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How did the witches prophecies affect macbeth
Importance of supernaturals in macbeth
How did the witches prophecies affect macbeth
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The supernatural plays an important role in Macbeth and supports the plot. From the floating dagger to Banquo's ghost, the supernatural is greatly responsible for every dark moment in the play. Supernatural experiences is what kept the play going and entertaining in my mind. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are propelled into killing because of the supernatural or them making it happen. The supernatural was scary at the time and the play was risky because of the witches, but doing it made the play even better.
According to Susan Smith from enotes.com, "The supernatural is something we fear but are intrigued by." In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the supernatural is how Macbeth becomes into power. It seems as being Thane of Cawdor is not enough for Macbeth and he needs more. Lady Macbeth plays a woman who has power over her husband, she does not "wear the pants" in the relationship, but merely helps him make decisions she has already made herself. For example, when he writes her the letter of the witches prophecy, she simply persuades him into making it come true themselves.
When we read in class about the three apparitions, it gave me a sense that the witches messed with his head a little. The first apparition, being Macbeth's own head cut off almost confirms Macbeth's fears of Macduff later killing him. Then comes the second, a bloody child tells Macbeth that he can not be killed by no man born of woman. According to Emily Schmidt from humanities360.com, "The second apparition puts a chip on Macbeth's shoulders and puts him into a situation where most would think, I am unstoppable, I must be king." The third apparition is a child with a crown which symbolized Malcolm, Duncan's son which gives Macbeth a sense of fear.
After the prophecies,...
... middle of paper ...
...and which says Macbeth won't be defeated until Great Birnamwood to High Dunsinane Hill comes against him.
A play on words is what kills Macbeth, because in a fight in the end of the play, Macduff says he was cut from his mother's womb, not born. Without the witches, ghost, apparitions, it would've been useless because even readers today need motivation to read. The supernatural is our motivation to keep reading Macbeth.
Works Cited
Bai, Ronnie. Schmidt, Emily. "Macbeth, Shakespeare, and the Supernatural." humanitites360.com, 27 May 2012. 15 Feb. 2014.
Chadpuri, Ray. "Supernatural Experiences and elements in Macbeth" academia.edu, 12 December 2010. Feb. 15 2014.
Duff, Jillian. "Supernatural forces in Macbeth." novelguide.com, 10 Feb. 2011. 16 Feb. 2014
Smith, Susan. "To What Extent Does The Supernatural Lead Macbeth to." Enotes.com, 20 Sep. 2011. 16 Feb. 2014.
Wadsworth, Frank W. "Macbeth." World Book Online American Edition. Online Edition. Online. Netzero. 26 Mar 2002.
Stallybrass, Peter. "Macbeth and Witchcraft." In Focus on Macbeth. Ed. John Russell Brown. Boston: Routledge, 1982.
Foakes, Francis. "A New Perspective of Macbeth." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 58-64.
Murder, ghosts, and floating daggers are the usual attractions for most that read William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and yet there is an important theme that some might overlook. Written in the early 17th century, Macbeth is believed to be based upon historical events listed in Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of Scotland and other current events of the time. Shakespeare constructs the memorable world of Macbeth with a mysterious and sinister atmosphere, incorporating diabolical elements into this world with the appearance of Hecate, witches, prophecies and ghostly apparitions. Throughout his story, Macbeth becomes controlled by desire for power, by allowing himself to be influenced, using evil means to gain and maintain power to the point that Macbeth is blinded to all else. In Macbeth, Shakespeare vividly demonstrates a recognizable theme of the weighty pull that power holds over those with authority.
“…we three meet again in thunder, lighting or in rain?….When the battle’s lost and won….That will be ere the set of sun….There to meet with Macbeth.”
