macbeth essay on the supernatural

Supernatural in “Macbeth” Play by Shakespeare Essay

In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth , the supernatural plays a crucial part in inspiring Macbeth’s actions. Supernatural elements create dramatic tension, with the witches’ predictions in Scene 3 of Act 1 as a critical instigating incident. Macbeth’s desire to replace Duncan as Scotland’s monarch is driven by otherworldly forces. The presence of the supernatural encourages the protagonists to feel superior and arrogant. The supernaturally manufactured predictions lure Macbeth and Banquo with the idea of power, leading Macbeth to plot the cruel murder of Duncan. Macbeth believes that by murdering his close friend Banquo, he will finally be able to live up to the prophecy that he will become king. At an earlier gathering that night, he had a supernatural encounter with the ghost of a recently departed friend. The prophecies of the three witches inspire Macbeth’s desire to murder Banquo, but he digs himself into a deeper hole in the process. The play’s sense of mystery is enhanced by Macbeth’s use of the bizarre (Hibbs and Hibbs 275). The play’s supernatural aspects drive the plot and elevate its tragic elements by leading the protagonist further away from the passage of the typical hero.

Any supernatural effect on his choices, particularly those involving murder, is purely voluntary. It is only fair that he takes some responsibility for the many failures and catastrophes he is brought on by depending on them. On the other hand, without the supernatural, it is unlikely that Macbeth would even have the courage to consider such notions, much alone act on them. Macbeth begins his journey of murder when he tells Lady Macbeth about the witches. He recalled how “these Weird Sisters hailed me and pointed to the advent of time with ‘Hail, the king that shalt be,’” as he put it (Shakespeare). The influence of the supernatural on his wife, Lady Macbeth, drove him to murder King Duncan; had he not informed her about his vision, events could have turned out differently. Once he reveals to Lady Macbeth the divine prophesy he got, he loses all chance of returning to his former noble life. The supernatural plays a significant role in Macbeth’s universe.

In Scene 1 of Act IV, Macbeth returns to the Weird Sisters and demands to see visions of his future. Macbeth is warned of Macduff’s vengeance by a severed warrior’s head. In the second scene, a little boy, covered in blood, promises Macbeth that no man “of woman born” can kill him. Macbeth will not be beaten in battle, the young king swears, as long as Birnam wood is physically transported to Dunsinane. Upon learning of these impossibilities, Macbeth exclaims, “reign in this kingdom?” (Schojbert 1). The witches have Banquo leading a ghostly parade of imaginary kings. This only infuriates Macbeth more, and he goes so far as to admit to the audience that he wants to murder the whole Macduff family because of his pride.

In this play, the supernatural aspect is genuine or verifiable. Since both Macbeth and Banquo see the witches, their presence is confirmed. The supernatural aspect adds to the drama by validating and concretizing the hero’s internal struggles. Therefore, Macbeth’s witches represent the guilt deep within his psyche. However, the supernatural aspect does not exert an overbearing force, and the hero is never made helpless or absolved of responsibility for his actions. Although it is only suggestive, the hero is under no obligation to act upon it. The supernatural plays a vital role in accelerating the hero’s demise and elevating the tragedy within the play but ultimately teaches the weight of responsibility for personal actions.

Works Cited

Schojbert, Haley. The Supernatural, the Demonic, and Witchcraft in Early Modern English plays: Macbeth, the Witch, the Witch of Edmonton, and Doctor Faustus . 2020. The State University of New York at New Paltz, MA thesis.

Hibbs, Thomas, and Stacey Hibbs. “ Virtue, Natural Law, and Supernatural Solicitation: A Thomistic Reading of Shakespeare’s Macbeth .” Religion and the Arts, vol 5, no 3, 2001, pp. 273- 296, Web.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Wordsworth Classics, 1992.

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Supernatural Powers in The Play "Macbeth" by William Shakespear

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Supernatural

Arguably, the entire play rests on how you think that shakespeare is presenting the role of the supernatural. if the witches simply awaken macbeth's own ambition then their role is really quite limited. if, however, you take them as being real, magical witches - which you have to do really (their titles are, after all, "witch 1," "witch 2" and "witch 2") - then it's not unreasonable to assume that there is real magic involved in the play. and since one of the things that witches were supposed to be able to do is control men's behaviour, the play suddenly looks very different., the most important thing to remember when you're looking at any piece of literature is that you have to stay focused on the text and use the evidence you find there. as i've said before, of course there is a case for saying that macbeth was ambitious already and that all the witches did was awaken his won ambition. however, for me, there's a much stronger case for saying that shakespeare intended for the supernatural to have a much larger role....

