DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF SUPERNATURALS IN MACBETH The supernatural is a powerful theme running through Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Shakespeare uses the supernatural in many scenes and it vital to the storyline of the play, injecting horror tension and suspense into the play – are these supernatural events inside Macbeth’s mind, or do they really take place. In this essay I will explore the theme of the supernatural in Macbeth, how Shakespeare uses the supernatural and how it affects the play. The first major use of the supernatural is in the opening scene Act 1, Scene 1. In this scene we view three witches meeting on a moor. Here they discuss where they plan to meet Macbeth. One of the biggest examples of the supernatural is introduced here – the witches. At the time Shakespeare wrote Macbeth the idea of witches was something that was taken very seriously by his audience – witches were believed to be real beings, living in secrecy among the good, Christian citizens. Witches were the spawn of the devil, and so this scene would have been very likely to scare, and excite Shakespeare’s audience. This opening scene is a key scene as it sets the mood for the play – from the opening scene we can tell that Macbeth is not going to be a comedy. Shakespeare uses the supernatural in many other subtler ways is this scene – the witches are on an empty moor, for example, and there is a thunder and lightning storm taking place. This makes a huge difference – it brings out the horror and evil in the witches and adds to the tension and the full horror of this scene. The opening scene is vital, to any play. In my opinion Shakespeare has used the supernatural well, to produce an exiting and sinister scene. Act 1 Scene 3 is a vital scene, in terms of the supernatural. It is much lengthier than the fairly short opening scene. The scene opens with the witches discussing their deeds, since they last gathered. They have all been committing evil deeds, for example the second witch killed the husband of a woman that would not give her chestnuts. Once again, the witches have assembled on a moor, and a storm is taking place, adding to the sinister, eerie mood of the scene. Their actions, or what they say, also contribute to this mood –
they have all been committing spine-chilling, evil deeds. They wait to meet Macbeth – as they already know he is coming. Macbeth and Banquo then stumble upon the witches, after the battle. Here lies a fairly major point – Banquo also sees the witches. The witches therefore could not be Macbeth’s imagination, as Banquo questions them. He describes them as – ‘So withered and so wild in attire, that look not like the inhabitants of the earth’ ‘you should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so…’ He says that though they should be ...
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they have all been committing spine-chilling, evil deeds. They wait to meet Macbeth – as they already know he is coming. Macbeth and Banquo then stumble upon the witches, after the battle. Here lies a fairly major point – Banquo also sees the witches. The witches therefore could not be Macbeth’s imagination, as Banquo questions them. He describes them as – ‘So withered and so wild in attire, that look not like the inhabitants of the earth’ ‘you should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so…’ He says that though they should be women, they are so ugly and withered that they could not be – Banquo definitely sees the witches – they are not a product of Macbeth’s imagination, driven by his ambition. One of the biggest supernatural events in both this scene, and the play, are the predictions the witches make. The three predictions made by the witches for Macbeth change the course of the play, and are the basis for the storyline of the play. These predictions push Macbeth to murder Duncan, Banquo and eventually they kill him. They predict for Macbeth to become Thane of Glamis – this is his current title. However their next prediction is a little more ambitious. They predict Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor, when to Macbeth’s knowledge, the Thane of Cawdor still lives. The third prediction seems impossible – Macbeth will become King of Scotland. Each of these predictions comes true. The witches are one of the largest supernatural influences in the play - though they do not appear in many of scenes, they have a major influence on the play. This demonstrates a feature of the supernatural – though it is not a physical presence, it is still there. They predict the future, and push Macbeth into a being that even they describe as evil. They are vital to the play. They also would have scared and exited the audience – referring back; again, the witches Shakespeare creates would have fitted perfectly into social stereotypes of witches. Even today, though witches are not so commonly believed to be evil, many cartoons and television programs have been influenced by these witches, in particular the chant they sing whilst making the potion in Act 4 Scene 1 – ‘Double, Double, toil and trouble, Fire Burn and Cauldron bubble’. The first key scene, involving the supernatural, without the influence of the witches occurs in Act 3 Scene 4. This is the scene where the ghost of Banquo returns to haunt Macbeth at Macbeth’s Dinner Party. However, only Macbeth can see the ghost and this leads onto the debate about whether the ghost is merely Macbeth’s guilty conscience catching up with him, or whether the ghost appears to Macbeth and hides itself from everyone else in the room. Macbeth is obviously terrified by the ghost. This is shown when he speaks to it, and says ‘What man dare, I dare: Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, The arm’d rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger; take any shape but that…’. He shows his fear of the apparition here, saying that he would rather face a Russian Bear, a rhinoceros or a Hyrcan tiger than the apparition. It is genuine fear. The ghost has a large dramatic affect on this scene, and is also vital. If