Apparition In Macbeth Act 1

In Act 4 Scene 1 of the Shakespearean play, “Macbeth” sought out the three witches from Act 1 Scene 3. He wanted to know what the consequences were for his royal future that Fleance had escaped having his throat slit along with his father, Banquo. The witches called forth four apparitions. The first apparition was an armed head. The second apparition was a bloody child. The third and final apparition was a crowned child who held a tree in his hand. All three of these apparitions have an effect on the actions of Macbeth.
The first apparition is an armed head, which apparently presents Macduff, who will come to Scotland at the head of the army. Macbeth tries to question that Macduff is planning to come back to Scotland with an army, but the first witch tells him that the apparition knows what he is thinking, so he should be quiet and just listen. The witch is right about the apparition knowing Macbeth’s thoughts, his thoughts cry out, “Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff! Beware the Thane of Fife! Dismiss me. Enough.” (Shakespeare 125). This apparition is foreshadowing that Macbeth should beware of Macduff and keeps

his eyes open for unexpected things. At first, Macbeth believed he had nothing to worry about, but after hearing the first apparition he felt threatened. Due to Macbeth feeling threatened, he came to a conclusion that he would execute Macduffs’ wife and children.
The second apparition is a bloody child.

The bloody child tells Macbeth to “Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn/ The power of man, for none of woman born/ Shall harm Macbeth.” (Shakespeare 125). This quote from the play means that no man that was naturally born from woman can harm Macbeth. Macbeth was relieved and gained much more confidence by hearing this apparition, because he thought that each individual was naturally born from a woman and that being born naturally by a woman he cannot be defeated. But, little did Macbeth know there was one person in the city that was not born through a natural birth. The bloody child symbolizes the individual that was born of an unnatural birth. Now, this can foreshadow that Macbeth could be murdered by the individual who was not born naturally. Macbeth’s own self- confidence will lead him to his own

death.
The first and second apparitions contradict each other. The first apparition states that Macbeth should be aware of Macdufff, because he is making a comeback. But, the second apparition is the total opposite of the first apparition. The second one states that Macbeth is basically stating that he is unconquerable towards those who are born through a natural birth (Dominic 256). The warnings of both of these apparitions help Macbeth by boosting his confidence. Macbeth feared Macduff, but the second apparition helped calm Macbeths fear on Macduff.
The apparitions’ warnings made Macbeth believe that he would rule until his death. This just shows that Macbeth is really fickle. He did not question the apparitions but instead he trusted them fully.
The third apparition is, a Child Crowned, with a tree in his hand. The third apparition tells Macbeth, “Be lion- mettled, proud, and take no care/ Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are. Macbeth shall never vanquished be until/ Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill/ Shall come against him.” (Shakespeare 127). The crowned child is telling Macbeth that when the forest starts moving towards Dunsinane Hill, that is when Macbeth needs to be worried about what is going to occur in the future and losing the crown he holds currently.
Now, looking at the third apparition, we see that this child is crowned, meaning this child is part of royalty. We can come to conclusion that this crowned child is Malcolm, Duncans’ oldest son (Bloom 521). Not only is the child crowned, but the child is also carrying a tree, which can foreshadow that Malcolm will bring the forest to Dusinane Hill. With this in mind, Macbeth should be on the lookout for Malcolm’s arrival soon.
The supernatural theme is a very important role in “Macbeth”, because it is what makes the play suspenseful. In my eyes, I see that the three witches are the main reason for the supernatural parts. Most of the supernatural events that occur in the play are caused or predicted by the witches (Dominic 260). The three witches made a prediction that affected Macbeth and made him the individual he is now. They are also brought and placed Macbeth in situations that affect him to do terrible and ungodly things. They are the main reason that Macbeth is the tragic hero he is now. Supernatural played an important role in this play, because without supernatural powers all the events that have occurred in this play would have never happened.
Now, you may ask how all these supernatural events affected Macbeth. Each event affected Macbeth in a way that he did not really know of at first. All the supernatural events are Macbeth’s motivations for his actions in the play. The supernatural predictions give Macbeth this feeling and thought that he has nothing to fear, except Macduff at a point in the play. Throughout the play Macbeth is slowly turning into an individual that is cruel, violent, selfish, and evil (Dominic 258). The supernatural events are hurting Macbeth by almost forcing him to do things that have a big consequence. The more he does things that are evil, it starts to become a habit that will grow on him and he will eventually not know what do to until his death comes.
In conclusion, from witches to apparitions, supernatural powers are the main points of the play, “Macbeth”. The supernatural powers played as a role of evil temptations that seduced Macbeth into performing the wrong activity. The supernatural powers played a large role that motivated Macbeth’s actions to where his moralities became impaired (Bloom 529).