The Sailor's Wife and the Chestnuts

During the opening of act 1 scene 3, the witches meet and discuss a recent incident: a sailor's wife refused to give one of them chestnuts, and so the witch travelled to the sailor and cast a spell which drained him of his energy but take away his ability to sleep. he would "dwindle" - which means to get weak - "peak" - which is going through fits of high energy - and "pine" - which is to long for something. finally, although she couldn't take away his "bark" she would create violent storms that would make him "tempest tossed.", this scene is generally removed from plays because it breaks up the flow of the opening, and besides an article from the british library describes is like this: shakespeare uses this passage, then, to demonstrate the witches’ vindictive nature, leaving the audience in no doubt as to their connection with the powers of evil ., given that this passage is really only there to show that the witches are horrible it's no surprise that it gets cut out so regularly. but what if the british library is wrong and this is one of the most significant sequences in the play, my argument:, in any play featuring magical characters, you need a moment of exposition to explain what the characters are capable of. before you've seen a star wars film you need some kind of explanation of the rules of the force so you can understand what a jedi can do. the same is true here: we don't know what kind of magic the witches are capable of, so shakespeare has this scene which explains what magic powers they have., my argument is simply this: if, at the beginning of a play, a group of magical character reveal what powers they have and then the rest of the play is someone going through exactly the same experience, then it's reasonable to assume that there is a connection. in short: this scene is simply the witches revealing what they are about to do to macbeth; and if that's the case then the storyline of the whole play is completely different. below you'll find the original speech describing what they did to the sailor next to how it happened to macbeth:, i will drain him dry as hay: - macbeth was constantly tired and drained, sleep shall neither night nor day, hang upon his pent-house lid; - macbeth loses the abilit y to sleep, he shall live a man forbid: - he is denied the things he reall y wants, weary se'nnights nine times nine, shall he dwindle, peak and pine: - i'm not sure how long macbeth's reign was, but he did "dwindle, peak and pine" quite a lot, though his bark cannot be lost,, yet it shall be tempest-tost. - by the end he was still shouting and screaming (his bark wasn't lost) but he had certainly been through an emotional storm, what's also essential to take away from this is that the witches are able to control other people's actions and feelings. they're not just viewers in this story; they have agency and that's essential for our understanding of the rest of the play., one of the most important parts of the witch's speech is when she clarifies that she stops the sailor being able to sleep, because this is something that happens to macbeth later in the play. often revision sites suggest that macbeth couldn't sleep because of a feeling of guilt but this doesn't really make sense, for two reasons:, firstly, the witches make it very clear that they can stop someone from sleeping and it would seem strange to have that clarified as a part of their magical tool-box, and have it happen later in the play, unless there was going to be a connection. if it was guilt that meant macbeth couldn't sleep, we really would have to assume that the witch's speech was a piece of misinformation from shakespeare, which would make no sense at all., and secondly, just after macbeth has killed duncan he doesn't just lose the ability to sleep. he finds his wife and says "methought i heard a voice cry 'sleep no more, macbeth hath murdered sleep.'" he then goes on to repeat variations on that line, but always confirming that he heard someone else say it - and shakespeare even puts the lines in speech marks ., so macbeth, having killed duncan, hears someone else say that he has murdered sleep. now you could argue that this is just him going a bit mad, but when it's combined with the understanding that this is something the witches could do it makes much more sense to argue that it was the witch's magic spell that made this happen., the most important line in the play, i've got two nominations here, though both come in the same scene., the first is macbeth's first line in the play:, so fair and foul a day i have not seen., this line paraphrases (which is an almost exact quote) the witches opening lines. so macbeth's first line in the play almost directly quotes a key line from the witches. surely this was designed to deliberately setup the idea that the witches are already in control of him i've read revision websites before that have argued that this just implies that macbeth, like the witches, is a bit evil - but he's almost quoting them surely this suggests more than just a connection, it's a control., the second one is more complex:, w hy do i yield to that suggestion, whose horrid image doth unfix my hair, and make my seated heart knock at my ribs,, against the use of nature, in a nutshell, this means: why i am i giving in to something that makes my hair stand up in horror, and my heart start to race in an uncomfortable way - and which is, most importantly: against my very nature., so, in this short speech he says that the idea of killing duncan makes him so scared that his heart races, and is against his very nature - the most fundamental part of who he is. so he's basically saying why is he starting to want to do this thing, but the key words in the speech are "yield" and "suggestion." and the fundamental question is: can you "yield" to a "suggestion" that has come from yourself, it's worth just clarifying what these words mean:, yield : to give way to arguments, demands, or pressure., suggestion : an idea or plan put forward for consideration., so: can you "give way to an argument, demand or pressure" and agree to "an idea or plan put forward for consideration" if that plan was your own, surely you can only "give in" to an "idea" that has come from someone else... and if that's the case then the idea of killing duncan didn't come from macbeth - it came from the witches., and if that's the case, then the entire play takes on a completely different meaning., was lady macbeth a witch, some people tend to find this one really obvious, other people think it's far more debatable. for myself, i think so much of her character arc is missing that i struggle to formulate a complete opinion about her. there's enough evidence of her being a witch in her opening scene to say that she's certainly established as one, but then shakespeare seems to do so little with it that i'm not sure what to think. it is worth picking up on a few key things:, come you spirits - if you watch a star wars movie and someone comes on screen dressed in a long robe and carrying a lightsaber then it's reasonable to assume they're a jedi. if almost the first thing someone does on-stage is cast a magic spell, during a play that features witches in prominent roles, then it's reasonable to assume that she's a witch. if she's not supposed to be one, then i really have no idea what shakespeare thought he was doing have her cast a magic spell straight away., hereafter - king that shalt be - hereafter - when lady macbeth comes on stage she's reading a letter from her husband, which tells her about his encounter with the witches. but: the letter misquotes the witches. macbeth says that they called him "king that shalt be" when they really said "all hail macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter." this doesn't seem like a big deal except that when his wife meets him, she says "greater than both by the all hail hereafter." so she uses the "hail" and the "hereafter" that the witches used, even though macbeth got the quote wrong., beyond that, though, there's no real references to her being a witch or casting any magic spells at all, except perhaps one..., when she performs her original magic spell she asks that the spirits " stop up the passage to remorse " which means that the spell stops her feeling any guilt. in a3 s5 hecate, the queen of witches, becomes angry at what the witches have done and demands that they bring an end to the whole thing. just after this, we see lady macbeth and she's sleepwalking and consumed by guilt. is it possible that hecate cancelled out the magic spell that had been cast earlier on, which would have meant that lady macbeth felt her guilt all of a sudden this is possible, and it's probably the best explanation for her character flip that i've ever heard though it's still pretty thin..., seyton... or is it a coincidence, at the end of the play, macbeth does something unusual: he gives one of his servants a name. there are a number of other messengers or gentlewomen in the play - even a doctor - but they never get names., but then, for no reason, at the end of the play he calls out "seyton." now, bearing in mind that macbeth was meant to be seen and not read, it seems really strange to give a character a name that rhymes with satan, in a play about witchcraft, if that character isn't going to actually be satan., it's also doubly interesting as he says the name three times before seyton appears - twice in quick succession, and then suddenly he appears. the idea of saying someone's name three times before they appear is a reasonably classic trope, and here it is with satan., seyton --i am sick at heart,, when i behold-- seyton , i say--this push, will cheer me ever, or disseat me now., i have lived long enough: my way of life, is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf;, and that which should accompany old age,, as honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,, i must not look to have; but, in their stead,, curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath,, which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not. seyton , enter seyton, given the nature of the play and its focus on witchcraft - and the fact that a few scenes earlier we'd seen the arrival of hecate, the queen of witches - it doesn't seem unreasonable that this is actually satan who's arrived., other than ranking up the supernatural elements in the play, this doesn't really have a massive impact on the play except in one key possible area., look over this section from a5 s5:.

A cry of women within

What is that noise?

It is the cry of women, my good lord.

Re-enter SEYTON

Wherefore was that cry?

The queen, my lord, is dead.

So it is Seyton who discovers the Queen's body - or, possibly, was it him or his minions who killed her?

The most common understanding is that Lady Macbeth killed herself, but bear in mind that we only assumed she did because Malcolm's says that Macbeth's "fiend-like queen, / Who, as 'tis thought, by self and violent hands / Took off her life."

So basically, it could well be that Lady Macbeth killed herself, but I'd bet there were people who left the theatre thinking that Seyton / Satan had something to do with it...

Super Stretch: Extract from the British Library

The following is an extract from an article that's been published on the british library's website, you can find the whole thing here: https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/manhood-and-the-milk-of-human-kindness-in-macbeth, the article looks at the role of masculinity in macbeth, but takes a very different slant to my interpretation. during this extract, the author argues that the witches have no real power over macbeth but only ignite his own passion. i've colour coded it and responded to his argument below. crucially though, i'd argue (without meaning to offend the author) that this passage - which is written by a very well respected professor - is entirely reliant on some quite astonishing assumptions, none of which are actually backed up by any evidence from the play., it's an interesting read as it gives some clues as to how we've come to the place we have:, it’s important to stress that macbeth’s fate is not dictated by the witches. none of the malign spells cast by the bearded handmaids of hecat, as they dance round their bubbling cauldron with its gruesome ingredients, has any power over macbeth. the weird sisters ‘can look into the seeds of time’ (1.3.58) and foretell his future in deceitful language, whose full meaning emerges only in retrospect. but they can’t compel macbeth to do anything., this section stresses that the witches have no powers over macbeth. it says they can't compel him to do anything, but then - really - if you read it, it just repeats this statement without actually referencing the text in any meaningful way. it seems like the author just ignores the power the witches had over the sailor, and ignores the fact that macbeth enters the stage almost repeating what the witches have previously said. this kind of academic writing is designed to sound clever, but it's not actually dealing with the text. you could almost say it was an example of confuscation, which is something that's made deliberately confusing, often to hide the fact that it has nothing to say., shakespeare makes that clear from the outset, when the grim trio greets macbeth with titles he has yet to acquire, and banquo sees him ‘start, and seem to fear / things that do sound so fair’, and then become strangely ‘rapt withal’ (1.3.51–2, 57). before the scene is over, macbeth’s first soliloquy leaves us in no doubt that what has startled and struck fear into him is the witches’ open voicing of the ‘black and deep desires’ (1.4.51) already brewing secretly in his heart., my ears perked up at this bit as i hoped that he would provide some evidence - he says that shakespeare makes it clear that the witches have no power. but then you read it and there's nothing there - again the fact that macbeth seemed to "fear" what the witches said, or that he then fell into a "rapt" state does not mean that the witches had no control over macbeth and where he claims "leaves us in no doubt that" i can say categorically that i had serious doubts about this interpretation. in fact, he references a soliloquy from a1 s3 but then uses a quote from the next scene, like the spirits that lady macbeth commands in the next scene to ‘unsex’ her and purge her of compassion, the witches ‘tend on mortal thoughts’ (1.5.41; my emphasis): they serve the evil thoughts they find in mortal minds, they don’t plant them there., here, he's using a quote from lady macbeth who says that the spirits she calls only "tend" on mortal thoughts, which suggests that they don't control them, they just look after them - in the way we might tend a garden or a loved one. but this is lady macbeth and not the witches, so the fact that lady macbeth has no real power over someone's behaviour says nothing about the witches. also, the use of the "like" conjunction at the beginning suggests that there will be some connection between the thoughts presented, but lady macbeth asks for the spirits to "unsex" her and take away her compassion, both of which are them doing something, not simply responding to the "evil thoughts they find in mortal minds.", and that's the end of his argument., but if i look back over his argument i see someone making a very broad statement about the play: the witches have no control over macbeth; and then backing it up with very limited evidence, that ignores significant portions of the plot, and just 'sounds' good as he uses long words and complex sentences., the fact is that if you introduce the supernatural elements of the play to the degree that they can actually control macbeth's behaviour, you end up with a play about the effects of witchcraft, which just isn't that interesting to an audience four hundred years later. i think a lot of people are working very hard to make macbeth seem infinitely more interesting and complex than it actually is..

