Supernatural Influence In Macbeth Essay

William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ is a play that revolves around a villainous king and his evil wife. There is a significant supernatural influence in Macbeth. Supernatural as defined by dictionary.com as being above or beyond what is natural, explainable by natural law or phenomena. The supernatural influence in Macbeth is evident throughout the play. Firstly Macbeth would not have murdered Duncan if he had not heard the Weird sister’s prophecies. Second of all the ghost of Banquo was important to the play to portray the deterioration of Macbeth’s mental health. Finally witchcraft and the supernatural were relevant to society in the 1600’s as it provided a way for people to understand the happenings that science could not yet explain.
If Macbeth had not been given the prophecies by the Weird sisters it is highly unlikely that he would’ve committed such heinous crimes. Before Macbeth had heard of the witches prophecies he was a war hero and a loyal servant of the king,
‘For brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name’ Act 1, Scene 2. After Macbeth’s meeting with the witches he gains a sense of false hope, he believes that Duncan will crown him king as that is one of the prophecies given to him. When Duncan names his son as next in line for the throne Macbeth is bitter and is determined to fulfil the prophecy given to him. The witches also caused Macbeth’s downfall in the end by giving him the final three prophecies that lead him to believe that he is safe. ‘None of woman born shall harm Macbeth’, to Macbeth it seems quite impossible that someone could not be born of woman, conveniently Macduff was ripped from his mother’s womb. ‘Macbeth shall never be vanquish’d be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsiane Hill shall come against him’, this also tricks Macbeth as it also seems impossible for a forest to move and to attempt to fight him. These prophecies all lead to Macbeth’s final downfall, without the presence of the witches in Macbeth the story would have been very different.
The apparition of Banquo’s ghost is significant to the play as it enables Shakespeare to display the guilt that Macbeth felt for having Banquo murdered.
‘Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake thy gory locks at me’, in this line Macbeth is showing the guilt he feels about having his closest friend mercilessly slain. If Macbeth had truly wanted to murder Banquo he wouldn’t feel the need to deny having Banquo murdered. The apparition of Banquo’s ghost would’ve been considered supernatural at the time but it is likely that Macbeth’s vision was a result of the extreme amount of guilt and anxiety he felt, not only for having Banquo murdered but also for killing Duncan and his guards and for framing Duncan’s sons. This display of emotion is significant to the play as it shows that Macbeth is not as evil as he wants everyone around him to believe and that he does feel fear. Banquo’s ghost is significant to Macbeth as it provides the readers or audience to see how Macbeth’s delusion and guilt affect
him.