supernatural forces cause the fall of Macbeth
In Shakespeare s "Macbeth" supernatural forces create a suspenseful atmosphere. The useof the supernatural in the witches, the visions, the ghost and the apparitions provides thebackbone of the climax and "excuses" for Macbeth s change of character. Becauseconscience plays such a central role in Macbeth s tragic struggle, many critics use spiritualand supernatural theories to illuminate the drama s character development. The play opens with the use of the supernatural when three witches encounter Macbeth onhis way home from a battle and proceed to predict his fate. This gives the audience aglimpse of the path the play will follow. The witches plan to meet again, "When the battles(battle is) lost and won " (I. I. 1-4). This theme becomes recurring throughout the play. Itcan be noted that the witches meet after every battle is lost and won, and every battle,whether man against man, man against nature or man against himself it will always be lostby one side and won by another. Eventually Macbeth will lose the battle for his soul.Literary critic, Charles Lamb quotes, "When we read the incantations of the Witches inMacbeth, though some of the ingredients of their hellish composition savour of the
" (Manyard 62)Macbeth s memories of the murder of King Duncan were too cloudy for him to rememberbecause the disillusionment and distraction of the knife influenced him to go through withkilling Duncan. Macbeth suffered the consequences of his actions by death. The "ghostly" dagger, which led Macbeth to Duncan s chamber, also represents thesupernatural forces that cause the fall of Macbeth. Had the witches, ghosts, andvisions not occurred throughout the play, what other courses would have been walked tolead him to his ill-fated destiny? Without the guidance of these forces, Macbeth s fatewould have been altered and the plot would be non-existent. Macbeth s decisions were influenced by supernatural encounters, causing him to tragicallymeet a doomed fate. After the witches revealthe fate of Macbeth becoming king, he begins to develop an immoral plan to carry out theprophecy. In act 3,scene 4, lines 112-115 Macbeth says to Lady Macbeth, "Can such things be and overcomeus like a summers cloud, without our special wonder? You make me strange even to thedisposition that owe (my own nature). This proves that Macbeth fell under the influence of the supernatural withoutknowing. Author Ludwig Jekels felt that "the poet dramatizes,with wonderful clarity, the fear of the son (Banquo) now the father, upon confronting, inhis own son (Macbeth), the same hostility that he (Macbeth) had harbored on his ownfather (Duncan). The only way for Macbeth to have the throne will be to wait or to kill KingDuncan. "His benumbed isolation before, duringand right after Duncan s murder is one of the most vivid memories, and we can see him inthe same abstraction again among the mourners after Duncan is found. e, yet is the effect upon us other than the most serious and appalling that can beimagined? Do we not feel spell-bound as Macbeth was?" (Lamb). Macbeth followed the bloody dagger to Duncan s room and even thoughttwice about murdering the king.
Common topics in this essay:
Lady Macbeth,
Manyard Shakespeare,
Shakespeare Macbeth,
King Duncan,
Duncan Macbeth,
Macbeth Duncan,
Duncan Jekels,
Shakespearean Literature,
Ludwig Jekels,
Macbeth Lamb,
king duncan,
murder king,
lost won,
murder king duncan,
battle lost won,
suffered consequences,
throughout play,
devil macbeth,
battle lost,
macbeth future,
duncan chamber,
experience macbeth,
|
Acceptance Essays
