In William Shakespeare's play Macbeth the author uses supernatural characters to catalyze the story and add more suspense to throw the readers. This is shown in the fact that he uses witches and apparitions or ghosts, to influence and impact other characters lives. Theses characters act as one of the most important role in the entire play even though they are not major characters. They attribute to Macbeth's bravery, ambition, and self-doubt. It also affects Macbeth in other ways such as doing things no man should ever do. Throughout Shakespeare's time, or the Renaissance period, the supernatural was highly believed in and unsupported. Any supernatural being, especially witches, or highly frowned upon and headed for their unsavory practices …show more content…
As of now days, they would now be referred to or called witches because of their ability to see visions and predict prophecies. They tell Macbeth his future and influence his actions when they say “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, Thane of Glamis!”, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, Thane of Cawdor!”, and “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, You’ll be king one day!”(Shakespeare, 1985, pp. 30). Once he sees the idea of being king a possibility, he starts to take fate into his own hands; this way he knows the prophecies will come true (Moss & Wilson, 1997). Another example of this, is when the witches show Macbeth the three apparitions and provide him with a false sense of security (Shakespeare, 1985, pp. 138 & 140). Macbeth in reaction to this believed nothing could harm him and became careless with his rule ad king. He puts his defenses down and in the end it leads to his inevitable death, when Macduff beheads …show more content…
He sees multiple ghosts, they all have their own meeting in evoke different emotions from him. The first Ghost he sees is his best friend Banquo whom he had murdered out of precaution of losing his throne. “Prithee see there! Behold! Look! Lo! How say you?” Macbeth said to Banquo's ghost (Shakespeare, 1985, pp. 116). Seeing the ghost causes him to go mad and act irrational in front of important noble man while at dinner. It brings him to realize his guilt and start to doubt himself. When Macbeth interacts with the witches and hears the three apparitions he reacts in a way that leads to his downfall. The first one does not do much for him because it only tells him what he already knows, to watch out for Macduff. Next, the second apparition tells him he can not be harmed from a man birthed by a woman. This leads him to become cocky thinking no man could harm him because everyone is born by their mother. Finally, he doesn't take the third apparition seriously after it tells him a forest will approach and attack. He leaves the witches feeling confident and invincible thinking no one could hurt
One of the most memorable parts of Macbeth is the witches. They play a central role in the plot and are depicted as supernatural beings who predict
The supernatural theme is present in both Macbeth and The Crucible, and plays a role in the downfall of the protagonists in each play. As previously stated, in Macbeth, the manipulative ambition of Macbeth was initially driven by the three witches, who supposedly see Macbeth as ruler of Scotland. In the opening scene of the play, Macbeth and Banquo visit the three witches and are each given a prophecy. Macbeth is seen as king whereas Banquo’s sons are seen as several kings. This supernatural prophecy drove Macbeth into murdering Duncan and Banquo.
Third, persuasion led to his downfall because of him being easily convinced. He was also tricked by the witches by them telling half truths with the prophecies , which led to his demise. Also he was easily persuaded by lady Macbeth to kill king Duncan which led to Scotland turning into turmoil. When Macbeth announces “I dare do all that may become a man who dares do more is none” Macbeth stating he dares anyone to get in his way because he knows he will become all powerful (Shakespeare 41.1.7).
Supernatural elements can be seen in Macbeth through the witches and their unusual powers. The witches appear to be helpful in giving Macbeth his prophecy, but in reality want only to stir up trouble and cause strife throughout the kingdom. Although Macbeth wants the witches to tell him his prophecy, he is also afraid to act on these newly found predictions for fear of the inevitable guilt he will then have to face. Macbeth states that the witches as "Instruments of darkness" in order to explain to readers that even though the witches appear to be helping Macbeth, in reality they are causing more harm than good and creating evil thoughts within the characters minds. Macbeth’s prophecy began his desire for power, which led to his struggle with guilt.