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Your trusty englit guide.

The supernatural in Macbeth: 3 key ideas (with quotes, analysis & video)

(This post contains a detailed video on the topic.)

In my post on the 3 ‘culprits’ behind Macbeth’s fall , I argue that the supernatural in Macbeth is largely a dramatic device for Shakespeare to magnify his protagonist’s hamartia (fatal flaw).

Macbeth needs confirmation of kingship and reassurance of power, so he seeks out the Three Witches, whose ‘concocted vision’ only drives him faster towards his tragic end.

But the supernatural in this play isn’t limited to the Witches (despite their prominence in the cultural consciousness) – Banquo’s ghost also plays a critical role in helping us understand Macbeth’s psyche.

In this post, then, I’d like to analyse how Shakespeare presents the supernatural in this ‘Scottish play’, and perhaps inspire you all with some ideas on this popular theme. 

Historical context: The role of James I and his obsession with witches

In my other post on Macbeth’s ambition , I mention that James I was a key influence over Shakespeare’s conception and production of this play.

James I was himself fascinated and terrified by witchcraft, and had written a treatise titled Daemonologie, which is about black magic and the handling of witches.

While still James VI of Scotland, he had instigated a sweeping succession of witch hunts and trials in the 1590s, and just one year after ascending to the English throne in 1603, he passed what was at that point the harshest legislative act against witchcraft.

Nowadays, the phrase ‘witch hunt’ is only ever used figuratively, meaning a public, often humiliating, investigation of a famous figure.

Back in Renaissance England, however, the targets for these witchcraft trials were usually poor, cranky, old women, whom people would blame if they had contracted illnesses or ran into misfortunes – all without much scientific basis, of course.

As the patron of Shakespeare’s ‘King’s Men’, James I would most certainly have had a view on the dramatic portrayal of Hecate and the ‘Weird Sisters’ in this play, and the Bard would in turn have given much calculated thought into how he should stage such a controversial trope, and what emotions he would want to incite from his audience as a result.

But Shakespeare’s tightrope-walking manoeuvre went beyond his knack for royal flattery, and even with a clear awareness of James I’s touchiness about subjects like witchcraft and necromancy, the Bard did not shy away from engaging with these topics, nor did he simply condemn supernatural agents a la James I.

As Stephen Greenblatt , one of the most respected Shakespearean scholars today, writes in his biography of Shakespeare, Will in the World – 

“[While writing Macbeth ], Shakespeare was burrowing deep into the fantasies that swirled about in the king’s brain. [And] if James had been fascinated by a command performance of diabolical music, the King’s Men would give him that and more. [But] Shakespeare was a professional risk-taker. He wrote under pressure – judging from its unusual brevity, Macbeth was composed in a very short time – and he went where his imagination took him. If the cheerful sibyls of St John’s became the weird sisters dancing around a cauldron bubbling with hideous contents, then Shakespeare was obliged to pursue the course. The alternative was to write the kind of play that would put James to sleep and send the thrill-seeking crowds to rival theaters.” 

And what about the ghost?

Speaking of thrill-seeking crowds, the Renaissance playgoers would have liked to see ghosts on stage as well.

The ghost was a well-known dramatic device in Shakespeare’s time, harking back to Senecan tragedies where the ghost figure would sometimes appear to call for revenge.

Given the popularity of Senecan plays in the Renaissance period, this association of ghosts with vengeance was likely affixed in the audience’s mind.

Interestingly, while Shakespeare does exploit this motif in Hamlet and Julius Caesar, in which King Hamlet and Caesar’s ghosts express their desires for revenge, Banquo’s ghost neither speaks nor expresses such a wish.

Instead, Banquo’s ghost does more to show us Macbeth’s personhood than it draws attention to its ghostly nature. 

It’s also worth considering why Shakespeare had chosen to ‘resurrect’ Banquo but not Duncan, which would seem to make more dramatic sense and grant a greater degree of theatrical satisfaction (after all, it’d be poetic justice for a murdered King to return and confront his betrayer).

But perhaps it would have been unwise to stage the ghost of a King in front of a living King, and despite the ghosts in Hamlet and Julius Caesar both being once-kings, those are Elizabethan plays (i.e. produced before James I’s ascension).

To an extent, this should also highlight the impact that the shift from Elizabethan to Jacobean rule had on Shakespeare’s creative direction post-1603. 

Notwithstanding the visual spectacle and political considerations that would have motivated Shakespeare to include supernatural elements in Macbeth, it’s important that we don’t lose sight of the Bard as, above all, a humanist playwright.

This means that the core of his works are firmly centered on the individual, and his interest is always on how the self responds to external and internal forces.

As such, the witches, ghosts and apparitions are in the play insofar as they challenge and complicate our view of the human characters, which is why any discussion about the supernatural in the play is also de facto a discussion about Macbeth. 

3 key ideas of the supernatural in Macbeth

So in this post, I’ve summarised 3 major ways through which we can make sense of the supernatural in this play: 

• The supernatural as a mirror of our ‘natural’ selves 
• The supernatural as a reminder of mortal limits 
• The supernatural as a caution against the need for absolute certitude

The key moments I’ll reference include: 

• Act 1 Scene 1 : The Witches converse among themselves and agree to meet Macbeth on the heath
• Act 1 Scene 3 : The Witches deliver the prophecy of thanedom and kingship to Macbeth and Banquo  
• Act 3 Scene 4 : Banquo’s ghost appears at the hall of Macbeth’s feast  
• Act 4 Scene 1 : Macbeth is shown the three apparitions about Macduff, Birnam Wood/Dunsinane Hill and the eight kings with Banquo at the end 

…with video!

Key idea 1: The supernatural as a mirror of our ‘natural’ selves

One of the most famous lines in this play comes at the end of Act 1 Scene 1, when the Witches chant in unison – 

Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air. 

In addition to being a paradox , the line “fair is foul, and foul is fair” is an example of antimetabole , which shows up as a syntactical ‘mirror’.

The Witches are saying that good is evil and vice versa, but the inverted syntax also suggests what’s good on the surface could in fact be rotten within, and likewise, what’s bad on the outside can often lead to some sort of good. 

It’s easy to apply noble Macbeth and his eventual murder of Duncan to the ‘fair is foul’ reading, but who’s ‘foul’ that’s also ‘fair’? 

Could it be the Witches? 

Yet, what ‘good’ could they possibly bring, being such abhorrent creatures? 

To Macbeth, these mischief-making sisters are definitely more foul than fair, but to the audience (or reader), the Witches are probably a dramatic ‘boon’, because it is through their interactions with Macbeth that we are given a deeper insight into his deepest and darkest instincts. 

