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 he was born via a C-section from his mother.
             The witches also are able to appear and disappear whenever and wherever they want. They will appear for a moment, usually to give out another prophecy to someone and then disappear just as quickly. It is debatable if one of their supernatural powers is that of controlling others. Since their prophecies from what we can see always come through it makes us wonder how much control they really have over people and the outside world. 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. Either way, the witches add an eerie sense to the play.
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