The Supernatural

Page 1

The Witches are a supernatural force

The Witches are an evil supernatural force

Their "strange intelligence" and ability to predict the future gives them power over humans

However, when they're planning to harm the sea captain, they say that his ship "cannot be lost" - hints that their power is limited

They're not in many scenes but they drive the action of the play

It's unlikely that Macbeth would have committed so many terrible crimes if he hadn't been influenced by the Witches

The Witches are associated with chaos

They try to impose an unnatural order on what's good and natural

Macbeth says they "untie the winds" and make "castles topple"

The Witches are motivated by "destruction" rather than goodness - they represent the struggle between natural and unnatural order

Shakespeare presents them as completely evil

They're cruel, inhuman and don't show any remorse - in fact, they celebrate evil

Social Context

At the time Shakespeare was writing, many people thought that witches were real, so the Weird Sisters would have seemed believable and frightening to an audience in the 1600s

Writer's Techniques

The supernatural elements add to the atmosphere - they make the play darker and more frightening

Shakespeare only hints at what's real and what's not, which adds to the drama

Page 2

Visions are supernatural signs of guilt

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have visions which remind the audience of their terrible guilt:

Act 2, Scene 1

Macbeth sees a vision of a dagger just as he's about to kill Duncan

It's not clear whether it's leading him to Duncan or warning him against murder

Represents the "bloody business" he's about to do

Act 3, Scene 4

Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost, which gives him a "strange infirmity"

Nobody else can see the ghost, which suggests that it's a sign of Macbeth's guilty conscience

Act 5, Scene 1

Lady Macbeth is driven mad as she imagines that her hands will "ne'er be clean" of Duncan's blood

Her guilt is so great that she kills herself

The visions are ambiguous - they could be real or imaginary

The visions fill the characters who see them with fear

Macbeth is "blanched with fear" by Banquo's ghost and his language is agitated and nervous: "Prithee, see there! Behold, look, lo!"

His fear is made him lose control of his speech

Macbeth calls his own reaction a "strange infirmity" - links to other signs of madness later in the play

Lady Macbeth's language when she sleepwalks is desperate, "O, o, o!" and shows that she's disturbed by the vision of blood on her hands

The Doctor says that her heart is "sorely charged" - he sees that the vision is the result of her guilty conscience