In that sense, what enables us to “Hover through the fog and filthy air” of the play is the presence of the Witches, their ‘trickery’, but most importantly, their function as a mirror for Macbeth’s private self.

We first get a glimpse of the Witches’ illuminating role in Act 1 Scene 3, when the First Witch complains to her posse about the sailor’s wife, who refused to share her chestnuts with the Witch and called the latter a hag.

While the three conspire to “thither [the] sail” of the sailor’s ship, the First Witch goes further with her vindictive schemes – 

I will drain him dry as hay: Sleep shall neither night nor day Hang upon his pent-house lid; He shall live a man forbid:  Weary se’nnights nine times nine Shall he dwindle, peak and pine:  Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-tost. 

She’ll terrorise the sailor’s ship with storms and rob him of sleep for eighty-one weeks (“weary sen’nnights nine times nine”), she vows.

This, of course, forebodes what will eventually happen to Macbeth, who will be so besieged by the mental ‘storms’ of his guilt that he too will suffer endless sleepless nights, as he says that he has “murder[ed] sleep, the innocent sleep” after killing Duncan in Act 2 Scene 2.

Macbeth is also aware of the role witchcraft plays in disturbing the peace of sleep, which we know from his ‘dagger hallucination’ speech in Act 2 Scene 1 – 

…Now o’er the one halfworld Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse The curtain’d sleep; witchcraft celebrates Pale Hecate’s offerings…

As a related side note, this reference to a “tempest-tost” ship may be an allusion to the 1590 North Berwick Witch Trials in Scotland. 

After James VI’s marriage to Anne of Denmark (before he became James I of England), the newly married couple were sailing home when their ship ran into violent storms and were diverted off-course for several weeks. The Scottish King was convinced that their misfortune was a result of witchcraft, and this led to a series of witch hunts in Denmark, which in turn inspired James VI to establish his own witchcraft tribunal courts in Scotland. 

While it’s possible to think that Shakespeare was alluding to this event as a backstage ‘wink’ to his patron, this reference is also symbolic of the chaos that malicious forces could pose on human relationships, which is precisely what we see as the play unfolds.

Most people focus on Macbeth’s response to the Witches when they first meet on the heath in Act 1 Scene 3, but it’s equally important to examine how Banquo reacts, because this (counterintuitively) gives us more clues into Macbeth’s character. 

The first thing to notice about Macbeth is his natural affinity to the Witches. In fact, before he’s even seen them, he echoes their lexis in his statement – 

So foul and fair a day I have not seen.

On the contrary, Banquo stands at a stark remove from the Witches, as his first instinct is to challenge the Witches’ very state of being, and not to engage them in a conversation. He comments that they “look not like the inhabitants o’ the earth”, and asks them –

Live you? 

Macbeth, however, assumes even before the Witches have spoken to him that they possess human faculties, which we can infer from his commands for them to “speak” and his addressing them as “imperfect speakers”. 

While Banquo draws an analogy between “bubbles on earth” and the Witches’ appearance, implying that these figures are no more than figments of one’s mind that one should dismiss, Macbeth’s simile – “what seem’d corporal melted/As breath into the wind” – presupposes that these supernatural beings are more human than creatures, and as such, we see him subconsciously establishing a link between himself and the Witches.

 So, while Banquo sees a clear distinction between the supernatural and the human (and the need for the latter to fend itself against the former), Macbeth pursues – even embraces – a conflation of the two spheres – he wants the knowledge of the Witches, hence his constant asking of ‘why’ and ‘how’ in his interactions with them throughout the play. 

Indeed, this difference between Banquo and Macbeth is perhaps best borne out by the questions they each ask upon the Witches’ disappearance, with Banquo enquiring “Whither are they vanish’d?”, and Macbeth responding with “Would they had stay’d!” Banquo’s emphasis is on them gone; Macbeth’s wish is to have them remain. 

It’s probably ironic, then, that Banquo should ultimately return to haunt Macbeth in the supernatural form of a ghost in Act 3 Scene 4.

Key idea 2: The supernatural as a reminder of man’s mortal limits

One of the greatest ironies in this play is Macbeth’s powerlessness upon gaining power. 

Early on in the play, we already see Macbeth at the mercy of forces he can’t control or command. 

For example, in Act 1 Scene 3, the Witches vanish despite his order for them to divulge more about their prophecy (“Speak, I charge you”), and in Act 4 Scene 1, he is told that the visions “will not be commanded”, and that he should “Listen, but speak not to’t”. 

MACBETH … Say from whence You owe this strange intelligence? or why Upon this blasted heath you stop our way With such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you. Witches vanish (1.3)  MACBETH Tell me, thou unknown power,– FIRST WITCH He knows thy thought: Hear his speech, but say thou nought. […] MACBETH …What is this That rises like the issue of a king, And wears upon his baby-brow the round And top of sovereignty? ALL Listen, but speak not to’t. (4.1) 

In the words of another Shakespearean play – Othello, Macbeth is ‘led by the nose as asses are’ ( allusion ) through the hocus-pocus shenanigans of Hecate and her sisters, who first bait him with the possibility of kingship, then mock “this great king” while he grovels in the anguish of guilt and unknowing.

A more striking instance where we see Macbeth’s inability to control the supernatural is when he sees Banquo’s ghost in Act 3 Scene 4 – 

Prithee, see there! Behold! Look! Lo! How say you?  Why, what care I? If thou canst nod, speak too.  If charnel-houses and our graves must send Those that we bury back, our monuments  Shall be the maws of kites. 

Interestingly, he also tells Banquo’s ghost to “speak”, which, like the Witches and apparitions, flout his order.

The personification of “charnel-houses and our graves” as agents who can decide to “send/Those that we bury back” exposes the uselessness of his murders, and undermines Macbeth’s only source of power – his murderous tyranny.

Whatever he orchestrates on a mortal level, the spiritual realm seems to conjure up a ‘response’ that comes back to haunt him, and having exhausted his arsenal of mortal weaponry – daggers and assassins – there is nothing else Macbeth can do to chase away the bloody spectre of Banquo’s “gory locks”. 

Macbeth’s impotence is especially apparent after the second entrance of Banquo’s ghost – 

MACBETH Avaunt! And quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee!  Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold; Thou hast no speculation in those eyes  Which thou dost glare with! 

Ironically , the description he attributes to Banquo’s ghost could also apply to his own murderous persona, albeit figuratively.

Having betrayed the King, he is “marrowless” in his deceit; having ordered the murder of Duncan, Banquo, Fleance (and later, Macduff’s family), he is “cold-blooded” in his brutality; and having fallen into the grasp of an illegitimate and doomed station, he is shown to have “no speculation”, where “speculation” here means not just the ability to see, but the faculty of intelligence and the prudence of foresight.

It seems, then, that he sees his worst self reflected in Banquo’s ghost, and by crying out for “earth [to] hide thee”, he’s really asking to escape from the terror of himself.

As Lady Macbeth chastises her husband for losing it, Macbeth attempts to reassert his manhood by claiming that “What man dare, I dare”.

The only issue, though, is that he’s being confronted with a force that most men wouldn’t dare, and so the implication of his claim isn’t so much the firmness of his courage, but rather, its crippling limitations – 

MACBETH:  What man dare, I dare: Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, The arm’d rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger; Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shall never tremble: or be alive again,  And dare me to the desert with thy sword; If trembling I inhabit then, protest me The baby of a girl. Hence, horrible shadow!  Unreal mockery, hence! 

Macbeth invokes hyperbole and superlatives to remind all of his valiance, but buried within these references to “rugged Russian bears,/ The arm’d rhinoceros” and “the Hyrcan tiger” is the crucial, but telling, plea – “take any shape but that”.

