MacBeth

Macbeth: Natural and Supernatural Forces At Work

Macbeth, by William Shakespeare would most definitely be considered by anyone to be a tragedy, even if the story centers on the protagonist’s death. A brave Scottish general who takes over the throne and believes himself to be unstoppable meets his demise by Macduff. Shakespeare writes his story in a rather chilling way by incorporating many supernatural and gory aspects into it.

For supernatural, one can obviously not look past the three witches. These “weird sisters” as they are called by many characters possess many powers and seem to enjoy creating turmoil in the world by clever deceptions. They cast off charms, spells, and curses to anyone they desire to persuade them to do things. Most notably are their prophecies about who will take over the throne of Scotland. The witches tell Macbeth that he shall inherit the throne and will be invincible, or so he believes. The witches only tell him that “no man of woman born” can kill him. Even I was fooled by this reading it, thinking “Hey, everyone is born of woman.” I highly doubted genetic engineering was available at this time. However, we later learn that a small loophole is present here as Macduff later kills him, as

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Either way, the witches add an eerie sense to the play. Ironically, the one who felt no remorse for her actions in her quest for power now seems to show some. Macbeth on one hand just becomes more and more aggressive and for the next twelve years that he is in power he commits more murders to ensure that his secret stays safe. They will appear for a moment, usually to give out another prophecy to someone and then disappear just as quickly. The tragedy surrounding King Duncan’s death and the dethroning of the murderous Macbeth probably would not be as exciting if everyone was guilt free. But by having nightmares of her seeing blood on her hands and not being able to wash it off make the story more dramatic. By heart, he is not a murderer but is deceived by the three witches into becoming one. The first role would that be of the “real” blood. After the slaying of King Duncan, Macbeth feels extremely guilty for the evil deed he has just performed.

The other is more of a fake or “imaginary” blood. He insists that it can’t be done and if he were even to wash his hands in the ocean, the entire ocean would turn red.

The witches also are able to appear and disappear whenever and wherever they want. Or perhaps they don’t have control, but merely are able to look into the future in order to see what events are to come. It is debatable if one of their supernatural powers is that of controlling others. She tries in vain to “wash” the “blood” from her hands but to no avail.

Approximate Word count = 999
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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