The Supernatural
Theme Profile – At a Glance
- The Core Concept: The intersection of demonic forces, fate, and human psychology, where witches, ghosts, and hallucinations act as catalysts for treason and manifestations of guilt.
- Key Characters: The Witches, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo.
- Related Themes: Guilt, Fate, Ambition, and Appearance.
- Famous Quote:
"By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes."
(Act 4, Scene 1)
Agents of Chaos and Cosmic Temptation
The play opens not with human kings or warriors, but with The Witches, immediately establishing the supernatural as the atmospheric and thematic foundation of Macbeth. These "weird sisters" are the architects of cosmic disruption. However, Shakespeare carefully defines the limits of their power. They do not possess Macbeth or cast a spell that forces him to commit regicide; rather, they use prophecy as a form of supreme psychological temptation.
Original
All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!
(Act 1, Scene 3)
Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse)
All hail, Macbeth! You’ll be the king in future!
By tapping into Macbeth's latent ambition, they present a seductive vision of fate. The supernatural here functions as an externalisation of humanity's darkest desires. The Witches speak in rhythmic trochaic tetrameter, a hypnotic metre that isolates them from the natural, iambic rhythm of the mortal world, marking them as agents of a chaotic universe actively seeking to overthrow the divine order.
Demonic Invocation and the Loss of Humanity
While Macbeth is tempted by the supernatural, Lady Macbeth actively invites it into her soul. Recognising that human empathy and maternal compassion are obstacles to her political goals, she deliberately attempts to sever her ties to humanity through demonic invocation.
Original
Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty!
(Act 1, Scene 5)
Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse)
Come, evil spirits
That make me think of death, make me more manly,
And fill me from my head down to my toes
With awful cruelty!
This chilling prayer asks dark forces to remove her gender and replace her natural, life-giving biology with poisonous "gall." This voluntary surrender to the supernatural demonstrates that evil in the play requires human participation. However, the play ultimately reveals that humans cannot permanently suppress their moral nature; the spirits do not save Lady Macbeth from the devastating, mind-shattering guilt that eventually consumes her.
Hallucinations and the Guilty Mind
As the Macbeths descend deeper into tyranny, the line between literal supernatural entities and psychological hallucinations becomes terrifyingly blurred. Before murdering King Duncan, Macbeth is confronted by a floating, bloody dagger. Later, during his royal banquet, he is terrorised by the gory ghost of the murdered Banquo.
Original
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
(Act 2, Scene 1)
Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse)
Is this a dagger that I see before me,
The handle pointing at my hand? I'll hold it.
Unlike the Witches, who are seen by both Macbeth and Banquo, these visions are visible only to Macbeth. They serve as profound manifestations of his fractured psyche. The supernatural, in these instances, acts as a moral mirror. Because Macbeth's waking mind attempts to justify his horrific actions, his subconscious mind uses supernatural imagery to force him to confront the inescapable reality of his damnation.
The Subversion of Nature and Divine Right
In the Jacobean worldview, the universe was governed by a strict hierarchy known as the Great Chain of Being. Because King Duncan is a divinely appointed monarch, his murder is not just a political usurpation; it is an act of supernatural sacrilege.
When Macbeth disrupts the theme of kingship, nature itself rebels. The play uses supernatural environmental phenomena to reflect this cosmic breach. The day turns as dark as night, an owl (a bird of night) kills a falcon (a royal bird of day), and Duncan's prized horses break from their stalls and consume each other. These unnatural occurrences prove that human morality and the supernatural fabric of the universe are intimately, violently intertwined.
"The supernatural in Macbeth is not merely a piece of theatrical machinery; it is an integral part of the play's psychological and moral landscape, blurring the terrifying boundary between demonic temptation, cosmic rebellion, and human choice."
— Kenneth Muir, Shakespeare's Tragic Sequence (1972)
Key Quotes
Quote 1
But 'tis strange:
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray's
In deepest consequence.
(Act 1, Scene 3)
Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse)
But it's strange:
And oftentimes, to get us into trouble,
Satanic forces feed us half the truth
To coax us with minutia, then betray us
With devastating impact.
Quote Analysis: Banquo acts as the voice of moral reason, warning Macbeth about the deceptive nature of the supernatural. He correctly identifies that demonic forces often use small, accurate prophecies ("honest trifles") to build a false sense of trust, ultimately luring humans toward spiritual destruction.
Quote 2
Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until
Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him.
(Act 4, Scene 1)
Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse)
Macbeth will not be trounced and overthrown till
Great Birnam wood has come to Dunsinane hill
To fight against him.
Quote Analysis: This prophecy delivered by the Third Apparition gives Macbeth a false sense of absolute security, as the movement of a forest appears physically impossible. It perfectly illustrates how the supernatural relies on equivocation and the theme of appearance versus reality to trap the tyrant.
Quote 3
Avaunt! And quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee!
Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold...
(Act 3, Scene 4)
Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse)
Leave! Get out of my sight! Earth, bury him!
Your bone marrow has gone, your blood is cold...
Quote Analysis: Confronted by Banquo's ghost, Macbeth descends into a frantic panic. His desperate assertion that the ghost's blood is cold highlights his futile attempt to apply rational, physical laws to a supernatural terror born purely from his own insurmountable guilt.
Key Takeaways
- Catalysts, Not Controllers: The Witches provide the spark of temptation, but the catastrophic decisions are made entirely through human free will.
- Psychological Mirrors: Supernatural visions, such as the bloody dagger and the ghost, serve to externalise the intense internal guilt and fracturing sanity of the protagonists.
- The Peril of Invocation: Lady Macbeth's attempt to use dark spirits to suppress her human conscience ultimately backfires, leading to her tragic somnambulism and suicide.
- Disruption of Order: Unnatural occurrences in the physical world (e.g., predatory owls, cannibalistic horses) reflect the spiritual and political disease caused by Macbeth's illegitimate rule.
Study Questions and Analysis
Q2: Does the dagger actually exist? +
No, the dagger is a "dagger of the mind, a false creation." It is a hallucination brought on by Macbeth's "heat-oppressed brain"—a supernatural manifestation of his acute anxiety and guilt in the moments leading up to the regicide.
Q3: How did King James I view the supernatural? +
King James I, the patron of Shakespeare's acting company, was deeply fascinated by and fearful of witches. He even wrote a treatise called Daemonologie. Shakespeare included the Witches and supernatural elements directly to cater to the King's interests and reinforce the danger of demonic forces.
Q4: Why does Lady Macbeth's invocation of spirits fail her? +
She prays to be stripped of her humanity and filled with cruelty. While this allows her to orchestrate the murder, the human conscience cannot be permanently erased. The suppressed guilt eventually overrides the dark spirits, returning to fracture her mind through sleepwalking.
Q5: What is the purpose of the Apparitions in Act 4? +
The Apparitions (the armed head, the bloody child, and the crowned child) are designed to confuse and embolden Macbeth. By using equivocation to make him feel invincible, the supernatural actively ensures he will fight recklessly to the death, sealing his tragic fate.
Q6: Is Banquo's ghost real or a hallucination? +
The play leaves this brilliantly ambiguous. Because only Macbeth can see it, it functions like the dagger—a product of a guilt-ridden mind. However, in a Jacobean context, ghosts seeking justice were a real supernatural fear, making it both a psychological and literal terror.
Q7: How does King Edward's supernatural power differ from the Witches'? +
King Edward the Confessor's power is a "heavenly gift" used to miraculously heal the sick. This divine, life-giving supernatural force serves as a direct, holy contrast to the demonic, destructive magic of the Witches, emphasising the battle between cosmic good and evil.