Turn into the fiercest beast, or become human again and challenge me to the harshest duel, Macbeth cries, just please don’t show up as a ghost, because that’s beyond the scope of his understanding and the domain of his power.

The euphemism of “horrible shadow” echoes the interpretation of Macbeth seeing himself reflected in Banquo’s ghostly visage, as “shadow” could mean either “spirit and phantom”, or “reflection and semblance”.

At the same time, though, the ghost is also an “unreal mockery”, as Banquo’s ‘return’ may remind us of the Witches’ other prophecy – that Banquo’s sons will eventually become king, and this is a worry which hovers over Macbeth’s mind like a spectre throughout the play.

What this scene also exposes is the limits of free will, since the more Macbeth seemingly takes into his hands the course of his fate by murdering those around him, the more he realises just how helpless he is, because his actions are ultimately not the evidence of individual agency, but the product of inexplicable, yet much more powerful, forces that are beyond human comprehension.

One interesting counterpoint to examine is Trevor Nunn’s 1979 RSC production of the play , in which Banquo’s ghost isn’t shown on stage, and so the audience is forced to consider Macbeth’s reaction not as a response to paranormality, but as a psychological projection of his own fears, of the “strange things I have in head” (3.4). 

But ghost or no ghost, we know from the Witches’ cranky curse of “thither[ing the] sail” of the sailor’s ship in Act 1 Scene 3 that Macbeth is, in a way, just another “tempest-tost” ship in the grand scheme of fate, subject to forces that he can’t ever fathom or control.

Here, it is perhaps useful to quote Ludwig Wittgenstein, the 20th century Austrian-British philosopher, on his idea of determinism – 

You sometimes see in a wind a piece of paper blowing about anyhow. Suppose the piece of paper could make the decision: ‘Now I want to go this way.’ I say: ‘Queer, this paper always decides where it is to go, and all the time it is the wind that blows it. I know it is the wind that blows it.’ That same force which moves it also in a different way moves its decisions.

In a way, then, Macbeth is just like that piece of paper, and the wind are those supernatural forces that bandy him about.

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Key idea 3: The supernatural as a caution against the need for certitude

“Seek to know no more”: For all the villainy that the Witches seem to represent, they’ve given Macbeth what’s probably the best advice he needs – curb your curiosity, and stop with your “whys” and “hows” already.

While it’s possible to see the supernatural as a trigger for Macbeth’s doomed descent, it’s equally fair to say that Macbeth’s own insatiable need to know is what’s dug him his grave.

We see this when he first encounters the Witches on the heath, where he confronts them with a barrage of questions: 

Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more: By Sinel’s death I know I am thane of Glamis; But how of Cawdor? Say from whence You owe this strange intelligence? or why Upon this blasted heath you stop our way With such prophetic greeting?

Again, if we contrast Macbeth’s questions against Banquo’s, we’ll realise that Macbeth asks epistemological questions (and as such, tacitly accepts the Witches’ existence), whereas his companion is much more concerned with the ontological status of these Witches (i.e. he is skeptical about the very notion of the Witches’ existence).

It’s also significant that the knowledge Macbeth seeks confounds human logic – “from whence/You owe this strange intelligence?” – and this motif of transgressive curiosity as a dangerous, punishable desire would not be alien to Renaissance audiences (think Adam and Eve in The Book of Genesis, or Doctor Faustus ).

After the appearance of Banquo’s ghost, Macbeth goes looking for the Witches, and asks what his “heart/Throbs to know” – 

Shall Banquo’s issue ever Reign in this kingdom? 

The answer he receives is the “horrible sight” of the eight kings with Banquo following behind, holding a glass, which confuses his eyes and unsettles his mind: 

ALL Show his eyes, and grieve his heart; Come like shadows, so depart! A show of Eight Kings, the last with a glass in his hand; GHOST OF BANQUO following MACBETH Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo: down! Thy crown does sear mine eye-balls. And thy hair, Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first. A third is like the former. Filthy hags! Why do you show me this? A fourth! Start, eyes! What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom? Another yet! A seventh! I’ll see no more: And yet the eighth appears, who bears a glass Which shows me many more; and some I see That two-fold balls and treble scepters carry: Horrible sight! Now, I see, ’tis true; For the blood-bolter’d Banquo smiles upon me, And points at them for his. Apparitions vanish What, is this so?

Note that the iambic pentameter Macbeth characteristically speaks in is disrupted at several points in this speech.

The rhetorical question “What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom?” and its following exclamations “Another yet! A seventh! I’ll see no more:” are both hypercatalectic (and so, a syntactical ‘stretching out of the line’), as each ends with one extra syllable to emphasise the neverending nature of this kingly procession, from which Macbeth is excluded.

In agony, he cries that he wants to “see no more”, but he continues to “see/That two-fold balls and treble scepters carry”, that “horrible sight! Now, I see, tis true”.

The terrifying pageantry of the moment may haunt him, but not enough to extinguish his burning need for certitude.

And so his desire to know how his fate will unfold compels him to keep fixing his eyes on this supernatural spectacle, which of course, only muddles his own vision and judgment of what is “fair” and what is “foul”.

By the end of witnessing these ‘prophetic’ sights, Macbeth is still left none the wiser – “What, is this so?”, he asks, and it is this growing state of bewilderment which drives him to make one irrational decision after another, ultimately concluding in his tragic demise. 

Notice, then, that while Macbeth’s decisions to act on each supernatural encounter form the main catalyst points of the plot, they are largely motivated by his uncertainty of what these occurrences mean for him, and in turn, his need to ‘certify’ them through action – 

• Hears the Witches’ prophecy for the first time, but can’t quite make sense of it → tells Lady Macbeth about it and together they plot Duncan’s murder 
• Recalls the Witches’ prophecy about Banquo’s sons being king, but isn’t sure if that means Banquo’s sons will come seizing his crown → orders Banquo and Fleance’s killing 
• Sees Banquo’s ghost, can’t fathom how such “strangeness” has come about → freaks out and goes to the Witches for more ‘answers’ 
• Sees the apparitions, doesn’t really get satisfactory answers → orders the attack on Macduff’s castle and the seizing of Fife, sets off the revenge of Macduff and Malcolm with the English troops 

So perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting that the wisest way to deal with spooky encounters and kooky visitations is to simply ignore them.

After all, trying to make sense of “supernatural solicitings”, it seems, can often bring more ill than good. 

For a detailed analysis on some of Shakespeare’s other plays, check out my posts below: 

• Ambition in Macbeth : 4 key ideas (with quotes, analysis & video)
• What does  Romeo & Juliet  show us about love? 
• Why is  Hamlet  such a fascinating character?
• What does  King Lear  show us about blindness?
• What does The Merchant of Venice  tell us about racism and prejudice?
• What does Shakespeare show us about self-conscious men? Reading  Othello and  Cymbeline  to find out

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6 thoughts on “ The supernatural in Macbeth: 3 key ideas (with quotes, analysis & video) ”

Wow there is so much knowledge in your posts — I hope it gets made into the the coolest eng lit study book in the world v soon 🤓

PS like your use of gender neutral language too for Macbeth’s ‘personhood’

Like Liked by 1 person

Thanks for your encouraging words, Nikki – I really appreciate it! If you know anyone who’s studying Shakespeare at school and need some extra ideas, please share this with them 🙂

You’re welcome and I do already 👍🤓 Keep up the good work!

Thank you Nikki! 😀

How do I quote this for my essay??

Hi Maria, are you asking for quotations from ‘Macbeth’ to include in your essay? Or do you mean you want to cite this blog post for your essay…? If the former, there’s plenty of examples included in this post for reference; if the latter, then perhaps you can embed a link to the post? Otherwise/if you’re doing pen and paper, then see if you can digest the ideas (be sure not to copy verbatim as that’d be plagiarism!) to include in your own argument. Hope this helps, and thanks for reading!

