The first meeting between the witches and Macbeth is one of if not the most important part of the play as they predict that he will be first ‘Thane of Cawdor’ then King, “That shalt be king hereafter.” Macbeth is intrigued and amazed at their remarks- “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more.” 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. Banquo 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 notices however that Macbeth seems different all of a sudden after he has been told his future predictions by the witches- “Look how our partner’s rapt.” Banquo 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.” This is the first sign of the downfall of Macbeth as at the start he was seen to be an amazing war hero and now the witches have planted the seed of temptation in his mind and shown him a way to grasp his ambitions. 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 a woman, 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. This was seen to be shocking to the audiences of the Elizabethan times as women were very much seen to be to delicate and emotional to be able to say or even think of such things as murder and by Lady Macbeth asking to be unsexed then it would make sense to the audience of that era as a mere lady could not do such evil deeds.
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.” This is ironic, as they do not know what Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have secretly been plotting against them
In the same way, Lady Macbeth has been tempted by these predictions and persuades Macbeth into action by questioning his masculinity, saying that only when he murders king Duncan, he will be a man, “When you durst do it, then you were a man.”
Macbeth is totally taken over by the predictions and with the help of Lady Macbeth he is convinced that killing the King is the only way forward. Macbeth agrees to murder Duncan and as he is walking towards Duncan’s room he sees a dagger floating in the air and pointing towards Duncan’s bed. The dagger is described as, “fatal vision” and Macbeth does not know if it is a “dagger of the mind”, or if it is real. It seems to represent evil, leads Macbeth to commit Duncan’s murder. Macbeth describes the dagger and its intentions as “bloody business” suggesting he knows the evil it represents. The appearance of the dagger when Macbeth is hesitant to commit the murder shows the manipulative powers that the supernatural can have on a weak mind. Its appearance lures him towards the path again, showing him the means by which he can obtain his ambitions.
When Macbeth commits the murder of the King, Duncan, Shakespeare describes the animals having, “Turned wild in nature.” This was seen by the audience as normal as the people of that time believed when a crime was committed against the king it was a crime committed against God as the king was seen to be Gods representative on Earth. If a crime was committed against God, especially as serious as regicide, there will be severe consequences and an unbalance in nature hence the mentioning of a stormy night and the ‘strange screams of death’.
After the death of Duncan Macbeth becomes paranoid about keeping the throne and Macbeth ends up killing Banquo as he thinks that Banquo knows his wicked secret. Banquo’s ghost comes back to haunt Macbeth at the Royal Banquet Macbeth holds. Banquo’s ghost is symbolic of Macbeth’s guilt, in a way it symbolizes the little conscience that Macbeth has left. Ironically, the ghost appears at the Banquet just as Macbeth is about to make a toast to Banquo. It seems that the supernatural is trying to make Macbeth feel guilty for his hypocrisy.
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. They sow the seed of temptation in Macbeth’s mind and without their predictions, Macbeth would have been unaware of these future possibilities.
All the 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.
