The Supernatural: The Magical Fate of Macbeth (Essay Example)

Anthony Wallace, an anthropologist, predicted that "belief in supernatural beings and in supernatural forces that affect nature without obeying nature's laws will erode and become only an interesting historical memory" (264). In William Shakespeare's era, there was a strong belief existing in the supernatural. King James, I was the inspiration for Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Macbeth; the British king believed in witchcraft so much he led several witch-hunts in England during his time. In the play, The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the supernatural plays an important role and an even bigger role in the character, Macbeth. This makes the play more profound. The role of the witches led to the downfall of Macbeth because their prophecies and apparitions made him believe that he could not be harmed, influenced him to do wrongful things, and ultimately causes his fate.

According to Oxford Leaner's Dictionaries; "supernatural cannot be explained by the laws of science and that seems to involve gods or magic." The witches in Shakespeare's," The Tragedy of Macbeth", are the most significant supernatural figures in the play. The witches reveal their supernatural powers by preying on Macbeth's ambition to become King. The witches' role in the play is to tell Macbeth a prophecy, that he will be Thane of Cawdor and then become King. We do not know whether the witches were predicting or changing the future in this prophecy, which played an imperative role in the supernatural theme. 

There is a saying that says, "don't judge a book by its cover", which is perfectly embodied in The Tragedy of Macbeth. The apparitions in Macbeth are interpreted in the tragedy as one thing, but they mean something else. Despite Macbeth believing that no harm can come to him from the apparitions, they are holding a deeper meaning for him. A bloody child, a child wearing a crown holding a branch, and an armed head are all elements of the play depicting apparitions. They are a foreshadowing of what is to come for Macbeth. The bloody child tells Macbeth, "No man of woman born shall harm him." (4.1.85-87) In Macbeth's view, all people are born from a woman, and therefore he should not be afraid. "Great Birnam wood will march to Dunsinane Hill," says the child wearing a crown and holding a tree. (4.1. 98-102) Macbeth laughs at this apparition, considering how is that even possible. The armed head tells, Macbeth "Beware Macduff/Beware the thane of Fife." (4.1.77-78). According to John Upton, "The armed head represents symbolically Macbeth's head cut off and brought to Malcolm by Macduff. The bloody child is Macduff untimely ripp'd from his mother's womb. The child with a crown on his head, and a bough in his hand, is the royal Malcolm; who ordered his soldiers to hew them down a bough and bear it before them to Dunsinane." (39) Moreover, the apparitions add to the tension of the play by adding a supernatural element. 

The witches are the ones who trigger Macbeth's deepest and most hidden desires. They influenced him to do wrongful things. Using the first thirteen lines in Macbeth, the witches manipulate the first lines of the play in a way that conveys a sense of the supernatural and how the witches will control the play as a whole. The last line, "fair is foul, and foul is fair" (1.1.11-12) is used to misinterpret the actions of Macbeth. In this line, it is predicted that one thing seems like another and that what is considered bad is good, and vice versa. During this point of the play, the witches are seen as the driving force behind Macbeth's mind-changing, since he is the only one capable of seeing them throughout the rest of the play. The witches' power motivates Macbeth to kill King Duncan so he could become king. Dr. Oliver Tearle tells, "Macbeth sees a dagger that he believes is real, rather than knowing it to be an illusion from the outset" (44-45). Influenced by temptation, the supernatural controlled Macbeth to do arrogant deeds. As Macbeth continued to kill innocent people, he hired murderers to kill Banquo and his son, but Fleance managed to escape. Because Macbeth believed that maintaining power would only come from removing those who stood in his way, his mind told him that getting rid of them was his only option. Macbeth unleashes evil forces to fulfill the witches' prophecies, adding to the outlandish nature of the play. 

The Tragedy of Macbeth portrays a character with too much ambition, a dangerous quality that leads to tragic consequences. Macbeth ambition gets the best of him and forces him to continue to commit wrongdoings again and again. The ambition that drives Macbeth's actions, which ultimately lead to his downfall, lies at the heart of much of what he does in the play. 

