Macbeth
Macbeth’s Choices Affected by the Supernatural
Macbeth is a very famous play by William Shakespeare, written in 1606 and first published in 1623. In Macbeth, the supernatural elements are the integral parts of the play as Shakespeare uses the theme of supernatural events to enhance the drama of the play. They appear in different forms including the three witches, the floating dagger, the ghost of Banquo and the prophetic apparitions throughout the play. The supernatural gradually provides a catalyst for the action, the mindset or insight into the character, the transition and interaction between the Macbeth’s spiritual world and the “real” world, and as the variables to the impact of many important scenes. Because of the greed and huge ambitions, Macbeth, the main protagonist, has to make choices from a brave warrior becoming a king with his unscrupulous killing. During his decision making process, the supernatural generates multiple significant influences on Macbeth’s decision, which can be found from the beginning to the end of the play.
The play starts with the witches, the most appearing supernatural elements. At the first scene of first act, in the middle of thunderstorm the supernatural acts promptly as a catalyst with three witches predicting the fate of both Macbeth and Banquo, who just came back from the battlefield with the winning. When the second witch said, “When the battles lost and won (I, ii, 24)”, she seems to draw the powerful scene of the battlefield. But she actually implies to set the tone for the later scene of the life of Macbeth after the battlefield, along with the winning and losing together. In Act I Scene III, the three witches hail Macbeth and Banquo. The first witch hails Macbeth as Thane of Glamis and the second witch hails Macbeth to make the Thane of Cawdor. Then the third one predicts Macbeth to become the king one day and Banquo to be the father of the future king. They both listen but react differently. The witches catch
Macbeth is a very famous play by William Shakespeare, written in 1606 and first published in 1623. In Macbeth, the supernatural elements are the integral parts of the play as Shakespeare uses the theme of supernatural events to enhance the drama of the play. They appear in different forms including the three witches, the floating dagger, the ghost of Banquo and the prophetic apparitions throughout the play. The supernatural gradually provides a catalyst for the action, the mindset or insight into the character, the transition and interaction between the Macbeth’s spiritual world and the “real” world, and as the variables to the impact of many important scenes. Because of the greed and huge ambitions, Macbeth, the main protagonist, has to make choices from a brave warrior becoming a king with his unscrupulous killing. During his decision making process, the supernatural generates multiple significant influences on Macbeth’s decision, which can be found from the beginning to the end of the play.
The play starts with the witches, the most appearing supernatural elements. At the first scene of first act, in the middle of thunderstorm the supernatural acts promptly as a catalyst with three witches predicting the fate of both Macbeth and Banquo, who just came back from the battlefield with the winning. When the second witch said, “When the battles lost and won (I, ii, 24)”, she seems to draw the powerful scene of the battlefield. But she actually implies to set the tone for the later scene of the life of Macbeth after the battlefield, along with the winning and losing together. In Act I Scene III, the three witches hail Macbeth and Banquo. The first witch hails Macbeth as Thane of Glamis and the second witch hails Macbeth to make the Thane of Cawdor. Then the third one predicts Macbeth to become the king one day and Banquo to be the father of the future king. They both listen but react differently. The witches catch