Again saying that Macbeth was already in complications with “Freedom”, “Will”, and “Guilt” making it easier to be controlled by the witches. The witches using different techniques to get into Macbeth’s head caused changes in the uses and meanings of the apparitions. There was a major change in the depiction of the apparitions from the play and the thoughts of Justin Kurzel. The apparitions can be seen in a different order that they are given and also each one is either slightly different or way different from the original play version. Since the film drifted off from the original plot of the play, this would cause things to change just as the apparitions did.
Is it possible to read Macbeth as having genuine supernatural elements? The supernatural elements in Macbeth include fate, witches, mythological beings, ghosts and apparitions. Macbeth is by far the most supernaturally charged. In the play, Macbeth is given three prophecies by three witches.
Throughout the play, the witches have a strong influence on many characters. MacBeth listens to their prophecies and tries to pursue ultimate power because of them. The witches are an example of supernatural beings and change in natural order of events. The witches prophecies were seen as concrete and not able to be altered, so by MacBeth trying to usurp and affect his future, he reaps the poor consequences of his actions. The witches are stronger and more powerful than MacBeth because they have all-power and the ability to forever alter the course of someone’s life.
Essay III The Witches and Their Powers Magical powers are the canter of many novels and plays because of their mysterious nature. Every author finds different powers and limitations that influence the characters in unique ways. There is no one standard to writing about magic in literature because it is part of the human imagination and creative process. The way magic is used in a story can influence the plot, the theme and mood of the novel or play. In Shakespeare 's Macbeth, he uses three witches with many different powers to predict the future and influence the other characters.
Macbeth Essay: Influence of the Supernatural Throughout the Shakespearean play, Macbeth, the supernatural plays a part in all the events in the play. The witches, the floating dagger, and the prophetic apparitions are all examples of the supernatural intertwining with the play. From the murder of King Duncan to Macbeth’s eventual death, the supernatural played a part in most of Macbeth’s actions.
In the play one of the witches asks a woman to give her something to eat and she responds by promptly telling the witch to go away. “Most often, it was old, poor, often widowed women who were accused of these acts of angry revenge” (Levin). The witches are Macbeth is also described as “So wither’d and so wild in their attire” (Shakespeare Act 1). One of the witches ask for food, they are withered and dressed in strange clothing. They meet all the 16th-17th century markers for who a witch was and what they looked like.
Without Macbeth realizing the minor fault in these prophecies, he starts to gradually become more ambitious and more determined to kill Duncan in order to become king quickly as possible. The witches advance the plot again later in the play when Macbeth demands answer of his fate. They show Macbeth three more prophecies spoken by apparition; a head wearing a battle helmet, a blood-covered child, and a child wearing a crown and carrying a tree. The witches show Macbeth the three apparitions who tell him, Beware Macduff; /
So, he can just go around telling others that he killed everyone. He can make fun of others, brag, and do almost anything. Shakespeare uses a bloody child to help the reader figure out why the author used this apparition. It’d also make the reader wonder that if not a human, then what will kill Macbeth. The third apparition says, “Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are.
The Tragedy of Macbeth incorporates character development to present William Shakespeare’s motive; throughout the play it allows the audience to see the message the play relays. The play is a tragedy and it specifically shows the tragedy of humans as they self destruct. There is a use of literary devices to create different aspects of each character allowing them to portray different images of themselves that wouldn’t be noticed initially. Compared to how the audience views each character in the beginning of the play, the image develops into something new as different aspects are revealed. The characters and their continuous changes become the essence of the play.
The environment and the supernatural play a significant role in the success of many of Shakespeare’s plays, specifically his tragedies. Macbeth explores the microcosm of the world of witchcraft. When they choose, the witches can
In Macbeth a supernatural element was the three Witches. The Witches influenced not only his behavior, but character as well. The Witches influence his behavior by sparking his longing to be king by prophecies and visions. They also change his character from killing for his country to killing for himself.