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English Made Simple

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• 15 January 2021 31 October 2022
• 4 Comments on Macbeth themes: the supernatural part I

This article continues on from the first article in this series of articles on the themes of Macbeth.

To read the first article please click on this link, Macbeth: The Themes.

In the first article we touched upon two of the most fundamental themes of the play namely

• Power and Ambition
• Struggle between morality and immorality / Strength

This will be covered in more depth in following articles including with direct quotes from the play. However in today’s article we will talk about the theme of the supernatural in the play.

THE SUPERNATURAL

The importance of the supernatural in Macbeth cannot be dismissed and to understand its significance we need to have a wider and deeper understanding of English society at the time of Shakespeare. We use the word English because Scotland was still a different country back then and it was only a century later that England and Scotland merged to become part of the same state. We need to be more acquainted with England at the time the play was written even though it it set in Scotland.

Elizabeth I, the queen of England at the beginning of Shakespeare’s life died in 1603 and with the absence of any direct heir, as Elizabeth had no children, king James VI of Scotland was chosen to come down from Scotland and go to London to become the king of England, he was then called James I of England as he was the first king of England to bear the name James. James I was a man who was a firm believer in the existence of the supernatural and in particular witchcraft in its deeply evil nature in his eyes. In the modern world this may be not be taken seriously by some but at that time society was far more conservative including being far more religious and the widespread belief in the supernatural.

James I patronized Shakespeare’s theatre company, i.e. he supported it. Shakespeare like any other Englishman at that time had to be in the good books of the king and Macbeth can be said to be heavily influenced by Shakespeare’s desire to please the king and this includes the depiction of witchcraft as something extremely dark and disturbing. This has an importance far greater than that of a writer trying to impress the king but also takes on a political significance as James I needed support to convince people in England to support his very strong anti-witchcraft policies including the Witchcraft of 1604 which made witchcraft punishable by death even if no one had been killed as a result of the alleged witchcraft. Thus James I may have been totally delighted by someone as influential as Shakespeare depicting witchcraft  as totally evil and malevolent to the English publish, with the resultant increase in support for James’ anti-witchcraft campaign. James a few years earlier whilst in Scotland has written a work on witches called ‘ Daemonologie’  which contained details of their dark arts and would have been no doubt pleased to see Shakespeare’s play reinforcing his message.

Act I, the first scene.

So imagine the king at the time of the play and the English elite coming to watch the performance and the first scene that they see is of the three witches with the scene culminating in the words:

“ Fair is foul, and foul is fair Hover through the fog and filthy air. “

These words are interesting because the deeply Christian audience at the time would clearly have seen that the witches did not believe in normal morality or in morality at all. ‘Foul’ means bad, and ‘fair’ means good or just. To say ‘Evil is good and good is evil’ would mean essentially there is no such thing as morality and a person who has no morality cannot be said to be a good person, we use the term ‘amoral’ to describe a person with no morals or sense of right and wrong. Thus in the audience’s eyes the amoral nature of the witches is established from the very beginning. 

Shakespeare also uses the word ‘fog’. ‘Fog’ is something which is unclear and that reflects the nature of the witches and black magic. It is shrouded in mystery, nothing surrounding it is clear. Also the word ‘filthy’ is not all indicative of the air but also of their character and the nature of the witches and the supernatural in general. They are associated with mystery and filth from the beginning. They ‘hover’ through the air. They are not easy to pin down and to capture. They are elusive. Thus when they are finally caught they should be ‘dealt with’ as James I wanted them to as per his law of 1604 which instituted the death sentence for all acts of witchcraft.

In the third scene we see the first witch refer to a woman who refuses to give her food i.e. chestnuts. In return the first witch plans on a revenge which is totally disproportionate to this denial of chestnuts but to inflict a severe punishment not on the lady but her husband who has absolutely nothing to do with the act. The first witch utters the word.

“ Her husband has sailed off to Aleppo as master of a ship called the  Tiger . I’ll sail there in a kitchen strainer, turn myself into a tailless rat, and do things to him— “

Shakespeare taps in to the belief in the supernatural then and the idea that witches possess the ability to transform their bodies in to that of animals. The reference to the sailor and the ship once again connects with the life of James I who himself in 1589 was sailing in a ship to go and collect his new wife Anne from Denmark. He himself had to go there in person to Denmark as his wife had tried to sail to Scotland to be with him but failed due to very severe storms which were attributed to witchcraft. Various women accused of being witches were executed later on in Scotland in relation to this event. Thus when James sees witches talking of the harm they will inflict on a sailor he may well have felt that Shakespeare is referring to this rather traumatic and important event in his life and this would endear the playwright, Shakespeare, even more to the king which of course would result in continued support and patronage.

The other two witches in this scene have control of various winds, that is another allusion to Anne’s (James’ wife) failed initial attempts to sail to Scotland due to very strong storms, these powerful winds and storms it being said later on being the work of witches. They, the other two witches, tell the first witch they will supply her with winds.

The witch later on goes to say of this sailor:

Macbeth then says:

This is very ironic since far from being ‘fair’ (good) the witches are evil creatures from whom no good will come as the audience already knows. Banquo then asks the witches to inform him about his future, which may be the greatest act of folly he ever committed. For it is in this questioning of the witches that they plant the ultimate seeds of his death at the hands of his, at the time of the scene, friend Macbeth. The witches after each hailing Banquo say:

1st WITCH – Lesser than Macbeth and greater.

3rd  WITCH – Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!

Useful vocabulary for students.

1. Solicit – to seek the help of or ask questions e.g. Banquo solicits the witches for their prophecy of his future.

2. Duality – when something exists in two e.g. life and death, good and bad.

3. Latent – Something existing inside something and maybe not active, but could be activated. For example someone may generally be peaceful  but there is a ‘latent violent streak’ within him if he is provoked. Macbeth may have been a ‘good person’ in general but his lust for power existed inside him and was brought out by his wife.

4. Analogy – A comparison between two different things e.g. Banquo uses the analogy of the earth producing bubbles and the witches.

5. Patronage – When someone supports e.g. provides money or other assistance, James I patronised Shakespeare’s theatre company.

6. Oxymoron – Something which is a contradiction e.g. ‘a dead alive man’ as it is impossible to be both.

7. Intermediate – In the middle of two things, so a building being constructed is in an intermediate stage between just being an idea and being an actual fully completed building.

8. Valiant – brave, especially in a military context.

9. Feat – a great achievement or action e.g. ‘The knight carried out great feats of bravery’.

10. Oblivion – a state of being totally forgotten, unremembered.

11. Esoteric – not understood clearly, mysterious, only known by a few, sometimes in connection to the supernatural.

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Theme: The Supernatural

The Supernatural plays a significant role in ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare. It is depicted in various forms influencing the actions of several main characters, stimulating the plot and reinforcing the dominant themes of the play.

Manifestation

• Witches : The play opens with the three witches ; an embodiment of the supernatural. They offer prophesies that ignite Macbeth’s ambition and entice him along a dangerous path.
• Ghost and Apparitions : The appearance of Banquo’s ghost and the apparitions shown by the witches further illustrate the theme of the supernatural.

Role and Influence

• Prophesies : The witches’ prophesies function as stepping stones to Macbeth’s ambition, enticing him towards the throne and ultimately, his downfall.
• Guilt & Fear : The supernatural enhances characters’ guilt and fear. The appearance of the dagger spectral vision and Banquo’s ghost intensify Macbeth’s guilt and fear, driving his murderous actions.

Psychoanalysis of Macbeth

• Supernatural vs Reality : Macbeth’s interaction with the supernatural can reflect his mental instability. The spectacle of the dagger and Banquo’s ghost can be seen as delusional episodes indicating Macbeth’s psychological deterioration .

