Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in the time of king James 1. This play would have interested the king as he claimed to have had contact with black magic and seemed to be fascinated by witches, he even wrote a book on the subject.
Shakespeare is known to have had the king of the time in mind when he wrote this play. He probably decided to open the play in this way for that reason. Also the fact that witchcraft interested the public of the time too.
Supernatural beings are used to create dramatic emphasis in all forms of literature. Shakespeare uses witches, ghosts, and apparitions in his play, Macbeth, to generate this effect. Supernatural beings are effective in provoking a reaction in audiences today, so it is easy to imagine how these specters would have alarmed the people of the Elizabethan era. The population of the Elizabethan era had certain ideas about witches, which the three witches in Macbeth were based upon. The witches added an element of the supernatural to Macbeth, as did the appearance of Banquo’s ghost and the apparitions that emerged at Macbeth’s final rendezvous with the three witches. All of these occurrences created a more dramatic atmosphere of suspense.
The theatrical production, Macbeth, is filled with references to the supernatural, as well as the actual appearance of them. The witches in the story are like prophets, foretelling Macbeth’s future, or perhaps they can be considered harbingers of doom. They seem to enjoy playing with Macbeth's mind. The witches chant together in an alarming fashion: "The weïrd sisters, hand in hand,/ Posers of the sea and land,/ Thus do go about ,about:/ Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine,/ and thrice again, to make up nine./ Peace! The charm’s wound up." (I, iii, 83-87) They seem to belong to a genre of an evil cult, and cults are not well known for producing positive actions and reactions in society.
The supernatural occurrences in Macbeth were effective, especially in Elizabethan times when belief in the supernatural was more widespread than today. Using supernatural beings created a dramatic air in this, Shakespeare’s final tragedy.
So, opening the play with this unworldly atmosphere from the start. As well as stirring interest the witches are very relavent in the play. The prophecies which were told by the witches were one of the factors which contributed to the degeneration of Macbeth’s character. If it had not been for the witches telling him that he was to be Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and King of Scotland, Macbeth would still be his ordinary self. As a result of the prophecies, this aroused Macbeth's curiosity of how he could be King of Scotland. As the play progresses, Macbeth slowly relies on the witches prophecies. Shakespeare uses the witches as a remedy for Macbeth's curiosity which corrupts his character.
These predictions of Macbeth success are full of irony and make the audience think about where Macbeth’s fate will take him.
In scene two of act one Macbeth is shown as a heroic soldier who is brave and victorious. He and his best friend Banquo have triumphed over two armies including that of the treacherous Thane of Cawdor. As he returns from victorious battle, puffed up with self-love which demands ever-increasing recognition of his greatness, the demonic forces of evil-symbolized by the Weird Sisters-suggest to his inordinate imagination the splendid prospect of attaining now the greatest ambitions he has ever desired. These demons in the disguise of witches cannot read his innermost thoughts, but from observation of facial expression and other bodily movements they surmise with comparative accuracy what passions drive him and what dark desires await their fostering. Realizing that he wishes the kingdom, they tell him that he shall be king. They cannot thus compel his will to evil; but they do arouse his passions and stir up a unusual thoughts and imagination, which so perverts the judgment of reason that would usually lead his will toward choosing means to the desired wholesome good man image he ahs built up..
There is a lot of irony in this scene as king duncans first words are ‘what bloody man is that’ he speaks of blood and soon it will be he who is murdered. Also the kings is going to have the original Thane of Cawdor executed for being a traitor and replace him with Macbeth. This is ironic because it will turn out that Macbeth will be even more treacherous and kill the king.
Another reason Macbeth is being made Thane is because of the complimentary words of the captain. In this scene it is the captain who causes the most drama. He comes in covered in blood and badly wounded and tells of the exciting victory in battle.
Blood is known to all of us to represent life, death and often injury. Blood is an essential part of life, and without blood, we could not live. This is known to everyone, and because of this, when Shakespeare uses the symbol of blood to represent treason, murder and death, it is easily understood and fits in perfectly with the ideas we have of blood.
Throughout the play, Shakespeare effectively conveys theme of death, murder and treason through the symbol of blood. Normally, the word blood makes us think about injury and death, being an essential part of life, and the symbol of blood being used in the play is understood by the audience as being essential to life, and in the context it is used, it is a perfect metaphor for death and murder. Blood is an effective symbol and is used well.
Scene two , is very separate from scene 1 as it is factual and does not conjure up new ideas that will change the play , but it backs the ideas of scene 1 and sets the play in motion for the phrophesys to come true,
In scene three the three witches are alone at the beginning, but quarter of the way through Banquo and Macbeth come on .Banquo talks of the witches odd appearance, saying that their clothes are old and wild, that they do not look like creatures of this planet .He also questions weather they are alive or not.”that look not like th’inhabitants o’th’earth, and yet are on’t?-live you, or are u aught that man my question?”
Banquo goes on to say that they look like women but the fact that they have beards make him think otherwise”you should be women and yet yours beards forbid me to interpret that you are so.”