the ghost is Macbeth’s conscience then it shows how Macbeth is beginning to crack and this could also signal the beginning of the end for Macbeth, as after this he decides to visit the witches. Banquo’s ghost haunting Macbeth can be compared to Julius Caesar, where Caesar’s ghost haunts Brutus. Act 4 Scene 1 is the last time we see the witches. Macbeth has decided to visit them. Shakespeare’s audience would have seen this as a terrible act – the witches are evil, and they would have believed that under no circumstances should you go and visit them – but Macbeth does. At the opening of the scene, the witches are making a potion, using hideous ingredients, such as the liver of a Jew, baboon’s blood and the nose of a Turk. These ingredients are disgusting, reinforcing just how evil the witches are. Another interesting point is that just before Macbeth enters, the second witch describes him as wicked – these evil witches are now describing Macbeth as being wicked. Macbeth demands they tell him the future. At this point Macbeth looks to be in control – he is now using the supernatural to his own advantage. Three more apparitions are summoned and they each give Macbeth a prediction. They tell Macbeth to beware of Macduff. They tell Macbeth that no man born of a woman will ever harm Macbeth. Finally, they tell Macbeth that he will not be defeated until Great Birnham Wood moves to Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth takes these predictions as a good sign. However he presses on and wants to know more. The witches try to protect him here – they tell him he knows enough, but Macbeth does not stop. He wants to know if any son of Banquo will ever rule Scotland. Another apparition occurs of all the kings of Scotland, then a mirror, then Banquo. This is the news that defeats Macbeth – the control Macbeth did have has shifted he now has no control. This is the last we see of the witches. Though we know that the witches did exist at the beginning of the play, when Macbeth talks to Lennox, Lennox did not see the witches. Lennox brings the news that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth then decides to murder all of Macduffs family – this is pure evil, showing the change in Macbeth from when Lady Macbeth had to persuade him to murder King Duncan and how he is now, a cold blooded killer. Undoubtedly, the biggest supernatural influence in Macbeth is the witches. However there are other supernatural occurrences that influence the play. In Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth receives the letter from her husband, Macbeth, informing her about his meeting with the witches. It is here that she decides they must kill Duncan. She then calls on the spirits to fill her with cruelty and ‘unsex’ her. Although she could just be trying to bolster herself up or prepare herself psychologically, she may also be calling on supernatural evil demons to fill her with wickedness. Act 2 Scene 1 is the scene before Macbeth murders Duncan, and where he is waiting for the signal to commit the murder. Before the bell rings, Banquo comments on how dark the night is, and how the moon is down. Is this a supernatural sign, signalling a dark, evil night, or a coincidence? Banquo also says that though he is tired he cannot sleep, as his mind is not at rest – does he have a feeling something is going to happen? When Banquo leaves Macbeth is left alone, waiting for the bell and his signal. He begins a soliloquy, in which he makes many references to evil and darkness including where he compares what he is about to do, to what the Roman, Tarquin, did when he raped his friend’s wife, Lucrece. Shakespeare wrote a poem about this, entitled ‘The Rape of Lucrece’. Shakespeare’s audience would have viewed rape to be as much of a crime as murder. During this soliloquy Macbeth sees a dagger before him – is this his imagination or conscience, or something more evil and a sign from dark powers to carry out the murder? Macbeth carries out the murder in Act 2 Scene 2, though we do not see the murder. After Macbeth commits the murder he hears voices saying ‘Sleep No More!̵ 7; and then knocking at the gates – though the knocking is Macduff arriving at the castle, could it also be Duncan’s ghost haunting Macbeth? Another point with this scene, is that after Duncan’s murder Macbeth is affected by supernatural occurrences, showing his weakness and proving that he is not a ruthless murderer. However after Banquo is murdered Macbeth is not affected by these supernatural happenings, such as the knocking. This shows the change in Macbeth’s character, from the brave, noble, courageous Macbeth at the beginning of the play, to the ruthless, cold blooded killer Macbeth turns into. The final scene involving the supernatural I will look at is Act 2 Scene 4, the discussion with Ross and the Old Man, about the supernatural event that took place on the night of Duncan’s murder. They say that Duncan’s horses broke free and ate each other and a mousing owl killed a towering falcon. These are unnatural events that would not happen normally. A supernatural sign that something evil has happened? This scene could also be compared to Julius Caesar, where strange events occur on the night before Brutus murders Caesar. The theme of the supernatural in Macbeth is vital to the storyline of the play. The witches are one of the biggest aspects of the supernatural in the play - they influence on Macbeths actions, and are eventually his downfall. The supernatural events, which happen in the play, lead us to question whether these events are actually caused by evil powers or Macbeth’s paranoia and driving ambition, which leads him to believe these things, are taking place. The trend of the supernatural in Macbeth portrays evil powers, though also provokes thought from the audience about whether these events take place, or are a product of Macbeth imagination and paranoia. Shakespeare has used the supernatural to build tension, suspense and horror into the play, though it is also the base on which the whole play, Macbeth is built – the play revolves around the supernatural.