The Supernatural and the Themes of the Play

• Fate and Free Will : The witches’ prophesies question the balance between fate and free will . Although they predict Macbeth’s future, it is his free will that drives his actions.
• Moral Corruption and Ambition : The supernatural often presents itself after acts of moral corruption, suggesting its role as a reminder and symbol of Macbeth’s overwhelming ambition and moral downfall.
• Witches : The witches represent dark and destructive forces in nature. They symbolise the evil that can stem from unchecked ambitions.
• Apparitions : The three apparitions that the witches conjure act as symbols of deception , misleading Macbeth into a false sense of security.

Relation to Setting

• Nature vs Unnatural : The theme of the supernatural disrupts the established natural world in the play. This contrast illustrates the unnaturalness of Macbeth’s regicidal act.
• Darkness and Night : Darkness and night, traditionally suggestive of evil and the supernatural, act as the backdrop of the majority of the play. This setting enhances the foreboding atmosphere and the uncanny events that take place.

Mr Salles Teaches English

Macbeth Supernatural: Starting with the Extract

If you want grades 8 or 9, maybe don't do it.

This is the link to the guide .

This essay comes from a grade 9 student who might not get get Grade 9, because they start with the extract.

Starting with this moment in the play, explore how Shakespeare presents the attitudes of Macbeth and Banquo towards the supernatural.

In this extract, Banquo is shown to be wary of the supernatural; a feeling which would be reflected by most people watching the play. Shakespeare uses Banquo to deliver a didactic message to those who didn’t have this fear of the supernatural, explaining how the “ instruments of darkness... betray us .”The “ instruments of darkness ”refers to the witches, who at this point in the play have just been proved correct in their prediction that Macbeth would become the Thane of Cawdor. By using the metaphor of “ instruments ,” Shakespeare shows that while the supernatural can sound attractive and beautiful, their real role is to betray us to the Devil- the one who controls their movements, and in this extended metaphor “ wins ” them. The fact that the witches predicted correctly that Macbeth would become Thane of Cawdor, Banquo believes, was only an “ honest trifle ,” a small trick which in the long term meant nothing, but that could drag those who allowed it to change their perspective of life into doom. This warning reflected the writing of James I, who in “Demonology” warned of the threat that the supernatural posed to people.

In stark opposition to the clear caution that Banquo has of the witches, Macbeth is unsure of the extent of the threat that the witches pose. He says “ this supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good .” The anaphora shows his lack of ability to decide how the supernatural should be treated. This would shock a Jacobean audience, who had been brought up to believe that witches were evil and never to be trusted. Shakespeare shows that this doubt as to whether the witches want Macbeth's good or not directly leads to his ideas about the murder of Duncan, as after seeing their prediction come true, he immediately has a “ thought ” of “ murder .”

Although the idea of murdering the King is at this point “ but fantastical ”, only an idea, even the thought of regicide would be seen as sinful by the Jacobean audience, who saw the King as directly under God in the Great Chain of Being. The fact that a “ valiant ”, “ worthy gentleman ” can be polluted by such evil thoughts as a result of one meeting with the witches is a clear message to the Jacobean audience that witches can destroy anyone, and that everyone should be on their guard and should protect themselves from the supernatural.

Later in the play, Macbeth is shown to think that he has power over the supernatural. This is seen when he commands Banquo’s ghost “ never shake thy gory locks at me! ” The exclamation demonstrates the fact that Macbeth believes that by intimidation he can control not only people, but also ghosts and spirits. However, the ghost does not respond to this demand, which shows that even those in power cannot control the supernatural. This was perhaps a message to the nobles of King James’ court. Shakespeare wanted to remind them that evil spirits- as ghosts were seen at the time- needed divine help to be cast out. Jacobean audiences would infer that Macbeth could not cast away the image of the ghost because he had left God, who alone had the power to cast out demons. This message would please King James, who had strong faith in the power of the Christian God.

After seeing Banquo’s ghost, Macbeth puts his full trust in the witches, which demonstrates that he has lost any “Christian values” that he had held previously. Despite knowing that the witches are the embodiment of spiritual darkness- which can be seen when he refers to them as “ black and midnight hags ”- he begs them to “ answer [him] … what [he] ask[s] them .” The witches agree, showing him three apparitions, the last of which comes with a message to “ Laugh to scorn, for none of woman born, shall harm Macbeth .” This lulls him into a false sense of security, which is seen when he taunts Macduff, saying “ I bear a charméd life .” Only when Macduff tells him that he was born of C-section does Macbeth lose his trust in the witches, and by then it is too late, and he dies fighting with Macduff.

Shakespeare therefore shows the audience that putting your life in the hands of the supernatural is a fatal mistake, which must be avoided at any cost.

How the Examiner Grades

This is grade 9.

“At the top of the level, a candidate’s response is likely to be a critical, exploratory, well-structured argument. It takes a conceptualised approach to the full task supported by a range of judicious references. There will be a fine-grained and insightful analysis of language and form and structure supported by judicious use of subject terminology. Convincing exploration of one or more ideas/ perspectives/ contextual factors/ interpretations.”

My Comments

This is “exploratory”. But it is unlikely to be a “well-structured argument”. It doesn’t start with a thesis statement, so that it doesn’t have 3 ideas to prove.

Because it doesn’t have a thesis statement, the conclusion makes only one point.

The point itself is weak - did Shakespeare really want to warn the nobles at court to avoid the many witches and ghosts roaming around Saint James’s Palace or around their stately manors? It’s not an insightful use of context.

It is much more likely that this will happen if you start with the extract - you zoom into some brilliant AO2 quote analysis, as this does, and you find you are half way through the question, with no time left to develop an argument. It does have a range of “judicious references”. Many of them are analysed brilliantly, so they are “fine-grained and insightful”.

Grade 7 - easy peasy, look at my quote analysis. But beyond that, you’re struggling.

It just about deals with “the full task”, but it can’t be “conceptualised” if it doesn’t have a thesis statement, strong conclusion and an argument.

Again, starting with the extract has scuppered it.

Anyway, much as I have panned the essay because it starts with the extract, I can still score it 26/30. A safe grade 8.

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Macbeth – A* / L9 Full Mark Example Essay

This is an A* / L9 full mark example essay on Macbeth completed by a 15-year-old student in timed conditions (50 mins writing, 10 mins planning).

It contained a few minor spelling and grammatical errors – but the quality of analysis overall was very high so this didn’t affect the grade. It is extremely good on form and structure, and perhaps could do with more language analysis of poetic and grammatical devices; as the quality of thought and interpretation is so high this again did not impede the overall mark. 

Thanks for reading! If you find this resource useful, you can take a look at our full online Macbeth course here . Use the code “SHAKESPEARE” to receive a 50% discount!

This course includes: 

• A full set of video lessons on each key element of the text: summary, themes, setting, characters, context, attitudes, analysis of key quotes, essay questions, essay examples
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• A range of example B-A* / L7-L9 grade essays, both at GCSE (ages 14-16) and A-Level (age 16+) with teacher comments and mark scheme feedback
• A bonus Macbeth workbook designed to guide you through each scene of the play!

For more help with Macbeth and Tragedy, read our article here .

MACBETH EXAMPLE ESSAY:

Macbeth’s ambition for status and power grows throughout the play. Shakespeare uses Macbeth as an embodiment of greed and asks the audience to question their own actions through the use of his wrongful deeds.

In the extract, Macbeth is demonstrated to possess some ambition but with overriding morals, when writing to his wife about the prophecies, Lady Macbeth uses metaphors to describe his kind hearted nature: “yet I do fear thy nature, / It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness”. Here, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a more gentle natured being who is loyal to his king and country. However, the very act of writing the letter demonstrates his inklings of desire, and ambition to take the throne. Perhaps, Shakespeare is aiming to ask the audience about their own thoughts, and whether they would be willing to commit heinous deeds for power and control. 

