supernatural forces cause the fall of Macbeth

In Shakespeare s "Macbeth" supernatural forces create a suspenseful atmosphere. The use

of the supernatural in the witches, the visions, the ghost and the apparitions provides the

backbone of the climax and "excuses" for Macbeth s change of character. Because

conscience plays such a central role in Macbeth s tragic struggle, many critics use spiritual

and supernatural theories to illuminate the drama s character development.

The play opens with the use of the supernatural when three witches encounter Macbeth on

his way home from a battle and proceed to predict his fate. This gives the audience a

glimpse 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. It

can 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 lost

by 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 in

Macbeth, though some of the ingredients of their hellish composition savour of the

. . .

View the whole essay, without interruption

" (Manyard 62)

Macbeth s memories of the murder of King Duncan were too cloudy for him to remember

because the disillusionment and distraction of the knife influenced him to go through with

killing Duncan. Macbeth suffered the consequences of his actions by death.

The "ghostly" dagger, which led Macbeth to Duncan s chamber, also represents the

supernatural forces that cause the fall of Macbeth. Had the witches, ghosts, and

visions not occurred throughout the play, what other courses would have been walked to

lead him to his ill-fated destiny? Without the guidance of these forces, Macbeth s fate

would have been altered and the plot would be non-existent.

Macbeth s decisions were influenced by supernatural encounters, causing him to tragically

meet a doomed fate. After the witches reveal

the fate of Macbeth becoming king, he begins to develop an immoral plan to carry out the

prophecy. In act 3,

scene 4, lines 112-115 Macbeth says to Lady Macbeth, "Can such things be and overcome

us like a summers cloud, without our special wonder? You make me strange even to the

disposition that owe (my own nature). This proves that Macbeth fell under the influence of the supernatural without

knowing. Author Ludwig Jekels felt that "the poet dramatizes,

with wonderful clarity, the fear of the son (Banquo) now the father, upon confronting, in

his own son (Macbeth), the same hostility that he (Macbeth) had harbored on his own

father (Duncan). The only way for Macbeth to have the throne will be to wait or to kill King

Duncan. "His benumbed isolation before, during

and right after Duncan s murder is one of the most vivid memories, and we can see him in

the 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 be

imagined? Do we not feel spell-bound as Macbeth was?" (Lamb). Macbeth followed the bloody dagger to Duncan s room and even thought

twice about murdering the king.

Approximate Word count = 983
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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