The Supernatural in Shakespeares Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

The Supernatural in Macbeth Displays of supernatural activities were used throughout Macbeth, and evidence of this was brought out in the appearances of the lead Witches. In Shakespeares day, special effects were not used in his plays. Therefore, the dramatic performances and the suspenseful scenes were the fundamental qualities to making a great play. Shakespeare used the element of the unexplored to evoke fear in the minds of his interview. By allowing the Witches to see into the future, it made Macbeth more suspenseful. With their prophecies about Macbeth?s future, they intrigue the audience to see if they are correct. The Witches were a symbolisation of evil, and Shakespeare uses this fear of the devil to give his plays an additional eerie and haunting effect. Shakespeare as well used an evil vulcanized fiber that can easily influence the main character in his stories, in this case, it was Lady Macbeth. It is essential that Lady Macbeth and the three Witches create the plot of Macbeth. Without the Witches powers of foretelling the future and the evil persuasions of his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth would have never induce king. The expression weird sisters, used from the 1400s, means Fatal sisters. The word weird or in Old English Wyrd was a noun meaning Fate. In venture 1, Scene 3, The three Witches describe themselves as fore-tellers of destiny, and they all introduce themselves to Macbeth and Banquo as The weird sisters, hand in hand. The appearance that the three Witches possess is that of thin evil. In the starting of the scene, each of the three Witches describe their wickedness with a proud manner. For example, when they asked the Second Witch where she had been, she replied, Killing swine. This statement shows how the Witches enjoyed being devilish. The impression that the audience gets of Witches is that they are hideously evil. In Shakespeares time, witches were believed to have supernatural powers, they could transform themselves into oth er shapes, usually animals. When the First Witch describes where she had been, she referred to sailing across the sea in a sieve and transforming into a rat without a tail, But in a sieve Ill thither sail, and like a rat without a tail, Ill do, Ill do, and Ill do?. Witches were also believed to fortunetellers. The three Witches prophecies in Macbeth, foreshadow later events in the play.