Furthermore, the extract presents Macbeth’s indecisive tone when thinking of the murder – he doesn’t want to kill Duncan but knows it’s the only way to the throne. Lady Macbeth says she might need to interfere in order to persuade him; his ambition isn’t strong enough yet: “That I may pour my spirits in  thine ear / And chastise with the valour of my tongue”. Here, Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a manipulative character, conveying she will seduce him in order to “sway “ his mind into killing Duncan. The very need for her persuasion insinuates Macbeth is still weighing up the consequences in his head, his ambition equal with his morality. It would be shocking for the audience to see a female character act in this authoritative way. Lady Macbeth not only holds control of her husband in a patriarchal society but the stage too, speaking in iambic pentameter to portray her status: “To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great”. It is interesting that Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth in this way; she has more ambition for power than her husband at this part of play. 

As the play progresses, in Act 3, Macbeth’s ambition has grown and now kills with ease. He sends three murders to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, as the witches predicted that he may have heirs to the throne which could end his reign. Macbeth is suspicious in this act, hiding his true intentions from his dearest companion and his wife: “I wish your horses swift and sure on foot” and “and make our faces vizards to our hearts”. There, we see, as an audience, Macbeth’s longing to remain King much stronger than his initial attitudes towards the throne He was toying with the idea of killing for the throne and now he is killing those that could interfere with his rule without a second thought. It is interesting that Shakespeare presents him this way, as though he is ignoring his morals or that they have been “numbed” by his ambition. Similarly to his wife in the first act, Macbeth also speaks in pentameter to illustrate his increase in power and dominance. 

In Act 4, his ambition and dependence on power has grown even more. When speaking with the witches about the three apparitions, he uses imperatives to portray his newly adopted controlling nature: “I conjure you” and “answer me”. Here, the use of his aggressive demanding demonstrates his reliance on the throne and his need for security. By the Witches showing him the apparitions and predicting his future, he gains a sense of superiority, believing he is safe and protected from everything. Shakespeare also lengthens Macbeth’s speech in front of the Witches in comparison to Act 1 to show his power and ambition has given him confidence, confidence to speak up to the “filthy nags” and expresses his desires. Although it would be easy to infer Macbeth’s greed and ambition has grown from his power-hungry nature, a more compassionate reading of Macbeth demonstrates the pressure he feels as a Jacobean man and soldier. Perhaps he feels he has to constantly strive for more to impress those around him or instead he may want to be king to feel more worthy and possibly less insecure. 

It would be unusual to see a Jacobean citizen approaching an “embodiment” of the supernatural as forming alliance with them was forbidden and frowned upon. Perhaps Shakespeare uses Macbeth to defy these stereotypical views to show that there is a supernatural, a more dark side in us all and it is up to our own decisions whereas we act on these impulses to do what is morally incorrect. 

If you’re studying Macbeth, you can click here to buy our full online course. Use the code “SHAKESPEARE” to receive a 50% discount!

You will gain access to  over 8 hours  of  engaging video content , plus  downloadable PDF guides  for  Macbeth  that cover the following topics:

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You’ll find plenty of  top level example essays  that will help you to  write your own perfect ones!

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What’s on TV This Week: ‘Grey Gardens’ and Billy Joel in Concert

TCM airs the cult classic 1975 documentary, and Joel airs his first broadcast concert at Madison Square Garden.

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By Geordon Wollner

For those who still haven’t cut the cord, here is a selection of cable and network TV shows, movies and specials that broadcast this week, April 8-14. Details and times are subject to change.

THE GREEN MILE (1999) 7 p.m. on AMC. Based on the 1999 Stephen King novel of the same name, this three-hour-plus film tells a somber tale of the death row warden Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) who meets an enigmatic inmate, John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) — a gentle giant with healing powers that border on the supernatural.

ELTON JOHN & BERNIE TAUPIN: THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS GERSHWIN PRIZE FOR POPULAR SONG TRIBUTE CONCERT 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). The songwriting duo of Elton John and Bernie Taupin are the recipients of the 2024 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, awarded by the Library of Congress. To honor their achievements, a tribute concert held in Washington D.C. will be held with performances by Metallica, Garth Brooks, Annie Lennox, Joni Mitchell — last year’s honoree — and more.

THE GOONIES (1985) 6 p.m. on E! When a band of misfit neighborhood kids finds a treasure map to the fabled treasure of an infamous pirate known as One-Eyed Willy, a zany adventure unfolds as they race to find gold to save their homes from foreclosure. Will the Goonies find what they’ve been searching for before the Fratellis, a crime family hot on their tail, get their grubby mitts on the priceless jewels? Will their coastal town be saved from destruction? Faced with treacherous traps, secret caves and no shortage of nail-biting moments, repeat after me: “Goonies never say die!”

THE GODFATHER (1972) 8 p.m. on TCM. “ I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” Never has a string of words — spoken by Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) — weighed so heavily onscreen. Despite his age and jowls, the head of the Corleone family “remains a fearsome, rudely magnificent creature,” Vincent Canby wrote in his review for The New York Times. Family duty. Questionable honor. A son reluctant to take up the throne. This classic has it all, plus many more lines that linger in your ears: “Leave the gun, take the cannoli.”

GHOST ADVENTURES: HOUSE CALLS 10 p.m. on Discovery. Join an intrepid team of paranormal investigators, Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Jay Wasley and Billy Tolley, as they document the homes of people who claim they’re plagued with unwanted, unexplained paranormal activity.

LADY MACBETH (2016) 7:15 p.m. on STARZ. Set in 19th-century rural England, a young woman (Florence Pugh) is sold into a loveless marriage and, after growing bored of being silenced and untouched, finds herself passionately enraptured in an affair with a young man (Cosmo Jarvis) on her husband’s estate. This adaptation of “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” an 1865 novella by Nikolai Leskov, exemplifies the power of newfound liberation as “carnal lust slips into bloodlust,” Manohla Dargis wrote in her review for The Times .

WHEEL OF FORTUNE 7:30 on ABC. Whether you’re trying to figure out the best strategy to solve a bonus round puzzle or brushing up on your vocabulary, tune into another episode of this vowel-slinging game show that has been on-air for over 40 years. Pat Sajak, who will retire as host after this season , has become a household name over its run, as has Vanna White, the show’s co-host. Need a vowel?

THE ZONE OF INTEREST (2023) 8 p.m. on HBO. Summer 1943. German-occupied Poland. A mother of five, Hedwig (Sandra Hüller), builds a dream home and life, as her husband, the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), reports to the camp that sits just beyond the garden wall. Loosely based on the 2014 novel by Martin Amis , this film creates an illusion of perfection and idyllic bliss, while unimaginable horrors unfold mere steps from the family’s front door. “The Zone of Interest” was awarded Best Sound and Best International Feature Film at the Oscars this year.

GREY GARDENS (1975) 10:30 p.m. on TCM. Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter, Edith Bouvier Beale — otherwise known as Big and Little Edie — are the eccentric, reclusive duo who are the subjects of this documentary. Relatives of Jacqueline Kennedy, they live in Grey Gardens, a ramshackle mansion in East Hampton, where they show off their daily “costumes” and recount tales of lovers of years past. Cats and raccoons crawl across faded photographs and rotting floors, as memories pile high.

THE 100TH: BILLY JOEL AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN 9 p.m. on CBS. Billy Joel will air his 100th consecutive performance at Madison Square Garden live. “I don’t think of myself as a singer,” he recently told The Times . “I’m a piano player.” His Garden series wraps in July 2024, with his 104th show, which will be his 150th lifetime performance at the celebrated venue.

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