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Supernatural In Macbeth Research Paper

639 Words3 Pages

Annette Valdouin
Ms.Dalton
English
01/10/16
The Supernatural in Macbeth
In the Shakespearean play Macbeth, Shakespeare includes supernatural elements such as the imaginary dagger, Banquo’s ghost, and the witches apparitions to give the audience insight as to how fragile Macbeth’s psyche is. In act two Macbeth is readying himself to kill King Duncan when he says, “Is this a dagger which I see before me,/The handle toward my hand?” (2.1.33-34). Macbeth continues to ponder over this vision and questions, “Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible/To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but/A dagger of the mind, a false creation,/Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain?”(2.1.37-40). When Macbeth was moments before his attempt to murder the king he had a vision of a …show more content…

Macbeth rushes off to go see the witches and demands that they clarify the future for him. In turn the witches show Macbeth three apparitions to warn him off of dangerous factors that may come his way. Ever since the witches gave Macbeth the prophecy of Thane of Cawdor and king, Macbeth had been fixated on confirming his security in the future. His fear had caused him to step out on his morals and character to assure his fate. Because of his ambition, Macbeth had committed countless murders. These horrific actions all stem from the witches giving him truth infused lies time and time again. The apparitions the witches give Macbeth in act four just worsen the situation. The witches predictions of the future caused Macbeth to use his fear as motivation to create chaos. Therefore, this shows how Shakespeare used supernatural elements to reveal how unstable Macbeth’s mind was because he used the apparitions to uncover how paranoid Macbeth had become, and how paranoia had led to his downfall. In conclusion, In Macbeth by William Shakespeare the author uses supernatural elements like the imaginary dagger, Banquo’s ghost, and the witches

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