macbeth

Explore the way Shakespeare presents the supernatural in Act 1 of Macbeth
In the story of Macbeth, the supernatural is an essential part in the structure of the plot. It provides a spark for action, an insight into character and adds to the impact of many key scenes within in the play. Macbeth is a play of contradiction, ambition and tragedy. Driven to become king, Macbeth will kill all of those who get in his way of fulfilling his ambition. The supernatural appears in varied forms- the prophecies of the witches (which Macbeth had put a lot of faith in), the weather, summoning of evil spirits, use of stage directions/sound affects for enhanced effect of fear and using magic spells. These are some of Shakespeare’s interpretation of the supernatural; many of these are also slightly stereotypical because a lot of people believed in a lot of the events in the play.
Firstly, the supernatural is highly exaggerated by the use of stage directions and sound effects especially in act 1, scene 1 when we first see the witches, ‘The battlefield: thunder and lightning. Enter three witches.’ The story of Macbeth was originally performed as a play, for the first time between 1606 and 1607, so the audience viewing the show did actually hear the sound affects for the thunder and lightning. As this scene is set in a ‘battlefield’ the audience automatically associates this scene with war, violence and death. The fact that this is the setting of the first scene is sort of hinting that either a battle has taken place or will take place later on in the play in which lives will be lost. The stage directions and sound effects let the audience know that this is a negative, fearful scene. The first characters we see are the witches who present themselves as filthy, crippled old women by the way they look and the way they move around the stage (following the stage directions). These witches would have lived up to the expectations or stereotypes that the Shakespearean audience would have had of them. In my opinion without the stage directions and sound effects there wouldn’t be much of an interest in the play and Shakespeare would be unsuccessful in interpreting the supernatural or creating fear and superstition. Even to this day, plays, movies and TV shows would be boring and tedious without stage directions and sound effects. These devices set the mood and, making it easier for the audience to understand the characters emotions.
The supernatural can also be detected in the symbolism for weather. When we first meet the witches, they already seem evil by nature as they have decided to meet up in horrid, treacherous conditions which people don’t usually like the look of let alone go outside in. They ask each other when and where they meet again ‘in thunder, lightning or in rain?’. This is implying that the storms are related to the witches and therefore evil. These weather conditions are sometimes associated with power or horridness so this tells us that the witches are horrid and would either like to take control or have power of someone like Macbeth. Later on in the play we see the witches again, discussing how they control the weather. In the Shakespearean era people thought that witches were the ones at fault for bad weather, so this ability being included in the play would have supported the audience’s belief and live up to their expectations of Shakespeare’s witches. Not once in the play does Shakespeare use words like ‘sunny’ or ‘clear skies’ to describe the weather in a scene. Perhaps he does this to create a very dark and gloomy atmosphere for the play. This is known as pathetic fallacy because the weather which is dark and gloomy represents the mood of the scene which is also dark and gloomy. I think that Shakespeare has been successful in using pathetic fallacy to emphasise the weather and the mood of the play to both Shakespearean and modern day audiences.
The use of the supernatural occurs again at the beginning of the play, with three witches discussing the fate of Macbeth. ‘When the battles lost and won’ this implication of foreshadowing is yet again telling us that there will be a battle and also that Macbeth’s fate is that he will win the battle but lose his time of victory for the battle of his soul. The predictions that the witches reveal to brings on a deep temptation to Macbeth which he had kept a secret all along for being king. When Macbeth says ‘my thought who’s murder yet is but fantastical’ is clear evidence that the thought of killing the current king at the time in the story, Duncan was present in his mind before the hypothesis made by the witches however he would never have thought seriously about murder without the witches. The word ‘murder’ is known to be a bad word and shouldn’t be condoned anywhere, so even the thought of murder would have been alarming to the audience especially because this would be a crime of treason against the king. These temptations make him do whatever he can to gain power of the throne with him thinking the only way he can get there is by killing king Duncan. After hearing this soliloquy made at the banquet the audience realises he isn’t the type of person they thought he was. Instead he was a deceitful, malicious man. A modern day audience would probably have a similar reaction though not as bad. I think that Shakespeare used foreshadowing well to give hints to the audience about what is to come within the play, I also think that he was smart in how much he gave away to the audience at the beginning. He didn’t reveal everything too them so that he can keep them guessing and to create tension for a wider effect on other scenes.
