her. She talks of how she wants the spirits to encourage her and make her as brave as a man by taking her feminine qualities away- “ Come to my woman’s breasts, and take my milk for gall.”
AQA (syllabus B)
GCSE English/Literature:
Pre-1900 Drama- ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare
Coursework assignment: Discuss the importance of the Supernatural in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Lady Macbeth is influenced by the predictions given to Macbeth and encourages him to murder king Duncan- “…Plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out.” She is saying that the ambition to be king is more important than anything- even the life of a baby whilst she feeds it.
When Banquo and King Duncan all arrive at Macbeth’s house, they comment on how pleasant the mood and the general surrounding is- “I have observed the air is delicate.”
“By his loved mansionry, that the heaven’s breathe…” This is ironic, as they do not know what Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have secretly been plotting against them. They also describe the house as heavenly-which is the complete opposite as how it looks when King Duncan is murdered. Lady Macbeth seems worried and asks many questions to Macbeth –“Was the hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since?” showing how worried and anxious she has become, due to all the stress and from trying to keep their wicked plan a secret.
Banquo is not affected by the supernatural at all- when he is told his son is to become king one day, he does not jump to conclusions as Macbeth does. He calls the witches “the devils” and tries to tell Macbeth not to trust the witches as they can be manipulating and can betray people-“but ‘tis strange: and oftentimes to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with deep honest trifles, to betray us in deepest consequence.” Banquo realises the harm they can do from the start, and it is ironic that he should be the one to die in the end. He notices how Macbeth seems different all of a sudden after he has been told his future predicaments by the witches- “Look how our partner’s rapt.” This shows how the predicament for Banquo about his son, has not affected him in the same way it has affected Macbeth; this is possibly because Banquo is stronger- minded than Macbeth.
In Act 2 scene 4, the Old Man is talking with Ross. They comment on the general unrest of the day, which is “strangely dark”- “Dark night strangles the travelling lamp: is’t night’s predominance, or the day’s shame, that darkness does the face of earth entomb, when living light should kiss it?” They say how strange it is for it to have become so dark so quickly during the day. Ross comments on the strange behaviour of King Duncan’s horses- “ Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out, contending against obedience, as they would make war with mankind.” The horses of King Duncan are acting savagely and aggressively, which seems a prediction of the violence that is to occur later when Banquo is murdered the same night.
AQA (syllabus B)
GCSE English/Literature:
Pre-1900 Drama- ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare
Coursework assignment: Discuss the importance of the Supernatural in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
The witches first enter at the beginning of the play, where they are introduced with thunder and lightening to create an eerie atmosphere. The Elizabethan audience would have loved to see the witches, who represented evil, plotting against Macbeth. They talk in rhyme to make it more dramatic and create an atmosphere of foreboding and suspense- “When shall we meet again in thunder, lightening or in rain? When the hurly-burly’s done, when the battles lost and won.” This mysterious language they use creates tension and suspense; we do not know what is going on yet and they make you feel suspicious of what they are plotting.
The witches present a scenario to Macbeth about his future and give him the choice to choose between good or evil; he chooses evil, also influenced by his wife. We can tell that the witches are to play a great roll in the play from the start, when they are introduced and talk about Macbeth. When the witches meet with Macbeth, they immediately start to hail him, which makes him wonder and want to know what is going on- “All hail Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter.” Macbeth is intrigued and amazed at their remarks- “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more.” He addresses them informally and orders them around as if he is more important than them, not realising their true powers. When the witches tell Banquo his prophesy, he does not ask them to tell him more as Macbeth does, he merely questions their words and even wonders if they have taken drugs, as he cannot believe it- “Or have we eaten on the insane root?” He is not affected as Macbeth is, which shows he is not a susceptible person; also he is not tempted by greed as Macbeth is. When Macbeth receives the news that he has been made thane of Cawdor, he thinks that all the other prophecies the witches gave him must be true too- “ If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir.” He believes that he will become king in the future. Macbeth does not understand why Banquo is cautioning him about the witches prophecies- “ Cannot be ill; cannot be good. If ill, why has it given me earnest of success, commencing in a truth?” He does not know what could possibly be wrong with the prophecies, as he has been granted a success he would only have dreamed of. Lady Macbeth is quick to jump to conclusions when she hears the news from Macbeth. Her mind is taken over by the thought of being queen; she influences and urges Macbeth to take advantage of their future success- “ And yet wouldst wrongly win: thou’ldst have, great Glamis, that which cries “Thus thou must do”, if thou have it...” She says that they must commit the murder in order to achieve what their ambitions.
