Immediately these sentences have an affect on him, because he seems to be thinking about something and then Banquo asks him why he shudders. It is quite possible that he is already thing about killing King Duncan.
Banquo: “Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear
Things that do sound so fair?”
The witches also predict that Banquo’s sons will become Kings. They then vanish which in itself is supernatural and inspires a huge sense of fear and anxiousness for Macbeth. He says;
Macbeth: “Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:
By Sinel’s death I know I am thane of Glamis;
But how of Cawdor? the thane of Cawdor lives
A prosperous gentleman; and to be King
Stands not within the prospect of belief,
No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence
You owe this strange intelligence, or why
Upon this blasted heath you stop our way
With such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you
Banquo and Macbeth don’t know that the thane of Cawdor is a traitor. It is ironic that Macbeth turns into the traitor when he becomes thane of Cawdor. This irony could also be the “supernatural” because something has made him become a traitor. That thing is the prediction by the Witches and it is also something supernatural, so all the things of the supernatural are linked very deeply.
Banquo’s ghost appears in the banquet scene. This is very difficult to decide weather this is supernatural or not. Was Macbeth’s mind playing a trick on him? Or was it because he was so guilty? Or was it something else something supernatural?
Banquo and Macbeth saw the witches and they vanished before their eyes, therefore the ghost could have been supernatural. However, Macbeth is very guilty that he killed the King so it could also be that.
Whether or not that part of the play is supernatural or not it is very likely the ghost is the supernatural when it appears with the witches.
The of the prediction and overall the supernatural doesn’t just have an influence on Macbeth it also has an affect on Lady Macbeth.
When she finds out about the predictions she seems in my opinion to become possessed and she forced Macbeth become king and ultimately kill King Duncan.
For example the soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 5 with Lady Macbeth shows her immediate obsession with news of the prediction:
“…The raven himself is hoarse
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements…”
She then does something so unthinkable in those times that if it was real and not a play she would probably have been killed. She summons spirits, to “unsex.” In other words she wants the evil spirits to make her a man so she can kill Duncan.
“Come, you spirits,
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here…”
It is obvious that she has already been driven to obsession by either the letter or the by a supernatural force.
The scenes augments to the supernatural by adding fear and suspense in small intervals. Shakespeare was very clever because he knew that at the time people believed in the supernatural. The beliefs in those times were so strong that people were killed if other people thought they had something to do with the supernatural. Therefore, when Shakespeare did put Supernatural things in Macbeth, it created an immediate atmosphere of fear and suspense.
For example, at the start of the play it says;
“A wild heath land. Thunder and Lightning. Enter three Witches.”
Even though this sentence was a stage direction it helps the play start with a scary, weird scene. However, the next scene is quite different it is a very different atmosphere, it is calm and peaceful. Then the full affect of the supernatural comes on in the next scene.
By adding these peaces of calm it only heightens the supernatural scenes.
Overall the supernatural plays a significant role in Macbeth, it is the key behind the murder of King Duncan and in my opinion it is what drove Lady Macbeth to madness.
In my opinion, Macbeth wouldn’t be able to kill King Duncan without the prediction or Lady Macbeth.