There is also a supernatural element taking place in Lady Macbeth while she reads the letter she has received from Macbeth in act1, scene 5 of her calling upon evil spirits to take away her femininity and give her the power to plot the murder of Duncan without having any remorse or conscience. ‘come you spirits…unsex me her and fill me…of direst cruelty…come to my women’s breasts for gall’ this series of quotes made by Lady Macbeth is suggesting that she is relying on the supernatural by asking for the spirits to get rid of her natural feelings of compassion by making her cruel. This also shows that she feels that she is limited by her gender. In addition she is also, in effect, telling the audience that she thinks that her husband Macbeth is too cowardly to perform the deed. This would be seen as shocking behaviour from an Elizabethan woman as they were expected to be supportive and reliant on their husbands which Lady Macbeth is not doing. From this we can tell that Shakespeare has written Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s relationship in contrast to maybe Romeo and Juliet from one of his earlier plays. From this whole scene we can tell Lady Macbeth is behaving nothing like a conventional 16th century women. It would have been very significant that Lady Macbeth is calling upon evil spirits. This would have frightened the Elizabethan audience and may have led them to believe that Lady Macbeth herself was also a witch. It would also be surprising that she is asking for the spirits to take away her nurturing abilities which should be shown to a child and replace them with deadly, poisonous instincts. The use of the words ‘breasts for gall’ is telling us that Lady Macbeth wants the spirits to take away her breasts (so she cannot breastfeed a child) and replace them with poison to make her more manly. This kind of behaviour would be seen as disgusting to a Shakespearean audience however women in the 21st century seen to be more in dependent and less reliant on their husbands, boyfriends or any male relatives. I think that Lady Macbeth is an evil women and I would agree that her language is disgusting as she is degrading her own gender and that she has made a pact with evil forces.
However, out of all of the supernatural phenomenon apparent in Macbeth the witch’s prophecies are perhaps the most important. The witches seem to represent Macbeth’s evil ambitions. They are the catalyst which unleash Macbeth’s evil aspirations ‘all hail to thee Thane of Cawdor…all hail Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter’. These are two prophecies made by the witches within act 1 when they first meet Macbeth. The use of the words ‘all hail’ by the witches sort of suggests that they are trying to sweet talk Macbeth so that he will believe them straight away and maybe to get him into the mind-set of everyone greeting him in that way if he becomes king. When the witches talk about ‘Thane of Cawdor’ Shakespeare uses dramatic irony. The audience already know that Macbeth has been promoted to the tile of Thane of Cawdor after hearing the Noblemen and King Duncan talking about his bravery in the battle in which he fought in against Norway ‘ what he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won’ in act 1,scene 2. As the audience have not yet met Macbeth their initial thought of him is that he is a worthy, brave soldier. However at this point some of them may start to get slightly suspicious because he has been linked to evil twice already (the witches and being given the traitors title). In the 16th century people genuinely believed that witches existed and were able to tell the future. They were seen as vulgar, horrid beings that should be killed and burnt at stake. Many people were also afraid of them including the king of England at the time King James. As we are now in the 21st century witches are only seen as fictional characters unlike how people in the 16th century genuinely believed they existed and that they were out to cause trouble.
The use of the supernatural in Macbeth results quite well within the play. Without the witches, the weather, the prophecies and apparitions ‘Macbeth’ would have been a dull and tiresome play. Even readers and people who watch plays, movies and TV shows in this day need motivation to read o watch something. The use of the supernatural, fear and superstition enhanced the play dramatically and I think that Shakespeare is successful in achieving his purpose for the play.