In the play of Macbeth we notice the works of how the supernatural can control or change
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press New Folger Edition, 1992
Evans, G. Blackemore. "Macbeth." In The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blackemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mufflin Company. 1974: 1307- 1311
The legendary plot of Macbeth, like those of many Shakespearean plays, relies heavily on the influence of the supernatural. The play itself reflects on the dark inane tendencies of humans to be evil, especially when faced with a thirst for power. Throughout its course, the reader is able to witness a man’s transformation from a brave soldier to a murdering madman. Without the impact of certain apparitions, hallucinations, and three bearded witches, the events of the story would not have unfolded as they did. The root evil is first planted in the minds of two ambitious people, creating in their minds a projection of how things will turn out. Unbeknownst to our two leading lunatics, the eventual outcome of the play will not be the scenario drawn up in their twisted minds.
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the supernatural and the role they play in motivating characters is apparent throughout the duration of the play. The supernatural is what causes conflict in the play and the prophecies from the witches in act one scene three is the inciting action in the piece. The supernatural causes the future conflict by motivating Macbeth to kill Duncan so he could become king of Scotland. Through temptation, the supernatural motivates characters to think arrogantly and for their own benefit. The supernatural in Macbeth presents prophecies which tempt Macbeth and Banquo with the idea of power. This leads Macbeth to contradict his loyal and courageous personality by planning a treacherous murder on Duncan with the arrogant intention of becoming king and later killing other characters in the play with the only purpose of keeping his own powers. Both Macbeth and Banquo were also tempted by the original prophecies and showed clear motivation to act upon them. However, there is a clear contrast between the immediacy in which the two characters began taking actions and the logic put into their decisions.
Although Macbeth is not classed as being a supernatural play or a play of the occult, there are some elements in the play that Shakespeare uses to effect. It is necessary however, to define what is meant by the terms ‘occult’ and ‘supernatural’: the term ‘occult’ is defined as being ‘supernatural beliefs, practises or phenomenon’ and the term ‘supernatural’ is defined as being ‘attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature’; both these terms can be associated with gothic writing. Gothic writing usually involves elements that invoke a feeling of fear, repulsion and abhorrence from its readers or audience. Writers use imagery of the supernatural to achieve this effect, for example in Shelley’s Frankenstein the descriptions of Frankenstein’s creature: language and imagery here being used to invoke the emotion of fear.
Campbell, Lily B. "Macbeth : A Study in Fear." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 126-35.
The deliberately ambiguous apparitions play on Macbeth’s hubris and they make him feel so overconfident that he feels invincible and unstoppable. In his castle, Macbeth jokes that he will never fail “till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane” (V.iii.2) thinking that the apparition literally means that the forest will pick itself up and move to Dunsinane which he thinks is impossible despite all the supernatural events he has experienced. However, the forest does not move by itself but it does move to Dunsinane because of Malcolm’s ingenious strategy. As Malcolm approaches Macbeth’s castle with the English forces, he orders each soldier to cut off the branches of the trees of Birnam Wood to use as camouflage. This greatly contributes to Macbeth’s downfall since he was nowhere near ready for an invasion of the English forces. However, because of his hubris, he is still confident that he is unstoppable as he believes no one “borne a woman” (V.iii.6) can harm him. Unbeknown to him, Macduff was born through a caesarean section and thus not “borne” so much as “taken” from a woman. This lack of access to the entire truth sees Macbeth eventually
...he supernatural is one element in Macbeth that was used cleverly by Shakespeare to get various messages across to the audience. The messages are brought across between the lines of the plays which requires audiences to reflect critically to get the underlying meaning of his play. Shakespeare did not merely show ghosts and witches in the supernatural as a thriller, but also tied in the political and religious aspects of the society during his time.
To conclude Shakespeare used the supernatural, to show how easily someone’s fatal flaw can be exploited to bring them to an end. This is extremely relevant to his audience at that time as well, no one knows, but Shakespeare could have been a non believer in the supernatural and wanted to show it as a figment of the mind, that can only result in insanity or he could have believed the popular opinion that the supernatural did exist and caused terror and evil throughout that period. Either way he wrote Macbeth in such a way to leave questions about the supernatural in peoples mind.