Lady Macbeth example essay topic

The Role of the Supernatural in Shakespeare's Macbeth The infamous story of Macbeth is a tragic tale of an honorable man who makes a decision to sin, causing him to rapidly become an evil tyrant. The play begins with the self-titled lead character as a noble soldier who is loved and adored by his king and many of the townspeople. Upon hearing of the chance that he could be king himself one day, however, his character starts to go awry. Unable to stand the suspense of waiting to become king as his supposed "fate" beholds, he usurps the throne in an untimely fashion by murdering the present one. This first offence leads to a multitude of other killings as Macbeth grapples to keep his position and justify to himself that he is rightful in doing so, which only directs him to his eventual downfall. The aura of darkness, deception, and horror created by William Shakespeare is this tragedy envelopes the entire play and is created mainly by the sense of violence and foreboding that is evoked by the imagery.

The dominant use of nature and the supernatural contribute significantly to the atmosphere throughout the story. Indeed, one can argue that Macbeth constantly scuffles on the blurring line between the two. In Macbeth, a series of unnatural forces initially coerce the main character to commit his first crime. After the murder of King Duncan, however, Macbeth not only ignores the signs of danger present in supernatural illusions, but uses them to justify his immoral and tyrannical acts. The most prominent evidence of the supernatural are the Weird Sisters (meaning 'fate determining'), a trio of witches that seek out Macbeth to announce his "fate" of becoming Thane of Cawdor and "king hereafter" (1.3.

17). Prior to their arrival, the idea of becoming king had apparently never occurred to Macbeth. In the process of returning home after a victory in his army's battle, he looked forward to receiving praise from King Duncan and his people. Shocked by the witches' unexpected prophecy, he exclaims, .".. the Thane of Cawdor lives / A prosperous gentlemen, and to be king / Stands not within the prospect of belief" and continues to demand more information from the sisters (1.3. 19).

As they vanish without another word, and messengers come to announce his reign as the new Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth slowly begins to contemplate the truth in their final prediction. Although the idea sounds quite appealing to the soldier, Macbeth still expresses his loyalty to Duncan and brushes away any immoral ideas that cloud his mind. He states to himself, "If chance will have me king, why, chance may / crown me / without my stir" (1.4. 25). This conviction is challenged when he returns home to his wife, Lady Macbeth.

She has already received his word about the prophecy of the witches and invites the evil spirits into herself in order to be able to convince her husband to kill the king and take the throne. She says, "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" (1.5. 33). Armed with these unnatural demons inside her, she develops a plan to kill Duncan that Macbeth is too weak to refuse. When he expresses his uneasiness about committing the crime, Lady Macbeth mocks him by questioning his manhood: "Wouldst thou have that / Which thou esteem " st the ornament of life / And live a coward in thine own esteem / Letting "I dare not" wait upon "I would", /Like the poor cat I' th' adage?" (1.7. 41).

While still unsure of the morality of the deed he has agreed to, Macbeth encounters a floating dagger on his way to Duncan's room. Although only a figment of the imagination, he uses this sighting as a confirmation to go through with the murder. He pronounces that he will now draw a weapon just like the "dagger of mind" (2.1. 53), and continues to say that soon there will be blood on the blade of his real dagger. With a timely reminder from Lady Macbeth, a bell is rung to signal that she has completed the preparations. He rushes off to Duncan's room and commits the crime that inevitably begins his further corruption.

Up until this point, the reader feels a sense of pity for Macbeth. Despite all the forces against him that encourage him to sin, he has aptly expressed his doubt towards killing the king or otherwise unnaturally taking over the position. Following his initial horror after murdering Duncan, however, his mentality and actions transform him in to an antagonist that the audience despises. He claims the reign of king as the witches had predicted, but left unsatisfied and obsessed with the prospect of losing it, Macbeth quickly becomes power-driven and greedy. Remembering the last aspect of the witches' predictions, which stated that his friend Banquo's heirs will also be kings, he begins to fear Banquo and decides to arrange for his death. As Macbeth's fate twists due to his sins, several supernatural signals are given to warn him that he chooses to ignore.

The first is a visit from Banquo's ghost the night of his murder. The ghost arrives and ruins Macbeth's great feast, causing fear and confusion in Macbeth. He thinks that he may be in danger because what he sees "might appeal the devil" (3.4. 101). Scared for his life and what is to come, he returns to the Weird sisters for further assurance. Upon meeting with the witches the following day, he receives a rather deceptive prophecy.

The sisters create three apparitions that give advice to Macbeth. The first, an "Armed Head", tells him to "Beware Macduff" (4.1. 125). This worries Macbeth but he quickly forgets about it after hearing the next two apparitions. The "bloody child" tells him, "None of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth" (4.1. 125), and a child holding a tree announces that "Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill / Shall come against him" (4.1.

126). Greatly reassured but still worried about the security of his position, Macbeth asks the witches if Banquo's lineage will still be kings. They blatantly show him with eight crowned heads that look like Banquo that, yes, the prophecy still runs true. This revelation as well as the first warning about Macduff should have alerted him to the dangers that followed.

Instead, he foolishly allowed himself to be calmed by the other two deceptive apparitions so he could justify killing Macduff's family. In the last act of the play, everything rapidly falls apart for Macbeth. The opening scene describes Lady Macbeth's turmoil from the aftermath of the killing. Apparently taken over by the demonic spirits, she goes through fits of madness that lead her to suicide. This is yet another sign of danger for Macbeth that he refuses to acknowledge.

Even the doctor senses the doom to come when he announces that "Unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles" (5.2. 165). In Scene 5, he becomes aware that the 3rd apparition's prediction has come true; Birnam Wood has indeed begun it's ascent to Dunsinane Hill in the form of branches held by soldiers. Instead of surrendering at that moment and admitting his defeat, he resolves to meet Macduff in battle. By the time he learns of the final truth to the prophecy, when Macduff admits that he was "untimely ripped" from his mother in a cesarean section, Macbeth has little free will left. Afraid to fight, he tells Macduff "I'll not fight with thee" (5.8.

185-187). But given the choice to fight or be captured and displayed as a tyrant, he gives in to his final determined fate. Unwilling to realize the previous symbols of doom and destruction, Macbeth aided the supernatural forces against him. To add in the dramatic irony, Shakespeare used foreshadowing throughout the play in the form of nature being unnatural. For example, he uses stormy weather such as thunder and lightning to symbolize evil and doom. Storms constantly arrive along with the weird sisters, letting the audience know that they possess vicious tendencies.

In addition, the horrible storm that howls throughout the night of Duncan's murder reveals that moral and political corruption are present. In Act 2, several of the townspeople describe the ways in which nature has gone mad. Owls kill falcons and chimneys blow over. Duncan's trained horses feverishly break out of their stalls and eat each other. Lennox says that during the night of Duncan's murder there are "Lamenting's heard I' th' air, strange screams of death [, and... ] Some say the earth / Was feverous and did shake" (2.3.

65). There was clearly something off balance in Scotland, and everyone could sense it but Macbeth. From the moment he plunged that wicked dagger into the chest of his righteous king until the rightful heirs attacked him and ended his life, Macbeth continued to disrupt the natural order of his destiny and the world around him. His nobility gave in to the temptations of power and greed and caused his inevitable demise. This tragedy, while not fully realistic in the slightest, should teach every one of it's audiences a lesson for the rest of time-no one has the right to meddle in nature's affairs..