Before Banquo and Macbeth arrive in the scene the three witches were casting a spell of revenge on a sailor; this spell is a metaphor for the state of Scotland at the time.
In scene 3, the witches meet Macbeth and Banquo each of the two men is given three prophecies. Macbeth is greeted in three different ways firstly as Thane of Glamis, second as Thane of Cawdor and finally as the future King, this produces a physical response from Macbeth which could suggest fear, surprise or even guilt. Banquo demands that the witches predict his future; these prophecies are ambiguous. The first is an oxymoron, saying Banquo will be ‘lesser than Macbeth, and greater’; the second that he shall be ‘not so happy, yet much happier’. The third is that he shall be the parent of a line of kings, although he shall not be one. The witches depart, Macbeth and Banquo continue, Angus and Ross enter and bring the news that Macbeth is now Thane of Cawdor. Both Banquo and Macbeth are shocked; Banquo warns Macbeth that evil forces are managing the situation, he is frightened of being duped and seduced by what seems pleasant; he believes that it could lead to damnation.
In lines 122 –124 banquo talks about the way good things can come from using bad things maybe even evil. Here we see it closely linked with the ‘fair is foul ‘speech in scene 1 ‘but ‘tis strange, and open times, to win us to harm the insruments of darkness tell us truths’.
Then follows the first soliloquy, given by Macbeth, where we hear Macbeth's thoughts. It is shown that Macbeth has had thoughts of becoming king before the ‘prologues’ or initial thoughts have come true. The ‘imperial theme’ means becoming king. There is a slight break where Macbeth thanks Angus and Ross, although he could be asking them to move away for a moment, he then continues his thoughts. He is shown to be confused about how to view the prophecies, as he says ‘cannot be ill, cannot be good.’ This also shows a contrast present throughout the play, involving good and evil or nature and the supernatural. Macbeth asks, if it is unfavourable why did it promise successes and begin with the truth? He then asks if virtuous, why is he considering murdering Duncan? Macbeth is simultaneously terrified and exited by this image as his hair stands on end and he feels his heart ‘knock at’ his ribs. When Macbeth’s ‘seated heart’ knocks at his ribs, the reader would imagine the feeling; obviously, Macbeth is disturbed by recent events. Another reference to the supernatural follows this, ‘Against the use of nature’. Macbeth is horrified just by the thought of murdering Duncan, this shown in lines 139 to 141, where Macbeth feels his ‘function is smothered’. Banquo speaks, but Macbeth does not notice, and continues; both Banquo’s comment and Macbeth’s reaction to it show how absorbed he is in his process of thought. When Macbeth says ‘chance may crown me without my stir’, it indicates that he is considering the idea that he might gain the crown without taking any action. A rhyming couplet marks an end to Macbeth’s thoughts on the matter. Macbeth apologises to his company, and then lies; this is only recognised by the audiences. He was actually thinking very precisely but he said ‘my dull mind’; and what he was considering is still in the forefront of his mind although he said ‘things forgotten’.
The predications the witches make about Macbeth are ironic because they touch on Macbeth burning ambition to be king of Scotland.
Ross and Angus arrive in scene three and tell Macbeth that his courageous acts have earned him the title of Thane of Cawdor. This news is of great importance, as the witches’ first prediction has become reality.
Macbeth writes a letter describing all his meetings with the witches and their predictions and how he believes they will come true. Lady Macbeth wants to kill the king and for Macbeth to join her plot.
Macbeth says in the letter how he feels the witches are correct “I have learnt by the perfectest report that they have in them more than mortal knowledge”
Though Lady Macbeth wants to kill the king make no mistake it is Macbeth’s idea first and he who brings the murder into the whole thing. Though he does feel guilty at times and Lady Macbeth pushes him on, it is he who first has the idea of seizing power. Macbeth can not decided in scene 7 weather to go along with his wife’s plans or not.
At the beginning of the play we meet three evil witches and a loyal Macbeth . But by the end of act one he has set the scene for murder in the rest of the play, or maybe Macbeth was never a good soldier and loyal subject and it was the predictions which bought out his burning ambitions. Even if he was once a good man the things the witches put him through turn him into a ‘murdering butcher ‘ by the end of the play.
Anything that happens to Macbeth is traced back to his vaulting ambition. This ambition is to be blamed for his great power, as well as his downfall. Macbeth’s entire character is an example of this quote by Shakespeare: "The heavens themselves, the planets and this center [earth] Observe degree, priority, and place... Take but degree away, untune that string, and hark, what discord follows!" (Boyor 25).Overall, Macbeth is a disgrace to society. He created discord and led himself to his tragic death. Ambition helped him to become extremely powerful, but his vaulting ambition is what finally led him to his tragic death. Had it not been for Macbeth's obsession with power, he would have been able to remain powerful, but it is because of his ambition that causes him to become less powerful and leads him to his downfall. Shakespeares words display these moral issues of guilt, greed and fate in a dramatic way that would have pleased his audiences .