AQA (syllabus B)
GCSE English/Literature:
Pre-1900 Drama- ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare
Coursework assignment: Discuss the importance of the Supernatural in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
The witches enter in Act 3 scene 5 and are meeting with Hecate, who does not like the fact that they went behind her back to trifle with Macbeth, tells them off. She is the leader and most powerful of them all, and they seem to be scared of her and what she could be capable of doing to them if they let her down- “ Come, let’s make haste; she’ll soon be back again.” This shows how close the witches are to one another, as they work together, in union. In Act 4 scene 1, the witches enter again in “thunder”- they speak in rhymes, chanting together whilst mixing a potion ready for Macbeth- “ Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble.” They use unusual language-“ Fillet of a fenny snake”, which creates a tense atmosphere and a sense of unease. The fact that they are all mixing the potion together shows again, how close they are to one another. Macbeth thinks that he can control them- “Call em, let me see ‘em!” This shows how confident he has become; he has managed to kill king Duncan without anyone suspecting him, and now he has had Banquo murdered, without being caught. The witches warn him without him realising, as well as making mischief at the same time- “Speak, demand, we’ll answer.” They say that they will answer any question he asks, however they are deceiving him, as he then thinks that he can control them easily. They do not like this, and possibly could have done worse things to him as a result of his rudeness. Macbeth mocks them, feeling in control as they are answering all of his questions- “Had I three ears, I’d hear thee.” He is rude to them, saying that they do not need to say his name three times. Macbeth is given plenty of warnings, however he has become too confident and proud to notice them; “ Thunder. Third apparition, a child is crowned, with a tree in his hand.” This warns Macbeth that he is not going to stay king for long, as a new child is being crowned, however he does not believe this and tells the witches to deny that Banquo’s son will ever become king, or else they will be cursed-“ Deny me this, and an eternal curse will fall on you!” Here, the witches trying to confuse and work Macbeth into a false sense of security by telling him what he wants to hear, but failing to mention the consequences of his actions.
The witches are strong representations of evil, and the Elizabethan audience loved to see them manipulate and destroy the life of a once good man. The Elizabethans believed strongly in witches, and were very superstitious, so the witches would have had a great affect on them. The witches appear from nowhere- slowly floating out of the mist, and then suddenly disappearing into the forest: “They stop suddenly, and a mist hides them”, this would capture the attention of an Elizabethan audience, as the witches create an exciting, dramatic atmosphere, and there is a feeling of suspense, that many people would enjoy.
AQA (syllabus B)
GCSE English/Literature:
Pre-1900 Drama- ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare
Coursework assignment: Discuss the importance of the Supernatural in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
The witches also appear symbolically after a main event has happened; In Act 1 scene 1, when Macbeth and Banquo had just returned heroically from battle, feeling happy and relieved that it ended with their success, the witches’ enter- almost as if they want to spoil the fun or happiness of Macbeth. The Elizabethan audience would have especially love the suspense when they see the witches slowly, eerily appearing out of the mist, unnoticed by Macbeth and Banquo. They also make a dramatic appearance in Act 3 scene 4, in thunder and lightning, just after Banquo has been brutally murdered. This sudden entrance after a murder has been committed shows how the witches must be able to see what Macbeth is doing, as they turn up after Banquo has been killed.
Therefore, they must know what Macbeth is planning, or they could possibly be able to foretell the future with their mysterious powers.
The supernatural plays an important key role in the shaping of events in the play. The witches are the main culprits of luring Macbeth with their evil powers, giving him the most important information relating to his future, and letting him choose between good or evil, which he eventually gives into. The different forms of the supernatural are to blame for Macbeth’s moral downfall-the witches present Macbeth with a wonderful image of his future- power and wealth and honour as king, leading his mind to start considering how he could achieve this honour more quickly. They sow the seed of temptation in Macbeth’s mind and without their predictions, Macbeth would have been unaware of these future possibilities. This ‘future’ only occurred because of his actions following the witches’ prophecies and without them, Macbeth may have accepted each honour as it was presented to him and not been tempted by greater ones.
The witches set the scene of doom- they enter Macbeth’s life in dramatically bad weather, showing the audience that they are to change the proceedings for the worst- putting a shadow on goodness and using their evil powers to influence the central character. They purposely tell Macbeth that he is going to be king, knowing that he will want to know more about his glorious future from them. They appear after a main event has happened, aiming to stir everything up more, to make sure that Macbeth does not give up. The witches provide Macbeth with the means of seeing his future before him, from within their cauldron. By showing him the apparitions of the future, they confuse Macbeth; he is self-conscious and paranoid about everyone around him. This concludes how central their role in the destruction of Macbeth is.
AQA (syllabus B)
GCSE English/Literature:
Pre-1900 Drama- ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare
Coursework assignment: Discuss the importance of the Supernatural in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
In the same way, Lady Macbeth is lured by their powers- she asks the supernatural to help her strengthen and resolve, in order to follow the path of evil. She uses this influence to goad Macbeth into action, when he seems to weaken- “When you durst do it, then you were a man.” She is questioning his masculinity, saying that only when he murders king Duncan, he will be a man.
The dagger lures Macbeth towards the evil path, ensuring that he will not weaken, by showing him the means to the end he seeks. It is the means by which he can achieve his goal of becoming king. The ghost of Banquo shows Macbeth and the audience that there are always consequences, often unforeseen, for wicked actions and that one never rests easily after obtaining power through evil means. Banquo’s ghost highlights Macbeth’s hypocrisy, when he tries to deceive the others at the banquet, at drinking a toast to his friend Banqo, making him realise that he cannot easily hide behind pretence.
All these forms of the supernatural help to play a huge roll in the destruction of Macbeth, and without the supernatural, the play would not be as interesting and exciting, and also would not end with the same disastrous consequences. The supernatural causes Macbeth to betray his king, as well as becoming a traitor to his own country, which he certainly would not have done if he were his own self.
The supernatural therefore shapes the events of the play; while the narrative gives the audience and readers insight into the central characters, and makes them feel emotionally involved in the story.