Schiffer says, “Albert Powers of Yale University, USA, and colleagues show that participants who hallucinate hearing voices in everyday life rely too much on their expectations, rather than auditory input.” There is a possibility that Macbeth's ambition was causing him to hallucinate. Macbeth's fear and paranoia are communicated through the supernatural. As part of his quest to develop his character, Macbeth experiences three important hallucinations: the dagger, ghost of Banquo, and the apparitions. The hallucinations symbolize the beginning of the downfall for Macbeth and tragically causes his fate.

To quote the Cambridge Dictionary, "Fate" is, "what the fate or destiny of a particular person or thing is, especially something final or negative, such as death or defeat." Mary Spencer quotes, that “fate is an omnipresent force woven through much ancient literature, and in English literature it is named from the earliest recorded writings as wyrd.” The supernatural world of Macbeth is created by Shakespeare using his cultural teachings and especially the word fate. Stated by Mary Spencer, she says, that the play examines the question “Does fate make the characters, or do the characters create their fate?” The witches played a hand in the fate of Macbeth. They knew what was going to happen to Macbeth before he knew. Hecate’s last line allude to the fate of Macbeth:

As by the strength of their illusion

Shall draw him on to his confusion

He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear

His hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace, and fear

And as you all know, security

Is mortals; chiefest enemy. (3.5.28-33)

Macbeth is living his life in the commandment of the witches and ignores all the signs that were given to him as a warning. Macbeth’s put his trust in the witches, and they betrayed him:

Accursed be that tongue that tells me so

For it hath cowed my better part of man

And be these juggling fiends no more believed

That palter with us in a double sense

That I keep the word of promise to our ear

And break it to our hope

I’ll not fight with thee (5.8.15-18)

Ultimately, Macbeth must accept the fact that Macduff actually was born via cesarean section and that his fate is death:

I will not yield, to kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet

And to be baited with the rabble’s curse. 

Through Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane

And thou opposed, being of no woman born

Yet I will try the last

Before my body I throw my warlike shield

Lay on, Macduff, and damned be him that first cries, ‘Hold, enough!’ (5.8.22-26)

Macbeth’s deceitful actions have all come back to haunt him. One of Macbeth's last lines, "I bear a charmed life", indicates that he only cared about what he was worth to himself. (5.8.11) There was no salvaging Macbeth's soul after his awful behavior. The downfall of Macbeth was his own doing.

It is evident throughout the play that Macbeth is closely associated with the witches. Meetings and conversations centered around him, and some will say that the death of Macbeth is what they desired to happen. There is no punishment for the witches’ messing with Macbeth at the end of the play. Daniel Albright, explained in his essay, “If the witches were demons, the play would end with their slinking back, defeated, into hell. But the witches of Macbeth nowhere gnash their teeth or rage at the triumph of justice; in fact, their plan succeeds in every last detail, and the army of Macduff and Malcolm is as much an instrument for accomplishing their wishes at the magic cauldron” (Albright 252). By adding the witches, Spencer says, “Shakespeare addresses one of the oldest questions of humanity: are we the masters of our lives, or is there another force that controls our fate?” (329) The supernatural that created the poison in the play was the phrase, “fair is foul, and foul is fair.” Playwright William Shakespeare uses supernatural elements fairly well in Macbeth.  I believe that, without the witches, the ghost, the visions, and apparitions, "The Tragedy of Macbeth" would've been a boring and tedious play. 

Shakespeare has used supernatural themes in his plays in many ways, but The Tragedy of Macbeth is probably the most well-known play that has supernatural elements. William Shakespeare created a supernatural world for the audience and characters (West 71).  In creating Macbeth, Shakespeare followed the literacy tradition of letting the character decide his own destiny by letting him make his own disastrous decisions and destructive desires. Malik Vivek says “The supernatural is a manifestation of the character’s innermost turmoil. It lays bare the flaw in the hero’s character and helps in its further development.” This brings about the downfall of tragic hero Macbeth.